The Bruins stumbled into the holiday break.
Boston saw its three-game win streak snapped with a 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes (who wore Hartford Whalers jerseys) on Sunday at PNC Arena.
The Bruins jumped to a two-goal lead before the nine-minute mark of the first period, but the B’s saw it disappear as Carolina proceeded to score four unanswered, never relinquishing the lead upon taking it.
Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen each had two goals, with one shorthanded tally apiece, while Justin Faulk added the other. Ryan Donato potted a pair of goals, and Steven Kampfer scored the other for the Bruins.
Tuukka Rask made 32 saves for the Bruins, while Carolina netminder Petr Mrazek turned away 27 shots.
The Bruins fall to 20-13-4 with the loss, while the Hurricanes climb to 14-16-5 with the win.
Here’s how it all went down:
FAST START
The Bruins came out firing, but their first goal was facilitated by Trevor van Riemsdyk. While on the power play, Torey Krug threw a puck on net, which was blocked by Mrazek. A scrum on the doorstep ensued, and after Donato knocked a puck in the air, which hit off van Riemsdyk and floated into the goal at 2:40.
Just over six minutes later, the Bruins added to their advantage.
Sean Kuraly skated deep into the attacking zone, and after getting some pressure on the boards, turned and sent the puck up to Kampfer at the point. The defenseman unleashed a rocket to beat Mrazek and up the advantage to two.
With just over seven minutes left in the frame, Carolina got one back.
After van Riemsdyk helped the Bruins get their first goal, it was Charlie McAvoy who provided the assist on Carolina’s first tally. From behind the net, Teravainen threw a puck towards the opposite face-off circle, which McAvoy tried to glove down. Instead, it hit off his hand and redirected past Rask.
UGLY SECOND
The second period was not kind to the Bruins, as they saw their advantage vanish.
At just 1:29 in the frame, Aho scored the equalizer. McAvoy was worked off the puck in the defensive zone by Teravainen, who then gained possession and fed Aho on the inner edge of the face-off circle. Aho one-timed a shot that caught Rask’s pads but trickled into the net.
Aho wasn’t done, either. At 7:11 in the period, Aho picked McAvoy’s pocket, then slipped a pass to Teravainen. After skating deeper into the offensive zone, Teravainen hit Aho in the slot, and Aho buried the one-timer to give the Hurricanes the lead.
After the midway point of the frame, Faulk extended Carolina’s lead. Justin Williams won a face-off, Micheal Ferland slid the puck over to Faulk at the point, and the defenseman blasted a heavy shot past Rask to swell the advantage to 4-2 at 11:47.
The Bruins finally showed some life late in the third, with Donato burying his second of the game to trim the deficit to one.
With just under four minutes left in the stanza, Colby Cave entered the attacking zone with speed, dishing the puck off to Donato right after passing the blue line. Donato dashed from the left point to the top of the left face-off circle, then uncorked a wrister past Mrazek.
CANES ADD ONE MORE
With the game still mostly in the balance, Rask had a brutal mishap. The goalie got the puck behind his net, and waited for a skater to come get it. He skated the puck back towards his net, but lost control, with Aho getting possession right on the doorstep. Rask made a save on the ensuing shot, but the puck bounced back out to Teravainen, who finished with ease.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will have a few days off for Christmas before returning to action Thursday with a home tilt against the New Jersey Devils. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.
This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.
