National Hockey League
Boston 5, Carolina 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, May 9, 2019
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees: Marc Joannette, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen: Matt MacPherson, Jonny Murray
Attendance: 17565

The Carolina Hurricanes were embraced as a "Bunch of Jerks" in advancing through two rounds of the playoffs, but a rough style of play cost them in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Bruins.

A slew of third-period penalties by Carolina allowed the Bruins to score two power-play goals in a span of 28 seconds and rally past the visiting Hurricanes 5-2 in the opener of the best-of-seven series Thursday.

The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead into the third before Marcus Johansson and Patrice Bergeron scored on the man advantage to give the Bruins a 3-2 edge.

Charlie Coyle and Chris Wagner added empty-netters 11 seconds apart late in the period as Boston extended its winning streak to four while halting Carolina's at six.

Tuukka Rask continued his strong playoff showing with 29 saves for the Bruins. Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek stopped 23 shots in his return from a two-game absence following a lower-body injury.

Game 2 is Sunday in Boston.

The Bruins, who entered the game as the most dangerous team on the power play in the playoffs, converting at 28.6 percent, took advantage when Jordan Staal boarded Wagner to lead to Johansson's score on a cleanup of a Brad Marchand shot at 2:26.

Dougie Hamilton was then called for roughing 15 seconds later, and Bergeron tallied on a feed from Marchand at 2:54 for the go-ahead score.

"The penalties put us on our heels right from the start," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We never recovered."

Hamilton, a former Bruins first-round pick who heard plenty of jeers from the crowd, was again called for interference at 5:29 of the third, but the Hurricanes killed that penalty.

"He was trying to be engaged and maybe took it too far," Brind'Amour said of Hamilton. "I was frustrated at everybody on some of the calls, but we've got to kill (the penalties)."

Prior to the third period, the Bruins went scoreless on two power-play chances while committing three penalties of their own. Carolina had a 25-18 edge in shots through the first two periods.

"We had the early penalties so we started to get frustrated," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Then we kind of settled in and realized (being) tough is winning puck battles, going to the front of the net and blocking shots. ... We figured it out eventually."

Steven Kampfer, playing his second playoff game with defenseman Charlie McAvoy suspended for an illegal check in the series finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets, got the Bruins on the board at 2:55 of the first period. However, the early lead lasted less than a minute.

The Hurricanes replied three seconds after Sean Kuraly went to the box for roughing. Sebastian Aho deflected a pass from Andrei Svechnikov in front of the net for a 1-1 tie at 3:42 of the first.

Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara ended the opening period in the locker room after blocking an Aho shot with his right foot and limping down the tunnel. Chara returned early in the second.

Carolina took a 2-1 lead in hectic fashion at 9:18 of the second. Greg McKegg's shot trickled through Rask's legs just before the forward crashed into the goal and knocked the net off its moorings. The goal counted without review.

"They're not going to go away," Wagner told NBC Sports postgame of the Hurricanes. "They're physical all over the ice, maybe to a fault, so we've got to take advantage."

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Carolina   Boston
Sebastian Aho 1 Points Marcus Johansson 2
Sebastian Aho 1 Goals Marcus Johansson 1
Micheal Ferland 1 Assists Brad Marchand 2
Sebastian Aho 1 Power Play Goals Marcus Johansson 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Petr Mrazek .852 Save Percentage Tuukka Rask .935
Petr Mrazek 23 Saves Tuukka Rask 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Carolina 31 2 1-3 3-5 10 31
Boston 28 5 2-5 2-3 6 28
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Bruins have a W/L % of .612 after a win and .576 after a loss.
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .568 after a loss.