Aho Breaks the Tie in the Third as Bruins Fall to the Hurricanes 2-1
First place was on the line in Raleigh on Tuesday night, and Carolina took it. Sebastian Aho broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third period and the Hurricanes beat the Bruins 2-1 at Lenovo Center.
Pavel Zacha gave Boston a power-play lead just 91 seconds in, but the Bruins managed only 15 shots all night. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 14 of them, and Carolina stretched its lead atop the NHL standings to three points over Boston. Here's how it went down.
Stat of the Night
30-15
Carolina doubled up Boston in shots on goal. The Bruins had just two shots in the second period.
- 28: saves for Jeremy Swayman on 30 shots
- 1-for-5: Boston on the power play
- 23-12: Carolina's edge in hits
First period: Zacha strikes early
Andrei Svechnikov went to the box for slashing at 1:01, and Boston cashed in 30 seconds later. Zacha scored on a snap shot at 1:31, his third of the season, with Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak picking up the assists.
Nicolas Deslauriers and Tanner Jeannot dropped the gloves at 13:55. Carolina tied it late in the period when Jackson Blake scored his third at 19:08, set up by Nikolaj Ehlers. It was 1-1 after 20 minutes, with the Canes up 12-7 in shots.
Second period: Swayman holds the line
Nobody scored in the middle frame, and that was mostly Swayman. Carolina outshot Boston 8-2 and Swayman stopped all eight. Each team had a power play and neither scored.
Third period: Aho wins it
At 10:19, Aho scored on a backhand for his eighth of the season, set up by William Carrier and Svechnikov. That was the winner. Boston had two late power plays after Jordan Martinook's interference call at 15:19 and Aho's tripping call at 17:33. The Bruins pulled Swayman and skated 6-on-4 for the final stretch, but Kochetkov and the Canes held on.
In net
Swayman made 28 saves on 30 shots and took the loss. Kochetkov stopped 14 of 15 for the win.
Our takeaways
15 shots won't beat the best team in the league. Boston had seven shots in the first, two in the second and six in the third. Against a team this good, that isn't enough.
Sway kept it close. Twenty-eight saves, including a perfect second period, gave the Bruins a chance to steal one late.
The power play showed up early. Zacha's goal came 30 seconds into the first man advantage. Boston went 0-for-4 the rest of the way, including the 6-on-4 at the end.
Still second in the league. The Bruins are 9-3-1 with 19 points. Carolina is first with 22. One loss doesn't change how good this start has been. Let's go, B's. 🐻