Recap: Bruins close out homestand with 3-2 loss to Hurricanes

Marchand scored two third period goals to even things, but a defensive breakdown ended the game.

The Boston Bruins came back in the third period, but a defensive breakdown led to a 3-2 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night at the TD Garden.

The Hurricanes scored twice on the power play, once in the first and once in the second, to have the Bruins digging themselves out of a hole in the third period.

Brad Marchand score quickly in the final frame and then netted another one to tie the game.

While the Bruins bounced back with their offense and some line shuffling which included Trent Frederic finding himself on the top line, the defense’s poor game management led to Jordan Martinook coming in alone on Linus Ullmark and beat the B’s by one goal.

“We had the momentum at 2-2,” Jim Montgomery said. “But you can’t lose positioning and give up a breakaway.”

Here are the highlights:

First period:

The Hurricanes took the lead at 18:04 of the first period on the power play.

Through traffic, Martin Necas threw a wrist shot on net that found a hole above Linus Ullmark’s blocker. 1-0 Hurricanes.

Second period:

The Hurricanes extended their lead at 11:50 of the second period with another power-play goal.

Teuvo Taravainen found a loose puck in the slot for a quick wrister past Ullmark’s blocker. 2-0 Bruins.

Third period:

The Bruins tied the game at 1:30 of the third period.

Trent Frederic sent a short past to Brad Marchand out front for a wrist shot past Spencer Martin. 2-1 game.

The Bruins tied the game at 7:20 of the third period.

Frederic fed a centering pass to Charlie Coyle. Marchand followed through in the slot and found Coyle’s rebound for a shot past Martin’s glove. 2-2 game.

The Hurricanes got the go-ahead goal and game winner at 17:33 of the third period.

With Bruins’ defense getting caught pinching up high, Jordan Martinook was left on a breakaway where he beat Ullmark through his five-hole. Final score: 3-2 Hurricanes.

Game notes:

• The win streak was fun while it lasted. While it’s disappointing to drop a game like that, they did go 4-0-0 during it. But with the loss tonight, they couldn’t tie the longest win streak so far this season at six games.
• This shouldn’t have felt like a frustrating loss the way things were trending heading into the third period as the Bruins found themselves up against a very fast skating and puck moving team. But it obviously became one as Marchand and Co. breathed some offense into the B’s game.
• While Marchand added two goals to tie the game, the Bruins never felt before the third period like they were in the driver’s seat. Carolina came out fast in the first. They also limited the Bruins in the second period to only two shots on net through the first eight or nine minutes of that period. As the second progressed, the Bruins did find some steam, but so did the Hurricanes who scored yet again on the power play.
• Jim Montgomery said postgame he wasn’t happy with their game management in the closing minutes, particularly with Martinook’s goal. “The defense shouldn’t be pinching in on that winning goal,”
• The Bruins PK didn’t have their best game, allowing two goals. That also goes without saying the B’s took too many stick infractions and there were a couple questionable calls. On the other side, during one of the Bruins’ power plays, there likely should have been a few calls made again Carolina.
• Montgomery felt lines weren’t working out so he shuffled so things around. It did pay off in the third with the plays Trent Frederic made to set up the two goals from Marchand. If there was a silver lining to the game, it’s definitely how those three played together and seeing how Frederic just makes any line he is on better.
• SCOC asked Coyle if having the quick turnaround to face the Ottawa Senators made it easier to put this game behind them. Coyle said: “Absolutely. That’s what’s great about this league. When you lose, you want to play again. You want to play right after honestly, but we will get some rest tonight, do some traveling, get in and be ready to go for Ottawa. We’ll correct some things. We’ll learn and move on and have a good game tomorrow.”
• The Bruins head to Ottawa on Thursday to see the Senators for a 7 p.m. puck drop.