Hurricanes send Bruins home; Tampa advances
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 Boston Bruins.
Two newcomers helped the Hurricanes finally push past their playoff bully — and in a Game 7, 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 on Saturday to win their first-round playoff series.
Teuvo Teravainen also scored for the Hurricanes, who finally put away a team that swept them in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals then took a five-game first-round series in the Toronto bubble a year later.
“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 have matured. 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 and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
One thing is certain: winning the Metropolitan Division title paved the way by securing homeice advantage. This was a series in which neither team could manage a road win, with the Hurricanes eventually getting the final word backed by yet another rowdy home crowd.
“Obviously we needed one on the road, and we couldn’t do that,” Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said.
Carolina hung on after squandering a 2-0 series lead and then a clunker performance in Thursday’s Game 6 loss with 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 them with 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.
LIGHTNING 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1
TORONTO Nick Paul scored twice, including an incredible individual effort on the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, and Tampa Bay beat Toronto in Game 7 to win their first-round playoff series.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 shots for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto, which hasn’t reached the second round since 2004 and is now 0-9 in elimination games over the last five postseasons after also losing 4-3 in Game 6 at Tampa, Florida, two nights earlier. Jack Campbell had 23 saves.
The Maple Leafs were once again unable to push through and finally flip a long, ugly narrative of playoff failures for a franchise that has now lost its last seven series, including six straight dating back to 2017.
Toronto is now 7-3 all-time at home in Game 7s, including a loss at Scotiabank Arena last season after blowing a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens.