Boston 2, Carolina 1
When: 4:00 PM ET, Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Jean Hebert
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Devin Berg
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron scored on power plays late in the second period to lift the Boston Bruins to a series-clinching 2-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference's first round Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak stopped 23 shots to improve to 3-0 since taking over for departed teammate Tuukka Rask.
The outcome means the Bruins move to next week's semifinals, avoiding a quick turnaround for a Game 6 on Thursday that is no longer necessary.
Boston eliminated the Hurricanes for the second season a row, with last year's accomplishment coming with a sweep in the Eastern Conference finals. This time, four of the games were decided by one goal and other had a two-goal spread because of an empty-net goal.
Krejci and Bergeron also each posted an assist.
Haydn Fleury scored in the first period for the Hurricanes, who generated only a few chances and had six shots in the third period.
Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek made 25 saves.
Krejci's tying goal came with 4:40 showing on the second-period clock. He was left alone to collect the puck that skipped off teammate David Pastrnak's skate.
Boston went up 2-1 with 3.5 seconds to play in the second period. Bergeron, from a difficult angle to the side of the net, slapped the puck off Mrazek and across the goal line.
The Hurricanes scored first for the third game of the series on Fleury's blast that went above Halak and into the net. Fleury registered his first career playoff goal in the series opener.
The Bruins had Pastrnak, a right winger who co-led the NHL with 48 regular-season goals, back in the lineup. He hadn't played since Game 1 because of an injury, and he was open for a shot that was thwarted by Mrazek in the first period with the Bruins trailing 1-0.
With the same score, Mrazek denied Pastrnak, who came out of the penalty box, on a second-period breakaway.
Carolina had captain Jordan Staal, a center, in the lineup after concerns about his status because he exited late in Monday night's Game 4 after taking an upper-body check.
The start of the game was delayed about 25 minutes because of the earlier Tampa Bay-Columbus game that went into overtime. That was mild compared to last week when Game 1 of the Carolina-Boston series was postponed for a day when Tampa Bay and Columbus played into a fifth overtime.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Carolina |
|
Boston |
|
Haydn Fleury 1 |
Points |
Patrice Bergeron 2 |
|
Haydn Fleury 1 |
Goals |
Patrice Bergeron 1 |
|
Sebastian Aho 1 |
Assists |
David Pastrnak 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Patrice Bergeron 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Petr Mrazek .926 |
Save Percentage |
Jaroslav Halak .958 |
|
Petr Mrazek 25 |
Saves |
Jaroslav Halak 23 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Carolina
|
24 |
1 |
0-3 |
2-4 |
8 |
23 |
| Boston
|
27 |
2 |
2-4 |
3-3 |
6 |
20 |
Upcoming Games
-
Boston will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Bruins have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .462 after a loss.
-
Carolina will play their next game at home against Boston. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .568 after a win and .548 after a loss.
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