Thursday, May 16, 2019

2019 NHL Eastern Conference Finals

With four teams left in the hunt, we're switching the content coverage to be series posts. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Bruins meet the Carolina Hurricanes.

Game 1: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts. In goal: Tuukka Rask for the Bruins and Petr Mrazek for the Hurricanes. Boston led off in the first period with a Steven Kampfer goal, assisted by Marcus Johansson. Carolina tied it on a Sebastian Aho power play goal, his fifth of the postseason, powered by Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal. The Hurricanes took the lead in the second period with a Greg McKegg goal, his second of the playoffs, guided in by Jordan Martinook and Micheal Ferland. The Bruins retied it in the third period on a Johansson power play goal, his third of the postseason, with assists provided by Brad Marchand and David Krejci. Boston gained the lead on a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, guided in by Marchand and Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins extended the lead on a Charlie Coyle empty net goal, his sixth of the postseason, set up by Brandon Carlo and Sean Kuraly. Boston padded the lead with an unassisted Chris Wagner goal. This made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars given to Johansson, Marchand, and Bergeron. The Bruins begin the series ahead 1-0.

Game 2: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts. In goal: Tuukka Rask for the Bruins and Petr Mrazek for the Hurricanes. Boston began in the first period with a Matt Grzelcyk goal, his second of the postseason, via Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle. The Bruins added on with a Jake DeBrusk power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by David Pastrnak and Torey Krug. Boston extended the lead as Connor Clifton scored in the second period, thanks to Johansson and Danton Heinen. The Bruins padded the lead on a Grzelcyk power play goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, with assists provided by Coyle and Krug. Boston kept going in the third period with a David Backes goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by David Krejci and Krug, the latter earning a sock trick. The Bruins continued with a Heinen goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Patrice Bergeron and Coyle. Carolina got on the board with a Justin Williams goal, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Justin Faulk and Sebastian Aho. The Hurricanes got another with a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his seventh of the postseason, going in unassisted. This only made it 6-2, the final, with the three stars being Grzelcyk, Krug, and Coyle, while Johansson and Heinen get the honorable mentions. The Bruins took care of business and will travel with a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina. In goal: Curtis McElhinney for the Hurricanes and Tuukka Rask for the Bruins. Boston got going in the second period with a Chris Wagner goal, his second of the postseason, via Joakim Nordstrom and Sean Kuraly. The Bruins added on with a Brad Marchand power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, powered by David Krejci and Charlie McAvoy. Carolina got on the board with a Calvin de Haan goal, passed from Justin Faulk and Sebastian Aho. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars awarded to Rask (35 for 36 in saves), Marchand, and Wagner. The Bruins lead the series 3-0, just one victory away from a place in the Stanley Cup Finals. 

Game 4: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina. In goal: Curtis McElhinney for the Hurricanes and Tuukka Rask for the Bruins. Boston dented the scoreboard in the second period with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his seventh of the postseason, powered by Brad Marchand and Torey Krug. The Bruins added on with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his seventh of the playoffs, with a lone assist by Pastrnak. Boston extended the lead as Bergeron scored again in the third period, his second of the game and eighth of the postseason coming with the help of Pastrnak. The Bruins iced it at 4-0 with a Marchand empty net goal, his seventh of the playoffs, set up by Bergeron and David Krejci. The three stars were awarded to Bergeron, Pastrnak, and Rask (24 save shutout), while Marchand took an honorable mention. The Bruins swept the series 4-0 to earn their spot in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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