RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. PNC Arena was packed and hoping for a comeback in the series after the Bruins took a 3-0 lead on Tuesday night. Boston looked to finish the squad off, however Carolina brought everything they had in an effort to lengthen the series. Boston had other plans however, bringing their finest performance yet in the series.
The first period began with both teams firing on all cylinders. Each squad shot more than ten attempts at the goal, yet none would find the net. The Canes also went 0-2 on the power-play, while the Bruins went 0-1. Curtis McElhinney, goalie for Carolina, would stop all 11 of Boston’s shots, proving he was ready to bring everything he had to keep the Canes alive in the series. Before the game McElhinney had a .949 save percentage in the postseason. The period would end 0-0 with plenty of hope lingering through PNC Arena.
Hope would diminish after the second period ended, due to Boston heating up and the Canes being penalized twice. In the fourth minute of the period, David Pasternak would break the 0-0 tie with a tip-in power-play goal from an assist from Brad Marchand and Torey Krug. The next goal would come off a penalty due to too many players on the ice. Patrice Bergeron would take advantage of the penalty and secure a 2-0 lead with just a minute left in the second. The Canes tried to get past Tuukka Rask however, the score would lead 2-0 with one period remaining.
The Canes tried everything in their arsenal to secure a comeback for the home crowd, however the only thing it would develop was a bigger hole. Bergeron would net another goal at even strength to make the comeback seem improbable with ten minutes left. This would lead to Coach Rod Brind’Amour taking McElhinney out of the net, leaving one extra player to be on the ice. With the net empty, the Canes were not able to make anything happen, leading to Marchand for Boston to steal the puck and make an easy wrist shot on the goal. Carolina’s season would end with a 4-0 lost to Boston.
However, even in defeat the Carolina faithful were still on their fleet swinging their rally towels in support of the club. The Canes’ season was filled with many ups and downs, ending with seemingly a new culture in Raleigh. Carolina looks to ride this momentum into the 2019-2020 season, hoping for even more improvement than this season. Considering where they were just a year ago, these bunch of jerks have something brewing in Raleigh for years to come.
Stars of the Game
Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
David Pastrnak (BOS)
Tuukka Rask (BOS)
