BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins (12-9-0) entered tonight with half of their opening night top six forwards, along with superstar defenseman Charlie McAvoy, on the shelf. It's about as hard as the injury bug can bite, and it reared its ugly head.
The Carolina Hurricanes (13-5-1) did what they do best, dominating possession for long stretches and ultimately cashing in for a couple of goals. Carolina beat the Bruins 3-1 on Monday night inside TD Garden.
The Bruins hung tough all night, and played a very strong first period, but Pyotr Kochetkov was better. He kept out multiple thrilling chances, including this glorious Morgan Geekie chance.
Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) on X
Done with 20 minutes in Boston. Still 0-0.
Carolina's penalty kill looked very good in their lone two-minute effort.
Pyotr Kochetkov's biggest save came late in the frame.
Still, the first period remained scoreless, thanks to both Kochetkov and Jeremy Swayman.
The second period became a classic Carolina clinic. They dominated touches early and often, outshooting Boston 10-3 through the halfway point of the frame.
In that time, Jordan Staal broke the ice, with a slick play on a rebound, just barely chipping a loose puck over a stretched Swayman pad at the 8:25 mark.
Carolina wouldn't relent and just kept pushing. Just over five minutes later, they doubled their edge. Again, it came by way of a gritty rebound in front. Mark Jankowski blocked down a Taylor Hall shot, and the rebound plopped down onto his stick, and he beat Swayman in tight, who had no chance.
Boston began to find itself from then on, with a much more controlled second period. Head Coach Marco Sturm shook up the lines, flipping Mark Kastelic and David Pastrnak, hoping to spark some offense.
While no goals immediately came, it was a smart decision.
To begin the third period, Boston surged to an early 6–1 shots on goal edge through the first eight minutes, but again Kochetkov stonewalled the Bruins.
But, Carolina shut the door. Despite two penalty kills on the back half of the period, Boston only put two more shots on goal until Taylor Hall scored the dagger with just 2:33 to go.
With under 10 seconds to go, Riley Tufte scored a power play goal, sneaking a rebound through the legs of Kochetkov, snapping his shutout bid.
NESN (@NESN) on X
Tufte spoils the shutout 🚨
The road ahead doesn't let up, and in 48 hours, the Bruins take on the high-flying Anaheim Ducks in California.