It's called Special Teams, and the Bruins play them better than just about anyone.
Boston killed off all six shorthanded situations while scoring two power play goals of their own - and David Krejci scored the go ahead goal with less than two minutes remaining and as the Boston Bruins outlasted the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Raleigh, North Carolina Monday Night.
The Bruins have killed off all 23 power plays they've gone up against this year.
Nathan Horton and Zdeno Chara each scored their second goals of the season while Brad Marchand scored on a shorthanded opportunity for his 3rd. For Krejci and Seguin, who had an empty netter with just seconds to play, it was their first on the young season.
Marchand's shorty and Chara's power play goal gave Boston a quick 2-0 lead before Jamie McBain scored at 14:50 to get the 'Canes back within one going into the second period.
Nearly 16 minutes elapsed in the second and the Bruins had to kill off three penalties before the scoring barrage of three goals in less than 3 minutes saw the score knotted at 3 entering the final frame. Horton nailed his 2nd of the season at 15:52, then Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal logged goal 50 seconds apart for Carolina to tie the match.
The Bruins seemed collectively exhausted after having to endure the shorthanded situations early in the second, and left them flatfooted for the final moments of the 2nd when the Hurricanes took advantage to score their two goals in the period.
The Hurricanes energy level seemed to dwindle as the third period progessed, however, and the Bruins responded by mercilessly pelting Carolina net minder Cam Ward, who stopped 33 shots but became overwhelmed late in the game with the relentless Bruins firing 18 shots on goal.
The Bruins started backup goalie Anton Khudobin against the Hurricanes, and he responded with a solid effort, stopping 29 shots for Boston, who remains unbeaten in regulation on the year at 4-0-1. It was Khudobin's first NHL action since last April.
During the lockout, Khudobin played in the KHL and posted a 6-14-2 record in 26 games for Moscow Oblast - and Khudobin feels that the experience and playing time was key to playing well for Boston this season.
“It feels good,” he said of knowing he’ll finally play this week. “Of course, I have to be ready. I have no other choices.”
Carolina dropped to 2-3-0 and saw their two-game winning streak snapped. They now get the bulk of the week off to prepare for the Ottawa Senators on Friday night, then travel to take on the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday while the Bruins have a quick turnaround as they host the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night the square off against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
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