by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / Hurricanes.com
TORONTO – The Carolina Hurricanes saw a 2-0 lead evaporate in the third period in a 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the First Round.
Justin Williams and Jordan Martinook helped the Canes build an advantage through the first 40 minutes, but the Bruins roared back with four straight goals in the final frame to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Here are five takeaways from Game 4.
- Collapse
The Hurricanes were about 13 minutes away from leveling up the series at two games apiece.
It took the Bruins, who took the St. Louis Blues to seven games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, just six minutes and 51 seconds to alter the entire course of the game – and, potentially the series.
Boston netted four straight goals in less than seven minutes to turn the Canes’ 2-0 lead into a 4-2 deficit, and though the Canes fought back to draw within a goal with 1:27 left in regulation, their prior sins of the period were too much to overcome.
It was a dagger of a loss, an uncharacteristic, seemingly inexplicable collapse in arguably the team’s most important game of the season.
“We know the way we need to play, and clearly that definitely wasn’t it in the third period,” Martinook said.
“We took the foot off the gas, and the other team certainly had it on. Everything that could have went wrong, went wrong,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s not even the score; it’s how we played that period that’s really disturbing for me. I’ve got to have my guys better ready to go in the third for such a crucial game in our season.”
- Not Their Game
The third period, that span of 6:51 and beyond, was not the Canes.
“It was, quite frankly, as ugly of a period as I’ve seen us play,” Williams said. “The whole period was certainly not what we’re accustomed to, and we got it handed to us.”
The Canes, known for puck possession and shot volume, didn’t even record a shot on goal in the third period until Teuvo Teravainen scored at the 18:33 mark.
That is certainly unlike the Canes.
“It was tough to watch from this team. That’s not something I’ve seen out of us, ever,” Brind’Amour said. “You give the other team a lot of credit. They came after it. But the lack of push back that we needed is something I haven’t seen out of this group. I’ll take the heat for that. I needed to have my guys better prepared for that third period that was coming. I’ll learn as well.”
It began with Jake DeBrusk weaving his way through the Canes’ defense and then eluded a diving James Reimer, who wandered well out of his crease, to get the Bruins on the board.
Not even three minutes later, Connor Clifton blasted a one-timer from the top of the right circle to tie the game at two.
Then, 90 seconds after that, Brad Marchand snuck in alone and scored on a breakaway to put the Bruins ahead for the first time in the game, 3-2.
“I certainly have to take ownership of that third goal,” Williams said. “Being in the league as long as I have, you can’t turn the puck over at that juncture when you haven’t really had a shot on goal the whole period. They end up with a breakaway the other way.”
DeBrusk scored his second of the period at the 14:17 mark to make it a 4-2 game in favor of the Bruins.
“Going into the third period with a two-goal lead and think that it’s just going to be easy, especially against a team like that that doesn’t give you much, and then you do turn it over and you see what happens,” Martinook said. “It’s just us being mentally sharp enough and resilient enough to play … the game you need to play.”
3. Learning a lesson
As tough as it is, Game 4 is a tough lessoned learned for the Canes, who qualified for the postseason in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2002.
“We weren’t ready to continue to dig in that we needed to do. Little battles. They threw everything at us, and we didn’t have an answer,” Brind’Amour said. “That was tough to watch, that’s for sure. I love this team. I love my guys. We learned a lesson today, though.”
“We’ve had plenty of leads, and the message was go after it, get the next one. That’s what it always is with our team,” Williams said. “The sharpness wasn’t there from everybody. It snowballed into something we didn’t want, and we couldn’t catch it in time. That’s on myself and everybody to slow it down and do the right thing. We couldn’t get it done.”
- Another Injury
As if the loss wasn’t crushing enough, the Canes lost another one of their most reliable players.
In the third period, with the Canes still leading 2-1, Charlie McAvoy caught Jordan Staal with a heavy body check, and the Canes’ captain immediately headed off the ice once he got to his feet.
Brind’Amour didn’t have an update on Staal’s status after the game.
“We never want to see that happen. He’s a huge part of our team,” Martinook said. “It was going the wrong way before Jordo got hurt. That whole period, we just didn’t have … the mindset wasn’t there. It’s the playoffs. You know they’re going to come, and you know how you need to do it to be successful. That’s on us.”
- Everything Prior
It’s only natural to hone in on the third period from Game 4; that is, after all, what ultimately decided the game.
But what came before it seemed as if it was going to lead to the Canes equalizing the series.
“We had a decent game going and did some good things, but that finish, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Brind’Amour said. “We’ve got to be better.”
Though it took a little over nine minutes for the Canes to record their first shot on goal of the game, it was worth the wait.
Williams walked the puck off the near wall and fired a shot that eluded Jaroslav Halak through a leaping Jake Gardiner and Ryan Dzingel’s screen at the top of the crease. The goal was Williams’ first point of the postseason, and Gardiner’s primary assist was his first playoff point with the Canes. Gardiner has played 22 of his 31 career NHL playoff games against the Bruins, and he’s posted 10 points (1g, 9a) in those games.
Williams opens the scoring
00:39 • August 17th, 2020
In the second period, Martinook snapped off a quick wrist shot in transition to beat Halak and double the Canes’ lead to 2-0.
Martinook pots wrist shot
00:36 • August 17th, 2020
Aho recorded the lone assist on the play. He leads the Canes and all of the NHL in scoring this postseason with 11 points (3g, 8a) in seven games, and he’s found the scoresheet in every game except Saturday’s Game 3.
Up Next
A do-or-die Game 5 is set for Wednesday at 4 p.m.
“They have to win four. Right now, we don’t have any leeway or fallback options. We’ve got to go, go, go. When your backs are up against the wall, that’s when you learn what you’re all about,” Williams said. “It ain’t over yet, and we’re going to give it our best.”
