It’s hardly a secret how skilled the Boston Bruins’ top line is, but there have been stretches this postseason where they’ve been neutralized.
That was far from the case Thursday night at PNC Arena.
The Boston Bruins clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Final by completing a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-0 victory in Game 4. In the victory, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand had the goals.
It was clear pretty early on that the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak trio was going to do some damage. They were wreaking havoc in the attacking end in the scoreless first period, however they were too quick to pass instead of shoot, so the period ended scoreless. But they started firing more in the second, and the impact was clear.
Bergeron and Pastrnak found goals, with both coming on the power play. Pastrnak and Bergeron connected again for Boston’s third goal, a one-timer by the center, while Marchand buried the empty-netter to put the game out of reach.
At no point has that group been a liability defensively, however the quiet showing on offense had been a little concerning. But with the Bruins now headed to their first Cup Final since 2013, the fact that they’re firing on all cylinders should help head coach Bruce Cassidy relax a little bit.
Here are some other notes from Bruins-Hurricanes Game 4:
— Tuukka Rask continued his tremendous run this postseason, earning a shutout in the Game 4 victory. He turned away all 24 shots he faced.
— With Zdeno Chara out for an undisclosed reason, John Moore got the nod in Game 4, skating on the third pairing with Connor Clifton.
Moore did a nice job filling in on short notice, and Cassidy was not reticent to use the veteran blueliner early on. Moore ultimately logged 11:48 ice time, including 1:32 on the penalty kill.
— Noel Acciari also dressed for the first time in a while, having missed time due to an upper-body injury. But with Chris Wagner out for Game 4 due to an injury suffered from a blocked shot in Game 3, Acciari slotted back in.
The fourth line had been playing well when it was Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and Wagner, and the addition of Acciari — who played 18:14 — didn’t disturb things much.
