Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand swings his stick at Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov during the second period in Game 2 of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes won 5-2 on May 4, 2022.James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
RALEIGH, N.C. – Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes overcame the early loss of goalie Antti Raanta to beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
Jesper Fast had the game’s first goal for Carolina in another strong offensive showing to start this series. Rookie goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov came on in relief of Raanta to finish with 30 saves.
Game 3 is Friday night in Boston.
The Hurricanes also played with a physical edge against a Boston team that has knocked them out of the playoffs twice in three post-seasons. And it came in a game that quickly went from competitive to feisty and downright ornery in quick fashion – namely after Boston’s David Pastrnak knocked Raanta from the game midway through the first period when he struck the goaltender in the head with a gloved hand as he tried to skate past him.
Already down injured No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen to start the playoffs, Carolina turned to Kochetkov as Raanta exited while bleeding from an apparent mouth injury.
Patrice Bergeron scored both of Boston’s goals, the first on a loose rebound in the second and then another on a redirection near the crease in the third. Linus Ullmark surrendered four goals for the second straight game and finished with 29 saves.
After Raanta’s exit, the teams constantly traded words and hits, along with repeatedly tussling after the whistle. There was the jarring shoulder-to-chest blast by Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov that levelled Hampus Lindholm and left him wobbly as he was helped to the locker-room late in the second.
Then there was Boston’s Brad Marchand giving a bit of a shove to Kochetkov as he tried to play a puck. The goaltender objected and gave Marchand a shove after the play, only to see Marchand immediately swing his stick and pop Kochetkov in the right arm to draw a slashing penalty.
It was part of a busy night in the box for the Bruins, who had 13 penalties for 28 minutes. The Hurricanes converted twice on the power play, including Niederreiter’s finish at the crease on a 5-on-3 sequence for the 4-1 lead at 18:52 of the second.
Niederreiter’s second goal was an empty-netter in the final minute. Moments later, the game fittingly ended with the teams needing to be separated once more after the final horn.
Wild 6, Blues 2
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Kirill Kaprizov had a hat trick and Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice for the Minnesota Wild, who snapped back at the St. Louis Blues with a 6-2 victory to even their first-round playoff series at one game apiece Wednesday night.
Frederic Gaudreau and Kaprizov scored on the power play for the Wild, who went 0 for 6 with the man advantage in their 4-0 defeat in Game 1 and were 1 for 9 against the Blues over three regular-season losses. The Wild beat their Central Division rival in regulation for only the third time in 16 games since the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
The Blues, who lost defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to injury after he blocked a shot with the side of his face in the first period, didn’t score on Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury until Jordan Kyrou’s rebound midway through the second on a power play.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who host Game 3 in St. Louis on Friday night.