Marchand's five points help Bruins top Hurricanes in Game 4, even series

BOSTON-- Brad Marchand had two goals and three assists, and the Boston Bruins scored four straight goals to win 5-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Sunday.

The series is tied 2-2. Game 5 is in Carolina on Tuesday.
"To be honest, [five points] doesn't mean anything, personally," Marchand said. "At the end of the day, if you have 10 points individually, and you lose, it doesn't matter. If you have no points, and you win, you're just as happy. So it doesn't matter in our room who scores or who puts up points. It's a team win or loss."
Patrice Bergeron had a goal and two assists, and David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist for Boston, the first wild card in the East. Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves.
"I think early on, they tested us for sure. On our breakouts, I don't think we were as clean as we wanted to be," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Getting some momentum here will be a positive. … It's great to even [the series] and get back into it, but we haven't won anything other than getting it back to even."

Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist, and Brett Pesce scored for Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan Division. Antti Raanta made 23 saves in his return after leaving Game 2 with an upper-body injury when he took a hit from Pastrnak.
"It's tough. They're too good a team to just give them goals. We have no chance if that's going to happen," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It starts over now. We'll just regroup. You should have emotion right now, it should hurt, and it should bother you. Then tomorrow you start fresh, and you're excited we've got another game to play."
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Bruins series coverage]
Pesce put the Hurricanes ahead 1-0 at 14:06 of the first period with a wrist shot in the slot off a rush with Staal and Max Domi.
"That felt good, but not as good as I would have liked after the game," Pesce said. "[Staal], what a pass. It fell right on to my stick, and I just tried to get it to the net. Thankfully, it went in."

Bergeron answered 2:03 later at 16:09 to tie it 1-1, putting in a loose puck to the right of the crease after Pastrnak's pass hit the back of the net.
"I think it was a great effort, overall. We talked about taking it a game at a time, even when we got down 2-0 [in the series]. It's all about the next game. Here we are, and now it's all about Game 5," Bergeron said. "You have to build some momentum and confidence. We did that in Game 3 and tried to carry that into this afternoon."
Staal gave Carolina a 2-1 lead 33 seconds into the second period with a one-timer from the slot off a no-look pass from Nino Niederreiter behind the net.
DeBrusk tied it 2-2 on the power play at 18:44 during a scramble around the crease after Raanta could not find the puck. Carolina challenged for goalie interference, but the goal was upheld after video review.
"I didn't have it covered, but I felt like if you can take the goalie out his balance, and then score, it should be goalie interference," Raanta said. "I had a good conversation with the referee, and it is what it is. It's one of those where you just have to regroup and get back to work. It's frustrating."
Marchand put Boston ahead 3-2 43 seconds into the third on a 5-on-3 power play with a wrist shot from the high slot, and Pastrnak extended it to 4-2 at 5:41 after a cross-crease pass from Marchand off the face-off.
Marchand scored an empty-net goal with 35 seconds left for the 5-2 final.
NOTES: Boston was without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who entered COVID-19 protocol before the game. Cassidy did not set a timetable on his return. … Marchand established a single-game postseason career high in points. Three Bruins have had more in a playoff game: Pastrnak (six in Game 2 of 2018 First Round), Rick Middleton (six in Game 4 of 1983 Division Final) and Phil Esposito (six in Game 1 of 1969 Quarterfinal). … The Hurricanes opened the scoring for the fourth straight game. The Colorado Avalanche (three games) are the only other team to score first in each game this postseason.