Hurricanes’ mission in Game 4: ‘The top guys have got to be better. It’s that simple.’
The question was about frustration and how much the Carolina Hurricanes were causing for the Boston Bruins.
Bruins forward David Pastrnak had an answer Friday.
“There’s no time for frustration in the playoffs,” Pastrnak said. “You’ve got to suck it up. They’re a good team and we know we are. We have to prove it.”
That response from Pastrnak came after the Bruins’ morning skate before Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the Canes. A more resounding response came later from the Bruins, who earned a 4-2 victory at TD Garden.
After losing the first two games of the best-of-seven series, the Bruins were all but in a win-or-else situation. The Canes had outscored them 10-3 in the two games at PNC Arena. They were finishing checks, finishing off scoring chances, doing all the things large and small that made them the Metropolitan Division champions.
But the Bruins’ pushback game Friday once back on home ice, will make for an even intriguing Game 4 on Sunday at TD Garden. Pastrnak and the Bruins’ other top guns delivered, especially on special teams, and now the question is will there be more of the same Sunday, or will the Canes be the team to regroup and respond?
The series will go back to Raleigh either tied 2-2 or with the Canes leading 3-1. Game 4 is that important.
Canes defenseman Brendan Smith, bloodied Friday after taking a big hit along the boards from Connor Clifton, said that no one expected the Stanley Cup playoffs to be a smooth ride.
“And it never will be,” Smith said. “And that’s where you have to fight your adversity. ... That’s why, in my opinion, it’s the hardest trophy to win. It’s so difficult and everything has to be like a well-oiled machine.”
The Canes’ power play often looks like it’s leaking oil, in a sense, and especially Friday. Not only were the Hurricanes 0-for-5 on the power play, but they allowed a shorthanded goal in the first period to the Bruins’ Charlie Coyle that tied the score and changed everything.
“It was tough for us tonight, the difference in the game, obviously,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Brind’Amour had no issue with rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, who made his first playoff start Friday and had 24 saves. He had no issue with the Canes’ 5-on-5 play, which produced the goals by Vincent Trocheck in the first and then Jaccob Slavin in the third.
“Clearly we know what the issue is,” Brind’Amour said. “We had a decent first period and then our power play gave up the shortie and they got some life out of it.”
.JPG "HurricanesBruinsHockey (4).JPG")
The Canes, who had the league’s best penalty killing in the regular season, also allowed two goals as the Bruins went 2-for-5 on the power play. The first, by Pastrnak, came after Boston could not score on 91 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage — the Canes’ Brett Pesce and Slavin both blocking shots — but then converted with the man advantage.
“If you give too many looks to their top guys they’re going to make you pay,” Brind’Amour said.
If anything needs to change for the Canes on Friday, it’s the play of their first power-play unit — Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck and Tony DeAngelo. The skill is there, the puckhandling is there. The execution has been missing.
“It’s our job to give us momentum and we didn’t do a good enough job,” Aho said.
To which Brind’Amour added, “The top guys have got to be better. It’s that simple.”
The Canes’ depth at forward will help Sunday. Jordan Martinook was injured in the second period — “He looked pretty rough in there,” Brind’Amour said after the game —and is questionable for Game 4. Either Derek Stepan or Steven Lorentz will likely be in the lineup for the first time in the series.
This story was originally published May 7, 2022 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Hurricanes’ mission in Game 4: ‘The top guys have got to be better. It’s that simple.’."
