In the end, the Carolina Hurricanes were too much. They had too much speed, too much offense, too much puck luck and too many goals for the Boston Bruins to change the script in Game 7.
Carolina continued the series trend, as the home team won all four of the games. Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the B’s was more of the same formula that the Hurricanes used in Games 1, 2, and 5 to neutralize Boston’s best scorers and force the depth players to step up.
It was too tall a task for coach Bruce Cassidy and company.
Rumored to be a Boston target at the trade deadline, Max Domi instead went to Raleigh and played the game of his life, scoring two goals and adding an assist. The game-winner came when Charlie McAvoy found himself in no-man’s land, too far away from the net to prevent Domi from exploiting an opening behind goaltender Jeremy Swayman after he was out near the top of his crease and not deep enough to contest the winning shot.
Jake DeBrusk scored to give Boston hope in a 2-1 game, but when the B’s hit iron at one end in the third period, the play went the opposite 190 feet and Domi gave the home team an insurmountable 3-1 lead. David Pastrnak scored with 22 seconds left on a 6-on-5 situation to make it a one-goal game but there was not enough time for an equalizer.
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For the Bruins to beat a team that finished nine points higher in the standings and atop the Metropolitan Division, they needed to have a near-flawless game. They needed the kind of effort and luck that would have taken the crowd out of it. What the Bruins really needed was to get an early lead.
As had been the case in Games 1 and 2, the B’s had a chance to draw first blood. Taylor Hall nearly gave them that advantage with a point-blank shot off the rush, but Antti Raanta made a tremendous save.
Carolina’s first goal was the result of a bad switch that left Teuvo Teravainen wide open in front of the Boston net. Brandon Carlo was there, but unable to break up the Domi pass that the Finnish forward flicked home to get the almost 20,000 fans in attendance rocking.
When Domi made it 2-0, that was worst-case scenario, so give the B’s credit for coming back with the DeBrusk goal to stop the bleeding and make a game of it.
A key to Carolina winning the series was its ability to deny the Bruins’ top forwards the time and space needed to make consistent plays. In Boston, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak were able to find the open ice to generate offense and carry the team to three victories. On the road, the Hurricanes used man coverage to harangue and disrupt their ability to handle pucks cleanly.
The Hurricanes defense was also able to generate offense from the blue line. If they weren’t scoring goals, they were getting pucks to the net that eventually resulted in goals. Boston didn’t get enough of that from its back end, with Connor Clifton and Derek Forbort the only two defenders to find the back of the net in the series with one apiece.
Boston had star players to match Carolina’s, but the Hurricanes got better production and contributions from their entire roster, while the B’s did not. The Bruins were a Trent Frederic hit post and Charlie Coyle shot in the third period from tying it up, but make no mistake: the Hurricanes were the better team. They are made for the playoffs, and in Game 7 it showed.
It all added up on Saturday to a game that the Bruins were in, but couldn’t make the plays they needed.
What happens next with the Bruins? That's a debate for later. Bergeron is without a contract, and fans can be forgiven for being a little gunshy after David Krejci opted to leave the team a year ago to play in his native Czech Republic. Until Bergeron’s next step comes into focus, it will likely be the central topic of discussion surrounding the team.
The future looks bright with Swayman in net, and he helped turn momentum in the series. He may not have been elite in the elimination game, but was solid and gave the B's a chance to win. Things are a little more uncertain for Charlestown native Matt Grzelcyk, who didn't play in Games 6 and 7, and was held without a point in five games, with a minus-6 rating.
There is certainly room for general manager Don Sweeney to look at some cap management changes to free up money, but after this first-round playoff loss, there are a lot of areas to address to make the Bruins a true contender.
It will be a long summer, so Sweeney will have the time between now. The draft begins July 7. Free agency a week after that. This could be one of the biggest offseasons in recent Bruins history.
