Sunday, May 8, 2022. 3:23 PM
BOSTON – Brad Marchand had two goals and three assists as the Boston Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 on Sunday to tie their series at 2-2.
The Bruins were without their top two defensemen after Charlie McAvoy was dropped from the roster at the last minute. He joined Hampus Lindholm on the sidelines.
Marchand breaks the tie at 5 against 3
Boston’s squad came from behind twice and Marchand broke the deadlock early in the third period to help his team earn a second straight playoff victory.
Patrice Bergeron had a goal and two assists, David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist while Jake DeBrusk threaded the needle once for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves.
Brett Pesce and Jordan Staal replied for the Hurricanes. Antti Raanta made a comeback and blocked 23 pucks in net for the Metropolitan Division champions.
Game 5 of this series is Tuesday night in North Carolina. One of the two teams will be able to advance to the next round on Thursday evening, in Boston.
Pesce gave the Hurricanes the lead in the sixth minute of play. It was the fourth straight time in this series that Rod Brind’Amour’s men went first in scoring.
Bergeron tied the game with four minutes left in the first period. He slipped a loose puck between Raanta’s pads.
Just 33 seconds into the second period, Nino Niederreiter backhanded the puck to Staal, who fired a pinpoint one-timer to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins took advantage of a power play to bring both teams back to square one. Marchand sent the puck to Raanta and the puck stayed in the half circle, where DeBrusk pushed it into the back of the net.
Bergeron cut near the eye
Brind’Amour challenged the goal for what he felt was goaltender obstruction, but the referees upheld their decision. The Bruins got a power play with the decision and it turned into a two-man advantage when Sebastian Aho hit Bergeron in the face.
The Bruins took the lead with just a second left on the two-man power play. Marchand scored with a wrist shot and Pastrnak scored the insurance goal five minutes later.
McAvoy removed from training
Prior to the game, McAvoy was removed from the Bruins roster and placed under the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol.
To replace McAvoy on the roster, the Bruins added defenseman Josh Brown, who played six games with the team after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline.
The 24-year-old McAvoy was a 2016 Bruins first-round pick. Norris Trophy, given to the best defenseman in the NHL, in each of the last two campaigns.
In 2022, he achieved personal career highs in goals (10) and assists (46). He led all defensemen on the team in points on the season and averaged 24 minutes 39 seconds.