Beantown Belongs to the Hurricanes as the Road Trip Begins with Carolina's 50th Win

With the road ahead taking place away from Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes started their season-ending trip with a battle in Boston against the Bruins. The home slate ended on a high note as Frederik Andersen pitched a shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Blue Jackets on Sunday. With the Canes and Bruins battling for the second time in five days, revenge was on the mind of the road team after Boston won at PNC Arena last Thursday.

It was Pyotr Kochetkov's turn in the rotation, marking the third different Hurricanes' netminder to face the Bruins this season. The rest of the lineup remained the same for Carolina from their win on Sunday night. Boston sent Jeremy Swayman out to face the Canes again. He was phenomenal in Raleigh when they visited last week.

Controversy took over the early portion of the game after Martin Necas looked to have scored a goal from a sharp angle less than two minutes in. The call on the ice was a goal, but the league-initiated review determined it didn't completely cross the line. I didn't think it was conclusive enough to overturn, but the Hurricanes marched on despite the upsetting decision.

It was very clear from the jump that this was going to be much more physical than their meeting last Thursday. Boston was especially rough, laying some big hits to some upset Hurricanes. Brett Pesce took exception to a borderline hit from Brad Marchand, though the Bruins captain backed off when confronted. Charlie McAvoy and Jake Guentzel got into it at one point, too, sending the two to the box. Otherwise, it was a low-event period, ending with each side recording just four shots in a scoreless tie.

The ice started to tilt in the Hurricanes' favor in the second period, thanks in part to two early overlapping penalties by Boston. The power play didn't convert, but the chances kept coming. Seth Jarvis had a golden opportunity on a breakaway, though Jeremy Swayman got over to deny Jarvis' bid for his 30th goal.

Eventually, the ice would be broken by Andrei Svechnikov, courtesy of the move that he helped make popular in the NHL. As he made his way behind the net, you could feel it coming as Svechnikov picked the puck up and threw it into the net with a beautiful lacrosse move. Initially, the play continued after the puck shot out of the net, but the horn in the arena sounded to indicate it was a good goal.

Andrei Svechnikov wasn't done there. Just over two minutes later, Svechnikov made a beautiful touch pass to Teuvo Teravainen, who slid it between Jeremy Swayman's pads to extend the lead. It was one of Svechnikov's best sequences of the season. The good vibes wouldn't last forever for the Canes. Charlie McAvoy buried a broken play under Pyotr Kochetkov's arm with 3:05 left in the period to give Boston some life going into the third.

Boston's momentum carried into the third period, but, much like the Bruins did to the Canes in Raleigh, Pyotr Kochetkov and the Canes' defense stifled the Bruins. Kochetkov made some key saves early as the Bruins pushed, keeping the one-goal lead intact. His best of the night was on Danton Heinen's tip chance as Kochetkov squeezed his arm to prevent the puck from squeaking through.

The two-goal lead would be restored a little after the halfway point in the period with a little help from Pavel Zacha. Dmitry Orlov made a great decision to jump into the play, helping to set up Jake Guentzel for a chance. Guentzel's shot sat in the crease for a minute before Zacha came over to play the puck. Instead of helping out, Zacha played it off Jeremy Swayman's back and into the net to extend Guentzel's point streak to six games.

The nail in Boston's coffin came with the Canes down a man. Just ten seconds after Jake Guentzel sat for hooking, Seth Jarvis put his second-chance opportunity into the back of the net on a wrap-around to finally get his 30th goal. The Canes would kill the penalty and another one in the final minutes to beat the Bruins by the same score they won by in Raleigh, 4-1.

This win was about as complete a victory as the Hurricanes have put together this season. It begins with the team taking Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak out of the game. Marchand didn't record a shot, while Pastrnak, the fifth-highest scorer in the league, had just one and was -3. Trent Frederic and Jake DeBrusk were the only Bruins forwards with more than one shot, with six and two, respectively. For all of their efforts to try and punish the Canes physically, they weren't able to generate any offense.

Meanwhile, this was the exact type of game the Hurricanes needed offensively. While two-thirds of the top line scored, Seth Jarvis' goal came while short-handed, and Jake Guentzel didn't technically score his alone. The one-game break for Andrei Svechnikov might've been a blessing because he's been great in the last two games. The lacrosse goal is only the tip of the iceberg for Svechnikov's last six periods.

There wasn't a single weak link on the team in Beantown. All 12 forwards, all six defensemen, and the man in the net were phenomenal. Sure, some moments weren't ideal, but there wasn't an ounce of panic in the group against a red-hot Bruins team. Pyotr Kochetkov's night will be defined by his performance early in the third period, in which he was incredible. The team hits 50 wins for the third straight season, highlighting another big moment for the franchise.

The team will take a quick trip back to Raleigh before heading to St. Louis for a meeting with the Blues on Friday night. It'll be the second of four stops on the final trip, finishing with battles in Chicago and Columbus with the postseason right around the corner.