ECQF: (WC1) Boston Bruins @ (M1) Carolina Hurricanes | Series tied 3-3

[McGarnagle]

If Canes win in 7 does that mean the series never even happened?

It's like tennis where you have to win by two and break the opponent's serve to win. On June 12th the Canes will win game 20 in TD Garden to win the series 11-9 and advance to the Metro Division Finals to pay the Penguins who will be shaking off the rust from their 31 day break.

Pasta and to a lesser extent Haula have at least shown up OK in this series. Not outstanding, but present and accounted for.

The one that surprises me is Hall. I think it was late 2nd or early 3rd period last night when I noticed him for the first time, and only because he fell down.

Haula's fine, it's just that he's a 3rd liner who was forced to play 2nd line center and is totally overmatched in that role. But he's hanging in there as best he can.

Hall was great the first two games, largely unnoticeable since. Taking Pasta off his right wing and replacing him with the corpse of Craig Smith might have something to do with that.

 

[traparatus]

It's kind of crazy that Boston has managed to get to where they are in this series. That's as much of a 1 line team as you ever gonna see.

 

[Derailed75]

It's kind of crazy that Boston has managed to get to where they are in this series. That's as much of a 1 line team as you ever gonna see.

Well in fairness the Canes have done a bang up job of unravelling themselves in Boston and Sullivan has done a good job of getting that 1 line as much time away from Staal as possible. When Rod can get the Staal line out against the perfection line the only thing perfect it does is shrivel. Which is crazy because away from that line they have been outstanding.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Marchand is 34, Aho 24. Marchand stats when 24 were worse than Aho.

Keep in mind Marchand got ZERO powerplay time until about 2015-2016. For whatever reason Claude didn't have him out there.
Not sure what the debate is though? Both are great players. 2nd round steals. Marchand has the edge at the moment IMO which is no slight to Aho. But Marchand's one of the best wingers in the game right now.

 

[Over the volcano]

It's kind of crazy that Boston has managed to get to where they are in this series. That's as much of a 1 line team as you ever gonna see.

Particularly when the coach puts that one line back together in the series. They were so much more successful this year when Pastrnak dropped down to line 2 and Debrusk bumped up to line 1. Both Debrusk and Haula finally came alive.

 

[wintersej]

It's kind of crazy that Boston has managed to get to where they are in this series. That's as much of a 1 line team as you ever gonna see.

The story we are all talking about is Staal and company holding Bergeron and company in check.

The real story is that Hall/Haula/Pastrnak fell apart and made it easy on the Canes to only have to match against one line.

Since Jan 1st when that line got together, Hall and Haula both scored at a 25 ish goal pace. And Pasta was at a 57 goal pace. That is excellent production and the singular best 2nd line in all of hockey at that rate.

And then they shat all over themselves.

Edit: most of that production was off the rush, and the Canes defense just totally shut down the “get turnovers and get odd man rushes” game. Which was expected to a degree, it’s the playoffs and it’s a good defensive team. But to this degree? Disaster. Nevermind that DeBrusk scores at a 30 goal pace (since Jan 1) getting to play with elite talents like Marchand and Bergeron.

 

[Chrispy]

The story we are all talking about is Staal and company holding Bergeron and company in check.

The real story is that Hall/Haula/Pastrnak fell apart and made it easy on the Canes to only have to match against one line.

Since Jan 1st when that line got together, Hall and Haula both scored at a 25 ish goal pace. And Pasta was at a 57 goal pace. That is excellent production and the singular best 2nd line in all of hockey at that rate.

And then they shat all over themselves.

Edit: most of that production was off the rush, and the Canes defense just totally shut down the “get turnovers and get odd man rushes” game. Which was expected to a degree, it’s the playoffs and it’s a good defensive team. But to this degree? Disaster. Nevermind that DeBrusk scores at a 30 goal pace (since Jan 1) getting to play with elite talents like Marchand and Bergeron.

I'd have to go back and look, but I'm guessing Hall-Haula-Pasternak were not getting a lot of ice time against first lines during that time, as Boston would prefer to put Bergeron up against the top line as they have vs Aho et al in Boston.

So if Carolina is putting their first line against Haula's line in Raleigh, they can dominate the ice there while Staal neutralizes Boston's top line.


All that said, this clearly isn't working when Boston has last change. I hope we see Brind'Amour spread out the scoring and the size to take better advantage of Carolina's depth. Nino-Staal-Fast is a great neutralizing line that should be used at home and in the future if Carolina advances, but I think they need to be broken up to add heavier hitters to all the lines and find a matchup that works to Carolina's advantage on the lower lines.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It's kind of crazy that Boston has managed to get to where they are in this series. That's as much of a 1 line team as you ever gonna see.

I wouldn't go that far. Dallas is far more of a one-line team than Boston. The Bruins actually have pretty solid depth down the wings, they're just in need of a stronger 2C. There's a reason they won 51 games and were one of the best teams in the league in the second half.

 

[wintersej]

I wouldn't go that far. Dallas is far more of a one-line team than Boston. The Bruins actually have pretty solid depth down the wings, they're just in need of a stronger 2C. There's a reason they won 51 games and were one of the best teams in the league in the second half.

