The Carolina Hurricanes are currently the measure of all things in the Eastern Conference. On Sunday they won 4-1 at home in the PNC Arena once morest the Boston Bruins and easily won the duel between the two division leaders in the East. At the same time, the guests extended their winning streak to five games and their point streak to eight games (7-0-1). The Bruins, on the other hand, suffered their third loss in a row.
In the overall NHL standings, however, they remain in first place with 81 points (38-7-5). The Hurricanes, however, have come closer to them with their recent successes. They rank second with 72 points (32-9-8).
Hurricanes defenders experienced a special match Brent Burns. He played his 1300th NHL mission. He is the fourth active player next to Eric Steel (1335) by the Florida Panthers, Ryan Suter (1331) by the Dallas Stars and Alex Ovechkin (1325) from the Washington Capitals, who achieved this milestone. He crowned his anniversary appearance with the secondary assist to 2:0 from Pau Stastny in the power play.
Video: BOS@CAR: Aho single-handedly makes it 1-0
Carolina’s trainer Rod Brind’Amour was completely satisfied with the performance of his protégés. “We knew our opponents were among the best the league had to offer. We managed to keep them at bay. In a great game, we played solidly from the first minute to the last. It was a real endurance test,” he said. He also found words of appreciation for the fans. “With their support, the crowd definitely played their part in the victory,” said the coach.
Hurricanes forward continues to be in brilliant shape Sebastian Oh. He was responsible for the 1-0 lead once morest the Bruins. This extended his goal streak to four matches. He scored a total of seven goals during this period. In the team’s internal scorer ranking, he is in second place with 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) from 42 games Martin Necaswho has 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) from 49 games.
“It’s a lot of fun to see a guy like him on the ice,” Blueliner Burns praised his teammate Aho. “As soon as he gets the puck he’s incredibly explosive. You can see his confidence growing every day. He’s a very special player who wants to win in every way,” he continued.
On the other hand, the honoree limited himself to a purely factual analysis of what was happening in the game. “Each row did its job. We had to do our best today because we had a strong opponent. The Bruins are at the top of the table for a reason,” he explained.
But at the latest with the 3:0 through Seth Jarvis in the last third the hurricanes had pulled the tooth out of the guests. The Bruins shortened a short time later Taylor Hall to 1:3, but they were unable to turn the game around. Jordan Steel finally tied the bag with a shorthander to make it 4:1.
Video: BOS@CAR: Hall fakes a shot to the goal
“We put a lot of pressure on them. Except for the third period, they didn’t have many chances,” said the Hurricanes goalkeeper Frederik Andersen the key to success once morest the Bruins. With 24 parried shots, he contributed his mite to the double point win. The keeper has five wins in his last six stars since returning from a lower-body injury.
Before the Honda NHL All-Star Weekend 2023, Carolina is challenged twice more in league operations. On Tuesday (7 pm ET; NHL.tv; Wed. 1 am CET) they will host the Los Angeles Kings in front of their home crowd. On Wednesday (7:30 pm ET; NHL.tv; Thurs. 1:30 pm) they make a guest appearance with the Buffalo Sabers at the KeyBank Center. This is followed by a nine-day break for the Metropolitan Division leaders.
