by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / Hurricanes.com
TORONTO – The Carolina Hurricanes attempted to erase a two-goal deficit in the third period but came up just short in a 3-1 loss in Game 3.
Though Nino Niederreiter got the Canes on the board in the third period, the difference was Sean Kuraly’s shorthanded tally, scored just 1:16 into the final frame.
Here are five takeaways from Game 3.
- The First Period
The Canes came out in Game 3 with one of their best opening periods of the playoffs. Teuvo Teravainen hit a post on an early power play, and later in the period, an inconclusive video review denied the Canes the first goal of the game. In all, the Canes controlled play and out-shot the Bruins, 15-7.
“We had a good start. The first period was fine. I thought we deserved better,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We had a couple good looks and posts. One real close to being in, if not in, but you can’t see it go in. It was right there for us.”
Though they didn’t have anything to show for it on the scoreboard, it was an encouraging first 20 minutes, a period the team could have built on.
“I thought we had a really good first period,” Justin Williams said. “I don’t know after that, if we thought it was going to be like that the whole time … I’m not sure what it was.”
- The Second & Third Periods
Just 14 seconds into the second period, Charlie Coyle batted a puck out of midair, a baseball whack past Petr Mrazek on the power play that put the Bruins up, 1-0.
That tilted the ice in Boston’s favor, and from there, the Bruins dictated the pace of play, pushing back against a team that couldn’t quite handle that push back, for whatever reason.
“They pushed back. That’s what they do. They’re a championship hockey game with a lot of pedigree and a lot of playoff experience,” Williams said. “We weren’t ready for the push back. As a result, we had to chase the game.”
In the second period alone, the Bruins got the better of the Canes in shots on goal (20-8) and shot attempts (30-17).
It was early in the third period, not even 80 seconds deep, when Sean Kuraly put his stick down in front of the net to redirect Coyle’s shot, a shorthanded tally that doubled the Bruins’ advantage and added weight to the Canes’ anchor of a power play that was 0-for-4 at that point in the contest.
“You wouldn’t have enough time,” Brind’Amour quipped when asked what was amiss with the man advantage. “We were just sluggish. We actually had a good one in the first period and hit a post. Our entries haven’t been crisp enough. Again, you’re facing one of the best teams for a reason, and if you’re not sharp, it’s going to look like that. I guess I’d say the power play today epitomized our game. We were just sluggish, not first to anything and not quite doing everything right. You add all those things up, and it’s lucky we were hanging around at the end of the game.”
- Breaking Through
The power play did finally get the Canes on the board about five minutes later on a gift of a goal. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who started for the Bruins after Tuukka Rask suddenly opted out of the postseason, cleared the puck up the middle of the ice. Nino Niederreiter was right there to glove the puck down and backhand it into the empty net.
While that goal gave the Canes some hope, they still couldn’t establish much of a push against a staunch Bruins defense that clogs up the blue line and gets in front of shots.
“We’ve got to be there mentally,” Jaccob Slavin said. “We know how to play the game. We know how to do it the right way. It’s just a matter of actually doing it. We’ve got to get back to that.”
- Svechnikov Injured
A bad game was made even worse in the third period.
Andrei Svechnikov and Zdeno Chara were jostling in front of the net for positioning. Svechnikov’s right leg bent awkwardly under him as Chara knocked him down. The Canes’ budding star had to be helped off the ice by Dougie Hamilton and head athletic trainer Doug Bennett.
“I don’t have an update. I know he’s getting looked at right now,” Brind’Amour said after the game. “He fell really awkward. It certainly didn’t look good. We’ll know more at some point.”
Brind’Amour was later asked a question about rallying his team after a tough loss, which was made even more concerning given Svechnikov’s injury.
“Right now, it’s tough because you see a kid go down, and that injury looks really bad. That’s all that’s going through my head,” Brind’Amour said. “I hate it for him. That’s it.”
- Mrazek Keeps It a Game
There was no questioning that Petr Mrazek was dialed in for Game 3. Had it not been for his sharp performance, the Bruins could have easily glided into the third period with a multi-goal advantage. Instead, the Canes were still within a single shot of tying the game.
In the second period, a frame in which the Bruins pushed back and took over the game, Mrazek kept his right pad flush to the ice to deny a wrap-around bid from Brad Marchand. Later, he turned aside Ondrej Kase’s breakaway opportunity, both times keeping his team within reach.
Mrazek finished the day with 36 saves on 38 shots.
Up Next
The Canes will look to rebound in Game 4, which is set for 8 p.m. on Monday.
“We’ve got a lot more to give,” Williams said. “We plan on being here for a long time, so we’ve got to show up.”
