Hurricanes defeat Bruins 3-2 at home in Game 7

The Carolina Hurricanes finally reached the playoffs to be one step closer to the Stanley Cup. Game 7 ended up with a 3-2 on Saturday, marking their first victory in the first-round playoff series.

“You only have a few opportunities at these where you have a legit chance at going far. And we thought we had that this year,” said left winger and alternate captain of the Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand. “So yeah, it hurts.”

The Bruins have twice become the blocker for the team to ascent during playoffs, but it changed this season. The Boston Bruins were already in a pinch when Teuvo Teravaninen gave the Hurricanes the 1-0 lead when the first period of Game 7 was left with only 1:24 remaining.

Hurricanes' shining newcomers

The Hurricanes benefited not only from playing in front of their home crowd but also from a good batch of new recruits.

Max Domi, a newcomer who was signed midseason, scored twice in the second period. The left-winger, who was signed ahead of the March trade deadline, made his first career postseason goals and provided Teravainen with a perfect pass to assist his goal.

Another newcomer, goaltender Antti Raanta, served 27 saves for the team. Raanta took the lead as Frederik Andersen was injured late in the regular season. He showed steady performance despite being inexperienced in starting a postseason game.

“It's such a different feeling coming into this one,” said the Hurricanes' coach, Rod Brind'Amour. "I think back in the other ones, if we would've won, you guys might have been a little surprised.

“This time around, I felt like it was our time. Our guys have matured. I think they felt that, too.”

The team is heading to the second round to face the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 that oversees the match between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Home game

The Bruins served a humbling defeat for the Hurricanes in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals. The team then won a five-game first-round series in the Toronto bubble a year later.

The Bruins are battling atop the Hurricanes' home ice at PNC Arena and the Carolina newcomers were hungry to prove their worth.

“Obviously we needed one on the road, and we couldn't do that,” said Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron.

“They get the matchups they want, and it’s the same thing when we’re at home; we get the matchups that we want,” Marchand added.

“We feed off the energy of our crowd, and they do it well here. That’s playoff hockey. That’s what you play for all year, is that home-ice advantage, and this is why, because when you’re good at home, it matters in the playoffs, and they are, and we were. And we needed to win a road game, and we didn’t.”

Coach Bruce Cassidy’s squad changed their tactic from Games 1, 2, and 5 but it ended up with ill-timed defensive breakdowns. The team put up their guards against Raanta, who delivered a magnificent save in the opening 20 minutes on Talyor Hall during a 2-on-1.

“If we bury that 2-on-1, things might change in a game like today, where it’s hard to score,” said Cassidy after the game. “They don’t get you much, but you get the lead and it’s a little adversity now on their part.”