Marchand, Pastrnak lead Bruins' resurgence in Game 3 win vs. Hurricanes originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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The Bruins are back in business.
After a pair of ugly losses in Carolina to begin their first-round playoff series, the Bruins rebounded in impressive fashion with a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes in Friday night's Game 3 at TD Garden.
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The Hurricanes jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first goal for the sixth time in six games against the B's this season. But the Bruins responded with four unanswered goals and protected that lead with strong penalty killing and a very good performance from rookie goalie Jeremy Swayman.
The Bruins will try to even the series Sunday afternoon in Game 4. But first, let's look at three takeaways from Game 3.
Bruins' top guns finally deliver
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Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak finished first and second, respectively, in scoring for the Bruins during the regular season, but both of them were held without a single point over the first two games of this series.
These stars broke out in Game 3, scoring a goal apiece.
Marchand gave the Bruins their first lead over the Hurricanes all season when he outworked the Hurricanes to score a greasy goal in front of the net.
Pastrnak scored on the power play later in the second period, and Marchand picked up an assist on the play. Marchand and Pastrnak both picked up assists on Taylor Hall's power-play goal in the third period that increased Boston's lead to 4-1.
The Bruins' top players were outplayed by their Hurricanes counterparts in the first two games. Boston's first line (plus Hall) responded Friday night, and that resurgence must continue if the B's are going to even the series this weekend.
Bruins decisively win special teams battle
The Hurricanes dominated special teams in the first two games of the series. The script was flipped in Game 3.
The Bruins power play was dreadful in Game 1 and failed to score on its three opportunities. But this unit is starting to find its groove and has now scored in back-to-back matchups.
Boston took a 3-1 lead in the second period when David Pastrnak fired a shot past Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov for his first goal of the series.
Hall scored his second goal of the series with a power-play tally of his own in the third period. The B's finished 2-for-5 with the man advantage.
The power play production was an encouraging sign for the Bruins, but the primary reason why they won this game was their phenomenal penalty killing.
Boston went a perfect 5-for-5 on the PK, allowing just three high-danger chances in 10 minutes of shorthanded action.
The Hurricanes went on the power play with 3:53 remaining in the first period with a chance to double their lead to 2-0. The Bruins not only killed off that penalty, they tallied a shorthanded goal to even the score.
Jake DeBrusk made a nice pass to Charlie Coyle driving hard to the net, and he beat Kochetkov to get the B's on the board.
Derek Forbort was Boston's best penalty killer. He made several clutch shot blocks (eight overall) and did a nice job clearing traffic from the front of the net so B's goalie Jeremy Swayman could locate shots from the point.
The Bruins allowed two power-play goals in their Game 2 defeat. Penalty killing was one area that had to significantly improve for Boston, and that's what unfolded Friday night.
Swayman shines in net
The Bruins need excellent goaltending to overcome the series deficit and eliminate a deep, highly skilled Hurricanes team, and that's exactly what Swayman gave them Friday night.
The rookie netminder made his first ever playoff start and tallied 25 saves on 27 shots (.926 save percentage). He also was among Boston's top penalty killers, with three of his saves coming shorthanded. He made two fantastic saves on a late first-period PK, including a point-blank stop on a rebound attempt from the edge of the crease.
Swayman was composed in net and didn't give up a ton of juicy rebounds for the Hurricanes. He did allow a bit of a fluky goal in the third period, but the B's still had a two-goal lead at that point.
Swayman gave the Bruins exactly what was required Friday. He'll need to deliver this kind of performance consistently for Boston to win the series.
