You could say the Boston Bruins stole Thursday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden.
The B’s were trailing until the final minute of the game but tied the score with a goal to force overtime. After a scoreless OT, the Bruins gave their best shootout performance of the season to secure a 2-1 win.
Bruins backup goalie Anton Khudobin picked up the win and made 29 saves in a solid effort.
The Bruins improved to 13-10-1 with the victory, while the Hurricanes fell to 9-9-5.
Here’s a recap of Bruins-Hurricanes.
CAPTAIN OUT
Zdeno Chara missed his fifth straight game with a lower body injury. He has resumed skating with the team, though, which is a good sign.
HOMETOWN KID
Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin opened the scoring at 7:37 of the second period on a slap shot from the point. The goal was his ninth point (two goals, seven assists) in 23 games this season. It came on the power play.
Hanifin’s goal drew some cheers from the TD Garden crowd, likely from the friends and family who came to watch the Norwood, Mass., native. The 19-year-old also played at Boston College and was selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
POOR SECOND PERIOD
The Bruins gave up a 3-on-0 break, a power-play goal and 16 shot attempts in the second period. There also was a stretch of a little more than seven minutes during which Boston failed to register a single shot on goal. The B’s didn’t score on two power-play opportunities, either.
Simply put, it wasn’t a good 20 minutes for the home team.
THIRD-PERIOD COMEBACK
For the second straight game, the Bruins tied the game in the third period to force overtime. This time they waited a little longer, though. Torey Krug was credited with a goal in the final minute of the third period after the puck deflected off Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen’s skate and into the net.
The B’s did ramp up the intensity while trailing 1-0, and it was reflected in their puck possession (see tweet below).
OT
The Bruins had a 5-2 shots on goal edge in overtime, as well as a 4-on-3 power play, but they still couldn’t find a winning goal. The ‘Canes had a great chance to win at the end of OT, but Jeff Skinner missed his second breakaway of the game.
Shootout
The Bruins fielded their three best shootout players and scored twice, earning the second point and a much-needed win.
Here’s a full recap of the shootout.
Round 1: Ryan Spooner (BOS) goal, Jaccob Slavin (CAR) goal
Round 2: Brad Marchand (BOS) no goal, Noah Hanifin (CAR) no goal
Round 3: David Pastrnak (BOS) goal, Jeff Skinner (CAR) no goal
UP NEXT
The Bruins hit the road for a Saturday game in Buffalo against Jack Eichel and the Sabres at 1 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
