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Brad Marchand, Bruins Rally Past Hurricanes in Game 4 Behind 3rd-Period Outburst
August 18, 2020
The Boston Bruins grabbed a commanding 3-1 series lead on the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-3 win in Game 4 on Monday night.
Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead 11:40 into the third period, and Jake DeBrusk doubled their advantage minutes later.
Teuvo Teravainen got a goal back for the Hurricanes with 1:27 left on the clock. Carolina pulled goaltender James Reimer, but the extra man couldn't help the team force overtime.
Boston finished with a 33-19 edge in shots, which doesn't accurately reflect how the game unfolded. The Bruins' attack was mostly silent before exploding in the third period.
Coming back from this kind of collapse will be difficult for Carolina.
Notable Performers
Jake DeBrusk, LW, Bruins: 2 goals, 3 SOG
Brad Marchand, LW, Bruins: 1 goal, 5 SOG
Joakim Nordstrom, LW, Bruins: 1 assist, 2 SOG, 7 hits
Justin Williams, RW, Hurricanes: 1 goal, 5 SOG
Third-Period Surge Puts Bruins in Driver's Seat
With 7:30 gone in the third period, the Bruins trailed 2-0. Less than seven minutes later, they were ahead 4-2.
DeBrusk got Boston's first goal at the 7:26 mark, and Connor Clifton tied things up with 10:10 off the clock.
The Bruins simply steamrolled the Hurricanes in the third period before Teravainen's goal.
Nobody will be happier about the Bruins' turnaround than Jaroslav Halak, who looked shaky in his second start since replacing Tuukka Rask.
The 35-year-old wasn't a total sieve Monday, but the Hurricanes' first two goals resulted from shots he could've saved. Perhaps he caught the trajectory of Williams' effort a little late because of the bodies in front of the net. When it came to Jordan Martinook's tally, he had no excuses.
If Carolina has any chance of overcoming its massive series deficit, Halak might hold the key.
Hurricanes Waste Strong Start
Carolina was without the services of Andrei Svechnikov, who underwent an MRI on Sunday after getting hurt in Game 3. That opened up a spot on the Hurricanes' first line, with coach Rod Brind'Amour giving the nod to Martinook.
The 28-year-old delivered when he scored the Hurricanes' second goal of the game in the second period.
In general, Martinook seamlessly fit into his new position.
According to the News & Observer's Luke DeCock, Svechnikov had a boot on his right ankle, which isn't a reassuring sign as to his availability for Game 5 and beyond. Getting this kind of effort from Martinook might become more necessary over the remainder of the series.
Justin Williams put Carolina ahead with 9:17 left in the first period.
Heading into the final frame, Carolina looked to be in firm control. Then things started slowly unraveling almost from the minute the period opened.
The Bruins looked like a different team and were the far more aggressive squad. That was never more evident than when Charlie McAvoy laid a big hit on Jordan Staal that sent the Hurricanes forward to the locker room. Moments after that, Clifton delivered the game-tying goal.
From there, a go-ahead score felt inevitable for Boston.
What's Next?
The two teams are back on the ice Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, with television coverage on NBCSN in the United States.