Domi leads Hurricanes to victory
Game 7 triumph sets up series vs. N.Y. or Penguins
RALEIGH, N.C. — Twice before, the Carolina Hurricanes had reached the playoffs only to see their ascent to becoming a serious Stanley Cup contender blocked by the BostonBruins.
Twonewcomers helped the Hurricanes finally push past their playoff bully — and in a Game7, at that.
Midseason acquisition Max Domi scored twice in the second period while Antti Raanta had 27 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2, Saturday to win their first-round playoffseries.
Teuvo Teravainen also scored for the Hurricanes, who finally put away a team that swept them in the 2019 Eastern Conference final then took a five-game first-round series in the Toronto bubble a yearlater.
“It’s such a different feeling coming into this one,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I think back in the other ones, if we would’ve won, you guys might have been a little surprised.
“This time around, I felt like it was our time. Our guys havematured. I think they felt that,too.”
Carolina moves on to the second round to face the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 between the New York Rangers andthe Penguins.
One thing is certain — winning the Metropolitan Division title paved the way by securing home-ice advantage. Thiswas a series in which neither team could manage a roadwin, with the Hurricanes eventually getting the final word backed by yet another rowdyhome crowd.
“Obviously we needed one on the road, and we couldn’t do that,” Bruins captain PatriceBergeron said.
Carolina hung on after squandering a 2-0 series lead and then a clunker performance in Thursday’s Game 6 losswith a chance to advance.
“Game 7, Game 4, 5, 6 — whatever it is, you’re advancing, which is the best thing,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said.
Domi was an unlikely star in this one. Carolina acquired him ahead of the March trade deadline, and he rewarded
themwith his first career postseason goals. He also assisted on Teravainen’s goal with a perfect pass to the top of the crease for the first-period putaway.
“Obviously I was pretty lucky to come to a team like this,”Domi said.
Then there’s Raanta, who joined Frederik Andersen in the team’s overhaul of its goaltender position. But with Andersen injured late in the regular season, Raanta took the lead in the crease despite never starting a postseason gamebefore.
He was again steady in net. His biggest stop came early with a full-split save to deny Taylor Hall near the left post on a 2-on-1 chance in the first periodof a scoreless game.
David Pastrnak scored one with 21.7 seconds left with Boston having pulled Jeremy Swayman for the extra attacker. From there, the Hurricanes had to hang on through one tense clock-killing shift beforethey could celebrate.
“When they got the second one, it was probably the longest 20 seconds in my life for sure,”Raanta said.
JakeDeBrusk scored in the second period for the Bruins, while Swayman finished with 28 saves. But the Bruins found themselves playing catch-up after Domi’s first goal, which had him skating in on the left side to bury a redirect attempt fromJordan Staal at 3:14 of the second.
Later, Teravainen whipped a pass to Domi for a one-timer. The puck zipped past Swayman at 10:33 of the second for the 3-1 lead and another goal comingwithin a few feet of the crease.
“We pride ourselves on Dzone coverage, stuff we’ve done very well all year,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Two breakdowns that, yeah, they made plays, but more on us not to get the job done defensively — be in the rightspots, good sticks.”
The Hurricanes improved to 6-0 in Game 7s since the former Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina in 1997. That includes the 2006 Stanley Cup final against Edmonton, as well as a secondround overtime win at Boston in2009.