In Toronto, the Boston Bruins’ David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron struck for goals in the second period on Wednesday evening to erase a 0-1 deficit in their Game 5 match with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves to make those two goals stand up as Boston ousted the Canes from the post season.
“Obviously, felt a bit better every shift,” David Pastrnak said. “It was good to be back with the guys. Obviously, anytime you’re watching the game from the stands, it’s tough. So really happy I was back and important win, and great series.”
Pastrnak assisted on both in his return to the lineup.
“They know what’s at stake,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I think they’ve been around long enough to know that when you get a chance to close out a team, you have to take advantage of it. … For us last year, it took us seven games [to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round]. People might forget.
“The first round, teams are hungry. They’re relatively healthy. Carolina came in here feeling really good about their game after they swept the [New York Rangers in the Qualifiers]. So you’ve got to be careful.”
Both Bruins goals came off the power play.
“Obviously, their power play is one of the best in the League,” Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin said. “They’ve got a lot of set plays that they run. They’re good at those plays. So I think, for the most part as a kill, we did a pretty good job this series. I think both their goals tonight are kind of fluky power-play goals.”
Haydn Fleury gave the Canes the early lead in the first period.
“I think we played at a level to beat them,” Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I’m really proud of this team. They do it right. We responded, which is the best thing. We walk out of here, I think, with our heads high with the effort we put out there, especially tonight. I thought we were the better team.”
Boston won the series, 4-1.
“We obviously wanted to finish it off today,” Krejci said. “Those are the hardest ones to get. We knew we didn’t want to come back here tomorrow and play back to back. So we had a great response after the first period. Power play was big. … We’ll take the win and are happy we don’t have to come back here tomorrow.”
[WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Bruins highlights]
Petr Mrazek made 25 saves in the loss.
“It was a tight series,” the Canes’ Jordan Staal said. “I thought there was maybe one game we weren’t at our best. It’s always going to be tight against a good team like that. They keep it tight, and I think we got beat in a few little areas. … They found ways to win games.”
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