The Bruins decided to be painfully honest with us on Monday.

They confirmed that, no, a Monday night head-to-head with the Hurricanes does not hit the same as a Saturday night showdown with the Canadiens.

Now, that does nothing for you if you decided to spend money and go to Monday’s 3-1 loss at TD Garden. But sometimes the truth will indeed set you free, especially with a challenging four-game road swing on deck. Or, at the very least, it’ll help make sense of a frustrating letdown kind of performance.

“I never look for an excuse, but even I felt it,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said following the loss. “I felt it today. It was an emotional night the other night in Montreal, and we felt it in the morning, we felt it before the game. It was just a slow day today. And I could see it in their eyes.

“We were just mentally, physically not 100 percent today, that’s for sure.” 

Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…

3rd Star: Jeremy Swayman

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 17: Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Bruins saves a shot on goal from Seth Jarvis #24 of the Hurricanes at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Not much to love about this one on the Black and Gold’s side of things, I gotta admit. But if you’re looking for a positive, it did come in goal, as Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman put forth another solid effort for his squad.

Unable to get any run support until the clock had just 9.6 seconds left in the game, Swayman finished with 29 saves on 32 shots faced. And for a while, Swayman was by all means the only thing the Bruins had going for them.

After stopping all 10 shots faced in the opening period, Swayman began his second period with eight straight saves before a Jordan Staal netfront putaway finally put Carolina on the board at the 8:25 mark of the frame.

Swayman beat the expectations in the loss, too, with just three goals allowed despite having an expected goals against of 4.11 (per NaturalStatTrick.com). 

2nd Star: Pyotr Kochetkov

Nov 17, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) watches a play against the Bruins during the third period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)

The Hurricanes gave Pyotr Kochetkov plenty of support in this contest. Their defense was all over the Bruins, and their penalty kill was downright stifling. It felt like whenever the Bruins had a chance, the ‘Canes had a stick or body there to deny it. It was a perfectly executed plan from a Carolina scope.

But the Russian netminder was also there to deny any Boston momentum, with 29 saves on 30 shots in the victory. One thing that felt noticeable in this game was Kochetkov’s ability to get whistles and slow things down whenever the Hurricanes showed even a slight sign of letting things slip out of their control.

And though he’ll probably be pissed that he was less than 10 seconds away from a shutout, Kochetkov’s performance was the best performance any goaltender has had against the B’s this season.

1st Star: Taylor Hall

Nov 1, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall (71), Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) during the third period at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/Imagn Images)

Hey, remember when the cap-strung Bruins traded Taylor Hall for magic beans, expired car wash coupons, and a moldy orange? Just kidding, it was less than that. Either way, it feels like Hall remembered that on Monday night, and made it a personal mission to say, “Hey, remember me?” to the B’s.

Despite skating in a fourth-line role for Carolina, Hall put together an absolute dynamite game for the Canes, with a goal and assist in 13:51 of action.

Hall, who finished the win with a plus-2 rating, also led all Carolina skaters with nine shot attempts, and the Hurricanes held a 23-14 edge in shot attempts with Hall out on the ice at five-on-five play.