Carolina Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen won a puck battle along the boards, worked his way to the right faceoff circle, and fed fellow Finnish forward Sebastian Aho in the slot. Aho made no mistake for his second goal of the game to give the Canes a 4-3 overtime win over the visiting Boston Bruins Sunday in PNC Arena.
Starting goalie Cam Ward was phenomenal for Carolina (18-15-7) in his 16th consecutive start, stopping 32 of 35 Bruins (21-17-5) shots, including a save-of-the-year candidate in the second period and a sharp save on Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron in overtime shortly before Aho’s game winner.
“I feel good,” Ward said. “I took the day off yesterday for a little maintenance. To be honest, my legs felt as good as they have felt all season long today. As long as you’re managing your body the right way, I feel like I could go pretty much every night.”
The Bruins struck first late in the opening period, as Ward turned the puck over to Bruins forward Dominic Moore. Moore fed Bruins forward Tim Schaller in front of the net, and he slipped a backhander past Ward to make it 1-0.
“It was an interesting game; we didn’t come out of the gate very well,” Ward said. “We had to hit that reset button; I made a big mistake on the first goal. At that time you have to make a decision, are you going to dwell on it or are you going to move on and look for that next save. Fortunately, I was able to put it behind me.”
The Canes tied the game early in the second period as a point shot from defenseman Jaccob Slavin hit Aho in front of the net and caromed in. Bruins head coach Claude Julien challenged the play for goaltender interference, but it was determined Aho was pushed in by Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo and the goal stood.
“It’s two points for the team,” Aho said. “Our line played pretty well, and I’m happy right now.”
Ward came up with a save of the year candidate with a little over six minutes to go in the middle frame, exploding across to the the right post to flash the pad and rob former Canes forward Riley Nash and keep the game tied at one.
Shortly after Ward’s save, the Canes came up with a neutral-zone turnover to spring forwards Jordan Staal and Derek Ryan on a two-on-one rush. Staal fed a perfect pass across to Ryan, which he buried for a 2-1 Hurricanes lead.
The Canes got two golden chances to extend their lead late in the second. With Boston on a power play, Staal got not one, but two shorthanded breakaways, but Bruins goalie Zane McIntyre stopped him on both to keep it a one-goal game.
“There was a lot of puck pressure by both teams,” head coach Bill Peters said. “I thought both goaltenders made big saves.”
The Bruins tied it at two about six minutes into the third, as forward David Backes finished on a rebound opportunity.
The tie was short-lived for Boston, as shortly after Canes forward Viktor Stalberg fed forward Jay McClement from behind the net for a 3-2 Canes lead.
Boston tied it back up directly after McClement’s goal, as Bruins forward Brad Marchand was left alone in the slot and beat Ward high on the glove side to make it 3-3.
“It got a little loose,” Peters said. “It was a different type of game in that regard. It wasn’t perfect early by us. They got better as it went along. That’s typically what happens as you build a game and get your legs underneath you.”
Both teams had a few chances the rest of regulation, but Ward and McIntyre held up and for the third time in the season series, Carolina and Boston headed to extra hockey. The victory gave the Canes a narrow victory in the three-game season series, as they came up with five standings points to Boston’s four.
The win starts off a pivotal four-game homestand for the Hurricanes. Next up is the Metropolitan Division-leading Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night.
