The Carolina Hurricanes play their first must-win game of the playoffs today, as they face the Boston Bruins in Game 5, down 3-1 in the series.
The Hurricanes are coming off a disappointing loss in Game 4, where they gave up a two-goal lead and a chance to even the series. As I’ve said before, they haven’t been the better team in the series and need to find a new level in their game.
On the bright side, we saw the team can still compete against the Bruins without Andrei Svechnikov. The two teams played a pretty even game in the first two periods, before the Bruins mounted their comeback.
While I don’t think James Reimer should take much of the blame for the loss in Game 4, I’d expect to see Petr Mrazek in net for the Hurricanes today. He’s been solid in the playoffs and especially after a loss with Reimer in net, I’d imagine the rotation will continue. Up front, we don't know whether Jordan Staal will be able to play, while for the Bruins, it’s still unknown as to whether or not David Pastrnak will be back in the lineup.
After Carolina’s collapse in Game 4, I’d like to think we’ll see a more focused group today. If they had been ready to play for the third period, the Hurricanes would be in a completely different spot in this series.
This is the first of (hopefully) three must-win games for the Hurricanes in this series.
Puck drop is at 4 p.m.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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