Getting shots on net for the Boston Bruins wasn’t the problem in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
But finishing their bevy of chances was certainly the issue for the Bruins in a 5-1 loss at PNC Arena.
Boston held a distinct 36-25 shot advantage, but routinely came away empty-handed no matter how much pressure it put on Carolina’s defense. While the Bruins let the shots fly, Bruins forward Taylor Hall believes they needed to make a more concerted effort of doing the dirty working in front of the net, like screening the goalie as the Hurricanes did, to come away with better offensive results.
“For us, we always seem to outshoot teams, but what can kind of get away from us is getting people to the net and really making use of all those shots and creating second chances,” said Hall, who scored the team’s lone goal, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “So, that’s going to be a focus for us.”
The Bruins tested Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta from the outset of the first period, but Raanta stayed poised despite the onslaught of shots. Raanta, who finished with a stellar 35 saves and got the Game 1 start due to an injury to Carolina’s regular starting goalie Frederik Andersen, denied nine Bruins shots within the first six minutes of the contest.
Not being able to capitalize on these opportunities and play from in front, especially on the road, certainly made a difference.
“It is a team that if you have a lead on it’s an easier game for us,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “They play better when they have (the lead). They’re made for that. They check well. Opens them up a little bit if they’re behind. Could it have been an impact in the game, for sure if we finish. We didn’t. But it wasn’t from lack of effort. We were ready to play. We just couldn’t put anything in the net early on.”
Even with the lopsided final result, Cassidy didn’t see all negatives in his takeaways from the game. It’s a good sign that the Bruins were able to generate offense, now, they just need a few tweaks to make sure more pucks end up in the back of the net instead of hitting the pads of Raanta.
“So it wasn’t, to me, a monumental difference in the teams,” Cassidy said. “They made the plays when they needed to. So, there’s some good stuff we’ll take from this game.”
Here are some more notes from Bruins-Hurricanes:
— Boston’s power play broke through its scoreless streak very late in the regular season, but it is still experiencing struggles finding the back of the net on the man-advantage. The Bruins went 0-for-3 on the power play in the loss.
“We can’t rely on our power play against the No. 1 PK (penalty kill), but it does have to give us some juice,” Cassidy said. “I thought the first couple we did get some looks. … It’s been a challenge for us the last month on the power play. Those guys have to take a little bit more ownership of it. Those are our top guys, so hopefully they’ll be better at it Wednesday because we do have to get some life from it.
“Just because they’re the best PK doesn’t mean we can’t score on it. We’ve done it in years’ past in the playoffs. So, certainly can be a weapon if we get it going.”
— Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark got the nod over Jeremy Swayman in net for Game 1 and it also marked Ullmark’s postseason debut. Ullmark was steady early on before the Hurricanes broke through late in the second period with two goals just 2:10 apart.
Ullmark, who stopped 20 of the 24 shots he faced, remarked following the loss on the more amped-up postseason atmosphere he found himself in for the first time.
“It’s a little bit louder,” Ullmark said as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “We’re playing for something now, something meaningful. So, that’s to be expected.”
— The Bruins look to even up the series in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET with pregame coverage beginning on NESN at 6 p.m.
