The Boston Bruins have life. They came back from down 1-0 and came out on top of Game 3 with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Friday night at TD Garden, cutting their series deficit to 2-1.
For a while, it felt as if the scenario from the first two games was going to play out again on the Bruins’ home ice. Carolina got on the board first for the third straight game to start the series off the stick of Vincent Trocheck, who fought through coverage by defenseman Brandon Carlo and slapped home a juicy rebound in front.
Carolina had a chance to add to its lead when they grabbed a power play later in the first, but instead, the Bruins were given life. Finishing a slick feed from Jake DeBrusk on a 2-on-1 rush, Charlie Coyle tied it up for the Bruins with a shorthanded tally, his first goal of the playoffs.
Sports Hub Underground | Bruins Postgame: We Have Ourselves a Series!
(Click here to subscribe to the Sports Hub Underground podcast.)
It wasn’t until the second period that the Bruins finally grabbed their first lead of the series. And it came off the stick of Brad Marchand, who held the puck for an extra split second in the slot to find an opening and whipped it past Canes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov. Marchand seemed to have a weight lifted off his shoulders, holding his stick in the air an extra few seconds. It was his first 5-on-5 goal since April 2 (via Conor Ryan).
63 from the slot 🚨 pic.twitter.com/olmCH7x4pS
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 7, 2022
The Bruins extended their lead later in the second period, and this time it was their beleaguered power play getting the monkey off their back. David Pastrnak gathered a pass in his typical spot around the faceoff dot and ripped a snipe short-side over Kochetkov’s shoulder to make it 3-1. That score held until just over four minutes into the third period, when Pastrnak made his presence felt again – as a playmaker. Taylor Hall finished a cross-ice give-and-go with Pastrnak to pot a point-blank shot and extend the lead to 4-1.
The Hurricanes cut the lead back to two later in the third, when defenseman Jaccob Slavin fired a shot from the point and it found its way through the glove side of Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman. But the damage had been done and Carolina ultimately ran out of time to mount a comeback.
The series resumes with Game 4 on Sunday, with a matinee start time of 12:30 p.m. ET.
PHOTOS: Bruins take on Hurricanes in Game 3 of 2022 playoff series
Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.