The 2021-22 Carolina Hurricanes made history with a 3-0 victory over the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena on Thursday, Oct. 28. The physical matchup featured 75 hits between two foes, but the Canes came out on top to secure the franchise record for best start to a season.
A distinct animosity between the two teams characterized the game; Boston (3-3-0) knocked Carolina (6-0-0) out of contention in both the 2019 and 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. Early on it was obvious that taking on the Bruins provided the Hurricanes with a little extra motivation to go for their sixth straight win.
That animosity was immediately evident as defender Ethan Bear laid a hard hit on Brad Marchand, dropping the career-long Bruin to the ice within the first 10 seconds of play. Harsh hits like Bear’s occurred almost continuously throughout the night, but there was goal-scoring action to be seen as well.
Even though Boston outshot Carolina 33-24, the Canes made the most of their opportunities despite handing the Bruins plenty of their own with 15 giveaways. Nevertheless, a lights-out penalty kill and an admirable effort by goalkeeper Frederik Andersen kept Boston off the scoreboard.
“Yeah, he’s playing great,” said defender Tony DeAngelo. “We obviously realize that. With the mistakes we make, we’ve been doing a good job in front of him as well, trying to keep the grade-A chances to a minimum. But when they’re there, he’s making huge saves.”
The Dane even got involved in the attack, notching his first assist as a Hurricane in the second period on a power play goal by right wing Nino Niederreiter. The shot deflected off a Boston defender and into the net, giving Carolina a 2-0 advantage.
The main difference in the game, however, was the Canes’ penalty kill. Both sides got five power play opportunities, but Niederreiter’s goal was the only one scored on the power play. The Bruins had plenty of opportunities to score while a man up, but a tenacious penalty kill unit and a multitude of saves by Andersen ensured that Boston stayed off the scoreboard. A late third-period goal by right wing Andrei Svechnikov rounded out the scoring and extended his point streak to six games.
The Canes won’t have much time to celebrate the win, however, as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29 in PNC Arena.
“These games are tough,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “When you play, you gotta turn around, do it again and not have a let down.”
