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Bruins hammer Hurricanes; Marchand scores No. 400 |
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Ty Anderson
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If there was a game to circle on your calendar as an almost guaranteed loss on the Bruins’ six-game road swing — if you’re a person who does things like that, anyway — it was probably the finale in Carolina.
Raleigh’s PNC Arena has seemingly always been a house of horrors for the Bruins (and every other team for that matter), and there was no denying the Hurricanes’ near-juggernaut status since adding Jake Guentzel to the fold. In addition to a relentless attack, the Hurricanes have been also getting excellent contributions from their goaltending tandem of late, and they entered Thursday’s game rested and riding the high of back-to-back shutout victories.
If the Bruins were simply competitive, you’d almost take that as a win.
Well, Thursday came with our reminder that the Bruins don’t circle much of anything as an almost guarantee. Instead, the B’s put forth a professional, start-to-finish effort that ended with another two points banked away, this time by way of a 4-1 victory over Freddie Andersen and the Canes.
On a night where the Bruins started fast and furious with three goals in a stretch of under nine minutes, it was Brad Marchand who kicked things off for the Bruins, as he received a tremendous pass from Morgan Geekie to launch into the Carolina zone on a breakaway strike. The goal was Marchand’s 400th career goal, his 28th of the year, his first since Mar. 9, and ended what was a stretch of 10 straight games without a goal for the Boston captain.
The Bruins continued to take advantage of an over-aggressive Carolina defense just 5:30 after Marchand’s game-opening tally, and doubled their lead when Brent Burns opted to give David Pastrnak a clear-as-day lane to Andersen’s cage for a top-shelf strike. Pastrnak continued to put the Hurricanes through his own personal torture chamber, and fed Danton Heinen for a downright sick pass through the slot and through Andersen to push the Black and Gold lead to three.
The Hurricanes would answer with a 5-on-3 strike in the second period, but it was the closest they came to making this one a game, as the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman stood tall in the cage and finished with a 28-of-29 line in goal. And while Swayman had more than enough support with the three goals at the other end, the Bruins provided him with some extra help by way of an empty-net, long-distance dagger from Hampus Lindholm with 2:11 remaining in the third period of play.
With the win, the Bruins wrapped up their six-game road swing with a more-than-solid 4-2-0 record, and with three straight victories going back to last Saturday’s shootout win over the Capitals.
The victory was also good for Boston’s first regulation win in Carolina since Oct. 30, 2018.
Marchand finally gets NHL goal No. 400
Here's a question for you: When Brad Marchand first debuted with the Bruins some 15 years ago now, did you ever think he would hit 400 goals?
I mean, you saw the talent as the 2010-11 went on and the lights got brighter, but to carve out these numbers? Consistently. And, as a 5-foot-9 player who has seemingly gotten better with age? Gotta say, I'm not quite sure many of us saw that one happening.
I think what's really interesting about Marchand is that he still has the same hunger, drive, and determination he did as a young player simply trying to make the team. When you talk about his career, his longevity, and his hockey mortality, he's often quick to remind you that he's not interested in leaving anytime soon. To Marchand, I think he views his longevity as more say Mark Recchi than Patrice Bergeron. That's obviously not a knock on the latter by any stretch, but Marchand always says the younger version of himself would smack the older version if he walked away from the game with something still left in the tank there.
Bruins issue first update on Brazeau’s injury
The upper-body injury that took winger Justin Brazeau out of action Tuesday night in Nashville has already lingered into a one-game absence for the Bruins. And based on the latest word from the Bruins, it doesn’t sound like a return is imminent.
“Brazeau flew home [Wednesday], he’s seeing doctors [Thursday],” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said ahead of his team’s win over the Hurricanes on Thursday. “We’ll have a real good report [Friday] on the severity and length. It’s week-to-week right now.”
But speaking after Friday’s practice back in Boston, Montgomery said that there was nothing new to report on that front, and that the 26-year-old Brazeau remained in a week-to-week status.
A true late-season surprise, the 6-foot-5 Brazeau had emerged as a legitimate bottom-six scoring threat for the Bruins this season, and tallied five goals and two assists in 19 appearances prior to the injury against Nashville, which came in a center-ice collision with Predators defenseman Luke Schenn.
What made Brazeau such a captivating fit for the Bruins was his net-front game, which has long been an area of growth for the club, and something the front office has repeatedly stressed wanting to have more of in crunch time and playoff situations. And prior to the injury, Brazeau was frequently receiving in-game promotions up to Boston’s top-six forward group when the team was searching for a game-tying or go-ahead goal.
With Brazeau out on Thursday night, the Bruins slid Jakub Lauko into Brazeau’s spot on the right side of Boston’s fourth line, while Johnny Beecher moved to center and James van Riemsdyk played left wing. The Bruins also promoted fourth-line center Jesper Boqvist up to the third line between Jake DeBrusk and Trent Frederic while Morgan Geekie moved up to the right of Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand on the Black and Gold’s fourth line.
Brazeau’s exact injury and timeline will remain a complete mystery until otherwise noted by the club — and considering that we’re in secret season with the playoffs around the corner, I’m not sure how concrete of an update we’ll get if they still have a hope that he’ll return — and leaves the Bruins down a notable winger.
That’ll turn both Lauko and van Riemsdyk from in-and-out lineup presences to fixtures, at least until Pat Maroon is ready to jump into action for the Bruins. The Bruins, who brought Maroon with them on the final two games of their recent road swing, have circled Apr. 13 against Pittsburgh as the ‘best case scenario’ for a Maroon return.
Up next: The Bruins will return to Boston for a Saturday afternoon head-to-head with the Panthers. The Bruins have captured wins in all three head-to-heads with Florida this season.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, HockeyBuzz.com or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.
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