TORONTO — Jake DeBrusk scored twice in Boston’s dominating third period to help the Bruins rally and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Monday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Brad Marchand and Connor Clifton also scored in the third, helping Boston erase a 2-0 deficit entering the period. It was a stunning turnaround – complete with the Bruins taking a 16-2 edge in shots on goal in those final 20 minutes – that now has Boston within a win of advancing in a series that looked headed for a 2-2 tie.
Game 5 is Wednesday, with the Bruins having the chance to eliminate the Hurricanes from the Stanley Cup playoffs again after sweeping Carolina in last year’s Eastern Conference finals.
Justin Williams and Jordan Martinook scored to give Carolina the 2-0 lead before the Bruins ran off four straight goals, while Teuvo Teravainen added a goal at 18:33 of the third to bring Carolina within one.
James Reimer made his second start of the series in net for the Hurricanes after Petr Mrazek had started Games 1 and 3, shutting out the Bruins for two period before faltering as Boston took over by relentlessly keeping the puck in the offensive zone. He finished with 29 saves.
Jaroslav Halak finished with 16 saves, though the Bruins made it easy on him in the third by not surrendering a shot until Teravainen’s late goal.
NOTES: David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist in Boston’s double-overtime win in Game 1, but hasn’t played since. He had 48 regular-season goals to tie Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for the league lead. … DeBrusk scored his 12th and 13th playoff goals since his 2018 post-season debut. … The Hurricanes were also without D Joel Edmundson for the third straight game. … Jake Gardiner assisted on Williams’ first-period goal for his first post-season point with Carolina.
___
More AP NHL: www.apnews.com/NHL and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports
The Associated Press
