Bruins Postgame Takeaways: Carolina Catastrophe

The Boston Bruins suffered their fifth loss in six games on Thursday night, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes by a final of 8-2 at Lenovo Center.

Brad Marchand and Hampus Lindholm found the back of the net for Boston, while Jeremy Swayman made 16 saves on 22 shots before being relieved by Joonas Korpisalo.

Andrei Svechnikov and Jack Roslovic both had two goals a piece for the Hurricanes, who also received contributions from Martin Necas, Dmitry Orlov, Sean Walker, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetov made 13 saves on 15 shots.

But that’s just the box score. Here are the key takeaways from the night that was in Raleigh.

Hurricanes Score Three In 52 Seconds:

Just when you think the Bruins can’t sink any lower, they show just how good they are at playing limbo.

The score read 4-1 Carolina at the end of the first period after the Bruins surrendered three goals in under a minute.

After Brad Marchand tied the game on the power play, Andrei Svechnikov scored a goal on the man advantage for the Hurricanes. Thirty-eight seconds later, Dmitry Orlov picked up a loose puck in the low slot and quickly deposited it into the back of the net, stretching Carolina’s advantage to two.

Already unraveling, the Bruins came completely undone when Mark Kastelic was called for a high-sticking penalty on the ensuing face-off, opening the door for another Hurricanes power-play goal.

Carolina’s scoring trifecta in the span of 52 seconds was the fastest three goals scored by a team this season.

Penalties Kill:

If it’s not one special teams unit that’s struggling for the Bruins, it’s the other.

On Tuesday night against the Flyers, it was Boston’s effort on the power play that was cause for concern. Against Carolina, the performance of the penalty kill unit was downright alarming.

The Bruins surrendered three goals while shorthanded on Thursday, making it the third time in 11 outings this season they’ve allowed that many power-play goals in a single game.

Swayman Can’t Save The Day:

There have been a few times this year where the Bruins played poorly but managed to stay in the game because of their goaltender.

That didn’t happen on Thursday as Carolina toyed with Jeremy Swayman, putting six pucks past him on 22 shots before he was relieved by Joonas Korpisalo midway through the second period.

Neither Swayman nor Korpisalo received much help in front of them. The Bruins barely possessed the puck, had their lowest shots-on-goal total in any game of theirs this season, and were once again incompetent on special teams.

But sometimes, when a team is struggling, the goalie needs to help themself.

The Bruins weren’t constructed to win games with offense. That’s become even more apparent now that they’ve collected just three points in the standings while scoring only 12 goals over the last two weeks.

Right now, Swayman and Korpisalo can’t save the Bruins from themselves, and it seems that no one else can, either.

Bruins Lines:

Beecher – Zacha – Pastrnak

Marchand – E. Lindholm – Kastelic

Frederic – Poitras – Brazeau

Jones – Coyle – Koepke

Lohrei – McAvoy

H. Lindholm – Carlo

Zadorov – Peeke

Swayman

Korpisalo

Up Next:

After falling to 4-6-1, the Bruins will travel to Philadelphia for another meeting with the Flyers on Saturday afternoon. Puck drop from Wells Fargo Center is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST.

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