The fourth line strikes twice as the Hurricanes handle the Bruins in Beantown

The Carolina Hurricanes opened a four-game road trip on Monday, visiting Boston for the second time in just over two weeks. The Bruins were victorious in their first encounter, holding the Canes to one late goal in a 2-1 victory. The Canes earned three of four possible points over the weekend, dropping their contest against Edmonton in overtime on Saturday.

The Hurricanes rolled the same group of skaters from Saturday's game, while Pyotr Kochetkov took his turn in the rotation between the pipes. The Bruins are battling injuries, with Charlie McAvoy joining Casey Mittelstadt, Viktor Arvidsson, and Elias Lindholm on the shelf. Jeremy Swayman, who was excellent against the Canes earlier this month, was back in the net for Boston.

There wasn't a ton going on for either side in the first period. Both teams had good looks, but Kochetkov and Swayman were on the mark to keep the shots out of the net. Neither side generated much on their chance with the man advantage. Kochetkov made his best stop of the period in the final minute, lying down to prevent a low chance from Morgan Geekie.

The captain finally broke the ice midway through the second. Joel Nystrom's shot died in front of Jordan Staal, who shoved it past Swayman with one hand on his stick. Later in the period, Mark Jankowski doubled the advantage. Shayne Gostisbehere kept the puck in the zone before Taylor Hall's shot hit Jankowski so he could pop it home, giving the Canes a 2-0 lead through two.

The Canes locked it down in the third period. Kochetkov continued to look sharp, keeping the Bruins from gathering any momentum. Hall added the insurance marker late the frame, working his way around the defense to score a beautiful goal against his former team. Riley Tufte ruined the shutout on the power play with 9.6 seconds left, but it made no difference as the Canes won, 3-1.

The Bottom 6 led the charge on offense

The Hurricanes had to put their hard hats on to get their goals tonight, and it was the third and fourth lines that potted the puck. It started with Jordan Staal muscling off a defender to get his stick free and poke it home one-handed. The Canes won a battle along the boards before Joel Nystrom was able to get his shot to the net, setting the captain up for success.

The fourth line got the final two goals, with former Bruin Taylor Hall putting his fingerprints all over them. Like Nystrom on the opener, Hall was able to get his shot through, hitting Mark Jankowski before he finished it. Then, he made an all-world play to elude the defense, playing it to himself, and finish with patience around Jeremy Swayman's pad.

Pyotr Kochetkov got the shutout in our hearts

The final count won't show that Pyotr Kochetkov got a shutout, and that's a real shame because he deserved it tonight. He had to be sharp to match Swayman in the first period, closing the frame with a big stop on Morgan Geekie. From there, Kochetkov outperformed his counterpart on the other end, handing Swayman his first loss of the month.

There is almost nothing calm about Kochetkov's game, and he's at his best when there is a little excitement. His stick was all over the defensive zone at different points. He was incredibly active as he touched the puck every chance he could. However, Kochetkov was calm when the moments were biggest, ultimately being beaten with a last-second poke. Still, stopping 29 of 30 shots is pretty good.

Additional Thoughts

Along with the lost shutout, we had to bid farewell to Nikolaj Ehlers' point streak, coming to an end at seven games. He had two great chances to extend it, but he caught metal both times. By my count, the Canes hit the iron four times, with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis also ringing the posts. She was a nice streak, helping Ehlers really get settled, so we'll see if we get another one going on Wednesday.

Joel Nystrom deserves a lot of praise for his effort tonight. The rookie defenseman notched the first multi-point effort of his young career, picking up the primary assist on two of the three Carolina goals. He has come a very long way in just over a month as an NHLer. I'm sure few people expected him to be this impactful this soon, but his poise was on full display in Boston.

Up Next: The road trip continues on Wednesday night as the Carolina Hurricanes head to Minnesota for their final meeting with the Wild this season. The two played a spirited contest two weeks ago in Raleigh. Next, the Winnipeg Jets will welcome Nikolaj Ehlers back to Canada Life Centre for a Friday night tilt north of the border. The trip wraps with a Sunday matinee in Buffalo.