Tuesday night at TD Garden did not get off to the best start for the Bruins.

In fact, it happened on Carolina’s first shot of the evening, too. A no-angle weird shot on goal from the Hurricanes’ Martin Necas hit Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, floated up and disappeared into the nothingness of a goaltender’s gear, and appeared to pop into the back of the Boston net. That was the ruling on the ice, too. Much like Saturday’s game against the Panthers, the Bruins appeared set to have to work out of an early hole, with the ‘Canes on the board just 1:59 into the first period of play.

However, a video review confirmed that the puck never crossed the goal line, Swayman and the Bruins were saved and back at 0-0.

But the Bruins failed to make that goal-line break count, as the Bruins struggled to get their engines firing at the other end in what finished as a 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes at TD Garden.

• For the Bruins, this game was truly lost in the second period, as the Bruins took a step backwards after what was a strong opening frame, with just four shots for each team, and with a checking game that made you think it was late May, not early April. Calling it a step backwards was really the best and only way to describe it, too, as the Bruins’ offense stalled out, with just two shots through the halfway point of the middle period, and with Carolina’s offense finding its gear.

  “I loved our first,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the loss. “I thought we were really physical. I thought we were engaged, a couple of good scoring chances [and] they had a couple. Second period, I thought they came out and they pushed hard. They were over top of us. I thought their checking skills, were superior to ours and led to a lot of us playing in our zone. And then, obviously, they got ahead of us.”

  The loss put an end to Boston’s four-game win streak.

  Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars from a showdown at TD Garden…

• Third Star: Charlie McAvoy

  

  Apr 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

  In a game short on Bruins rising to the challenge, the lone Boston goal of the evening came off the stick of defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who now has goals in back-to-back games for the first time since a two-game goal streak in October.

  Charlie McAvoy blasts one past Kochetkov.
  
  2-1 game. pic.twitter.com/rBObtSBjTB

  — Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 10, 2024

  McAvoy, who played just under 24 minutes in the losing effort, also added one hit and three blocks in this contest.

• More on the Bruins

  – Four Bruins to watch over final four games of season

  – Danton Heinen earns nod as B’s Masterton nominee

  – How the Bruins could manage playoff rotation

• Second Star: Pyotr Kochetkov

  

  Apr 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

  The Bruins really didn’t make Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov sweat like they needed to in this game. But Kochetkov made the saves he needed to make in this one, particularly in the third period when the Bruins had an early push in an attempt to knot things up at 2-2. During that spell, Kochetkov’s best save came on a developing 2-on-1 sequence that saw David Pastrnak thread a pass to Danton Heinen at the net front.

  A massive, massive stop from Kochetkov to start the third.
  
  Danton Heinen, who scored last week in Raleigh, nearly swatted home a bouncing puck but #52 says no. pic.twitter.com/8WtqgDdP29

  — Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) April 10, 2024

  Kochetkov, who has been one of the best goalies in the NHL over the second half of the season, finished with 22 saves in the victory.

• First Star: Andrei Svechnikov

  

  Jan 2, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) skates against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. (Danny Wild/USA TODAY Sports)

  Boston’s a long way from Michigan, but the Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov decided to bring The Mitt to Boston, as he opened the scoring in this game with a ‘Michigan’ goal on Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman.

  Andrei Svechnikov hits another Michigan 😱 pic.twitter.com/uohQHTZ1FI

  — Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) April 10, 2024

  This is now the third ‘Michigan’ goal of Svechnikov’s NHL career, and credit to him, as he caught the Boston defense and Swayman sleeping behind the goal.

  “Well, I mean, he did it so quick tonight,” Montgomery said. “[Svechnikov] beats a guy one-on-one and in the corner. We don’t get a piece of him. So now he has all day to make that play. So the goalie’s got to be aware, but that’s a tough play on the goalie and defenseman. All you can do is meet him at the post and you got to meet a stick.”

  Svechnikov also added an assist on the Teuvo Teravainen goal that doubled Carolina’s second-period lead, and added two hits and four shots in 15:06 of time on ice by the night’s end.

Sign me up for the 98.5 The Sports Hub email newsletter!

Get the latest Boston sports news and analysis, plus exclusive on-demand content and special giveaways from Boston's Home for Sports, 98.5 The Sports Hub.

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.