Hurricanes rout Bruins for 2-0 lead
RALEIGH, N.C. – Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes overcame the early loss of goalie Antti Raanta to beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the firstround series.
Jesper Fast had the game’s first goal for Carolina in another strong offensive showing to start this series. Rookie goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov came on in relief of Raanta to finish with 29 saves. Game 3 is Friday night in Boston. The Hurricanes also played with a physical edge against a Boston team that has knocked them out of the playoffs twice in three postseasons. And it came in a game that quickly went from competitive to feisty and downright ornery in quick fashion – namely after Boston’s David Pastrnak knocked Raanta from the game midway through the first period when he struck the goaltender in the head with a gloved hand as he tried to skate past him.
Already down injured No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen to start the playoffs, Carolina turned to Kochetkov as Raanta exited while bleeding from an apparent mouth injury.
Patrice Bergeron scored both of Boston’s goals, the first on a loose rebound in the second and then another on a redirection near the crease in the third.
After Raanta’s exit, the teams constantly traded words and hits, along with repeatedly tussling after the whistle. There was the jarring shoulder-tochest blast by Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov that leveled Hampus Lindholm and left him wobbly as he was helped to the locker room late in the second.
Then there was Boston’s Brad Marchand giving a bit of a shove to Kochetkov as he tried to play a puck. The goaltender objected and gave Marchand a shove after the play, only to see Marchand immediately swing his stick and pop Kochetkov in the right arm to draw a slashing penalty.
Lightning 5, Maple Leafs 3: Victor
Hedman had a goal and three assists for his first four-point playoff game and visiting Tampa Bay beat Toronto in Game 2 to even the first-round series.
Nikita Kucherov added a goal and two assists and Brayden Point, Corey Perry and Brandon Hagel also scored for two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves in a bounce-back performance after the Lightning dropped the opener 5-0.
Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist for Toronto, Michael Bunting and Alexander Kerfoot also scored and Jack Campbell made 29 saves. Auston Matthews had two assists.
Game 3 is Friday night in Florida. The Lightning opened the scoring on a power play with 1.4 seconds left in the first period. After making a big stop on Point from the slot, Campbell was beaten by Hedman from in tight on a broken play where the puck popped out to the defenseman on the goaltender’s doorstep.