And so we have a series.
While the Carolina Hurricanes deserve credit for their 3-2 Game 2 victory on Thursday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena – their big names showed up and they brought the ‘Canes high-pressure game along with them – the Bruins mostly have themselves to blame.
The B’s seemed to be in control at the end of the first period with a 1-0 lead and applying heavy pressure in the Carolina end. But then they started carelessly throwing the puck into the middle of the ice in their own end during the second period, and things snowballed on them and they pretty much got what they deserved – a loss.
Now it’s a new series, a best of five, starting on Saturday at high noon. The Bruins are a better team than the Hurricanes, but the gap is not as yawning as it was last year. They’re going to have to work for it this year.
Here are a few thoughts from Thursday’s affair:
1. Tuukka Rask doesn’t let you see him sweat much these days.
The casual nature of his comments often belie his competitive nature and drive some of his more ardent critics needlessly over the edge, especially when they come after losses.
But he undoubtedly raised the eyebrows of some of his staunchest supporters with his assessment of bubble hockey in Toronto, which also happens to be the Stanley Cup playoffs if you couldn’t tell.
“To be honest, it doesn’t really feel like playoff hockey out there. It doesn’t really feel like playoff hockey with no fans. It feels like we’re playing an exhibition game. I haven’t noticed anyone targeting me. There’s scrums after the whistle and people fall on you and whatnot. But it’s definitely not a playoff atmosphere,” said Rask.
“You’re trying to play as hard as you can. You’re playing a best-of-seven series so there’s going to be some battles going on at some point. But when you’re playing at your home rink and you’re at an away rink and there’s fans cheering for and against you, that creates another buzz around the series. So there’s none of that. It just feels dull at times. There are moments when there’s some scrums and whatnot but then there’s five minutes where it’s just coast to coast hockey and there’s no atmosphere and it’s like an exhibition game. But we’re trying our best to ramp up and make it feel like a playoff game.”
Rask was playing his second game in as many days. How was he feeling?
“Considering I had four months off I’m not in prime shape but I’m trying to get there,” said Rask. “I’m just trying to have fun and play the game. I’m not stressing too much about the results. I know it’s August and I haven’t played hockey in forever, so just out there and have fun and see what happens.”
Just trying to have fun and not stressing are usually not the publicly stated approach during the playoffs, but these are different times, and Rask is a different cat. In truth, he has not been terrible in the first two games. Then again, he is not locked-in like he was in the spring of 2019, either. In Game 1 he couldn’t fight through a screen to find Hadyn Fleury’s long-range wrister in the third period. On the Hurricanes’ second goal Thursday, he wound up handing the puck back to the ‘Canes after stopping it behind his net. Other than that mistake, all three goals on Thursday were either snipes or, in the case of Dougie Hamilton’s deciding goal, a bomb. And if you’re expecting Rask to beat himself up over those goals, in this situation, then you’ll be waiting a long time.
2. He wasn’t the only one doing so on the back end on Thursday night, but Zdeno Chara has been fighting the puck since the team arrived in Toronto. For the second game in a row, Chara was fifth among the Bruins’ six defensemen in icetime with just 15:51. He finished at minus-2 and offered little resistance to Martin Necas when the ‘Cane skated behind the net, came out on the captain’s side and fed Hamilton for the game-winner.
At the age of 43, Chara is of course no longer the workhorse he was in his prime, but his puck management will have to get better if the B’s can expect to advance.
3. It appeared at the end of the first period like the Bruins were going to use the absence of David Pastrnak (unfit to play, day-to-day) as motivation to put a stranglehold on the series. They led 1-0 and were on the attack. But then the second period started and it looked like they thought the game was already won. Both Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug made dangerous, careless passes in their own end. Those plays didn’t immediately bite them in the behind, but the longer you spend in your own end, the better the chances are that something bad is going to happen. Eventually, Chris Wagner took an elbowing penalty, Teuvo Teravainen tied the game and the Canes grabbed some life that they rode to the win.
In Game 1, it appeared the B’s blue liners had cleaned up a lot of their puck management issues, but they came back in a big way on Thursday.
4. When Nick Ritchie can get to the puck, he can put a world of hurt on the defenseman who is trying to move it. The question is whether he can get there. Ritchie, obtained from Anaheim for Danton Heinen at the deadline, had another unimpressive game. He landed zero shots on net and delivered two hits. Ritchie has the ability to get to the net with his large frame but he wasn’t able to get to any of the many rebounds James Reimer gave up.
Ritchie’s 10:45 in icetime was second-lowest among Bruin forwards (Karson Kuhlman played 9:42) and, when Cassidy shortened his bench after falling behind 3-2, he was one of the casualties. Cassidy said before the game that he will to let the relative newcomer get his bearings, but playoff losses tend to limit a coach’s patience.
5. The David Krejci line, so good in Game 1, was on the ice for two goals against and had chances to clear the puck on the Hamilton’s winner. Still, they had their moments. Ondrej Kase drew the penalty that led to Krejci’s power-play goal in the first period.
Kase is clearly a highly skilled puck-hunter who plays with great pace. But it would be nice to see him put one of his Grade-A chances behind the goalie.