Hertl re-signing with the Sharks was a very sad day in Boston and the Lindholm consolation prize, while very good, well... hasn't played.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Ah tribalism….can’t argue with kool aid folks.

Tribalism…? Read the username again big fella

 

[cptjeff]

It's like tennis where you have to win by two and break the opponent's serve to win. On June 12th the Canes will win game 20 in TD Garden to win the series 11-9 and advance to the Metro Division Finals to pay the Penguins who will be shaking off the rust from their 31 day break.

The Canes have the perfect fan for that.

 

[KnightofBoston]

Bruins either lose in 6 or win in 7. Game 6 is as close as you can get to a must win for the canes without it being technically a must win as you can get

 

[NotOpie]

A lot is being made out of the line matching, as it should be. But the difference in this series has been who scores on the power play. Boston has scored 6 power play goals, 5 in victories and Carolina has scored 4 power play goals all in wins. Carolina won the 1st game scoring no PP goals and scored 2 each in their other victories. Boston scored 1 PP goal in the Game 2 loss, then 3 in Game 3 and 2 in Game 4.

According to NHL.com Boston had 33 penalties and Carolina had 29. One of Boston's penalties was Frederic's 10 minute game misconduct with 7 seconds left in the game. So discounting that penalty and realizing the some of the penalties were served concurrently....all in all it comes out pretty close to even (3 more penalties against Boston, the penalty shit show in Game 2 explains most of that).

But for all intents and purposes, Boston has benefitted more from penalties than Carolina because their power play has been more effective.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Bruins either lose in 6 or win in 7. Game 6 is as close as you can get to a must win for the canes without it being technically a must win as you can get

Yeah, there’s no way the Canes win a home game. Auto-loss.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

5 Straight Home Wins in a Series Post-lockout

Higher Seed in 6: 12
Higher Seed in 7: 2
Lower Seed in 7: 5

Historically speaking, Boston would be the favorite in a Game 7 scenario, but no road victories in a series has happened before (Los Angeles over San Jose in 2013, San Jose over Nashville in 2016).

 

[Blowfish]

There is no one line wonder on the canes...there are 4. This team is built to win the cup. I will be extremely surprised the bruins make it to next round. Canes are an impressive team. Fun to watch.

 

[mjhfb]

Its not a "one line" problem, its a blueline problem. The Canes defenseman have contributed 17pts so far in 5 games while the Bruins defense limited to only 4 pts.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

A lot is being made out of the line matching, as it should be. But the difference in this series has been who scores on the power play. Boston has scored 6 power play goals, 5 in victories and Carolina has scored 4 power play goals all in wins. Carolina won the 1st game scoring no PP goals and scored 2 each in their other victories. Boston scored 1 PP goal in the Game 2 loss, then 3 in Game 3 and 2 in Game 4.

According to NHL.com Boston had 33 penalties and Carolina had 29. One of Boston's penalties was Frederic's 10 minute game misconduct with 7 seconds left in the game. So discounting that penalty and realizing the some of the penalties were served concurrently....all in all it comes out pretty close to even (3 more penalties against Boston, the penalty shit show in Game 2 explains most of that).

But for all intents and purposes, Boston has benefitted more from penalties than Carolina because their power play has been more effective.

On the other hand, the timely, game clinching goals Carolina scores on their PPs are quite as impactful. Whether the PP goal extends the lead to 2-0 or 3-0 those have been significant goals as well. The Bruins have difficulty scoring as it is.

There is only one game the Bruins have benefited truly, in game 4. Carolina has had several, albeit they were quite likely to win regardless.

The penalty threshold across the playoffs has shifted from shift to shift and been intented to drive artificial offense (new TV contract?) and so few games have been low scoring or close. I have to hope the Bruins have that treatment again in game 6 as the NHL looks for game 7 ratings.

 

[Fenway]

ECQF GAME 6 7:09 PM - Hurricanes (3) @ Bruins (2) - TNT, SN360, TVAS2, NESN, BSSO, 98.5 WBZ-FM, 99.9 WCMC-FM

GDT by @Alicat and @Fenway Believe in Boston! Win and Stay In! Game 6 ECQF Carolina Leads Series 3-2 Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes 7:00 pm ET Canadian TV: TVAS, SN360 National TV: TNT Boston TV/Radio: NESN, 98.5 FM The Sports Hub Carolina TV/Radio...

hfboards.mandatory.com

 

[Mikeshane]

What on earth was Aho doing on the 3rd Bruins goal. He's right by Haula in front of the net but he's not looking to see what's happening in front of the net and where the puck is. He looks like a robot following it's programing or something. Just a complete and total lack of awareness.

 

[Ivo]

Home ice seems a huge factor in this series so far.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Judging by the trend everyone bet your mortgage on a 5-1 Carolina win

 

[CDJ]

Judging by the trend everyone bet your mortgage on a 5-1 Carolina win

Hey now


It’ll be 5-2. We will score our 2nd late on a made up spearing call against Trocheck

 

[McGarnagle]

Brad Marchand scores a game 7 hat trick and the governor of North Carolina resigns in disgrace

Still in play, I'm just saying

 

[Miro4Norris]

Will the Game 7 actually start 4:30pm or is the flashscore wrong? Would be good time for me as a finn + wouldn't have to watch two games at a same time then! Go Canes Go Aho double ot winner incoming just like in 2015