Bruins' Season Comes to End with Game 7 Loss in Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C.- The Bruins' season came to an end on Saturday evening with a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena.
Boston once again surrendered the first goal in Carolina, though they had a chance to open the scoring in the early going when Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta robbed Taylor Hall on a 2-on-1 opportunity. The Hurricanes responded with a marker from Teuvo Teravanainen with just 1:24 remaining in the first to make it 1-0.

"We found ourselves all alone early," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of Hall's chance. "They got the first goal…a big timely save by Raanta. If we bury that 2-on-1, things might change in a game like today when it's hard to score. They don't give you much. You get the lead, a little adversity now on their part…but it didn't work out that way."
With 58 seconds to go in the first, Hall was assessed a four-minute minor for high-sticking on Carolina defenseman Tony DeAngelo, leaving the B's with just a tad over three minutes left on the kill to open the second. Boston killed off the double-minor, but the Hurricanes struck just 11 seconds later to build a 2-0 lead on Max Domi's first of the game.
"We end up then having some breakdowns," said Cassidy. "We pride ourselves in D zone coverage, we've done very well all year and two breakdowns that, yeah they make plays, but more on us not to get the job done defensively, be in the right spots, good sticks, so that's probably where I most disappointed that's how it ends up…
"It's Game 89 and we pride ourselves on that, have done a very good job from top to bottom of the lineup no matter who's in and obviously credit to them for finishing those plays when we weren't in the right spots."
The Bruins received some life early in the second when Jake DeBrusk cut the deficit in half at 5:04 of the middle frame, and moments later, Trent Frederic rung a wrister off the post from the slot that would have knotted the game, 2-2. But in another massive momentum swing, Carolina regained a two-goal lead only seconds later when Domi notched his second of the game at 10:33 of the second.
"At that point, you're a shot away," said Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron. "We got some jump out of it, took the momentum back, had some good shifts, good looks. We had a couple good looks in the first as well that if those bounces go your way, it's a different game. It's easy to say that now. Kudos to them, they played a great series, great game. They're advancing."

Early in the third, Coyle and Craig Smith had a 2-on-1 that could've cut the deficit back down to one, but the puck hopped over Coyle's stick. Boston did pull within a goal with 20.5 seconds to go when David Pastrnak tallied one from the doorstep, but despite a scramble to tie the game over the final seconds, the Bruins came up just short.
"You only get so many kicks at it," said Cassidy. "We were down in the second period of Game 2 here, I think it was 4-1 and things weren't going well. And there was some messaging. I know I talked to guys, 'Hey, this is a good group that's got better as a year went on. And we've got to start building our game pretty soon here because you're going to give this team life.' Even though we didn't win that game, that was the beginning of us getting back in the series.
"We got home, we played better. And so tonight was kind of going to be the end of that building and on to the next round. But that was our goal and that was what we discussed…that's why they're disappointed."
Bergeron added that he was proud of the group for battling back from a 2-0 series deficit to force a seventh game against the East's second-best team during the regular season, as well as the club's resurgence as a whole over the second half of the year.
"It stings and it's not the feeling that you want. But that being said, we did it together," said Bergeron. "It's always hard to say that when you come up short, but it is something to be proud of. We battled. That's something that we've done all year, to be honest with you. We started off show this year and this series was kind of the same.
"We battled our way back and played the type of hockey we needed to play to advance. But tonight, we came up short and we needed a little more."
Brad Marchand said he believed the Bruins had a team that could go on a deep run if they were able to get by the Hurricanes in the opening round.
"Every year you go into playoffs, you hope you make a long, deep run and you get a good opportunity to fight for that Cup," said Marchand. "We knew we were going to have our hands full with this team. They've been great all year long, very well coached, very well disciplined in their system. They have a lot of depth.
"We knew it was gonna be a tough battle but we also knew that if we got through this team, we would make a deep run. I think this is probably the toughest group to come out of the East with this group. We were hoping to beat them.
"It always hurts, it always will. You only get a few opportunities like these throughout your career where you have a legit chance at going far and we thought we had that this year. It hurts."

A Tough Road

In the end, the Bruins were unable to break through at PNC Arena, dropping all four road games in Raleigh, as well as their lone regular season trip to North Carolina.
"The road games hurt us in the long run," said Bergeron. "I thought it was close. It's a good team that we just battled against and we knew it was gonna be a tough series, we knew it was gonna be a long series. We expected that. We needed one on the road and we couldn't do that."
"They play better at home," added Brad Marchand. "They get the matchups they want and same with when we're home, we get the matchups we want and we feed off our energy from our crowd, they do it well here.
"That's playoff hockey, that's what you play for all year is that home ice advantage. This is why because when you're good at home, it matters in playoffs and they are and we were. We needed to win a road game and we didn't.

Uncertain Future

After the game, Bergeron said he had not yet had time to contemplate his future. The 36-year-old, with his 18th NHL season now completed, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
"It's too early right now," said Bergeron. "It's too fresh right now. It still stings from a hard-fought series. We came up short. I'm going to have to think about it, but I'm not there right now."
Marchand was emotional in discussing his longtime linemate and friend after the game.
"He's the backbone of our team," said Marchand. "Obviously the biggest part of our team. We want him to come back, but whatever happens, he's earned the right to make whatever decision he wants and take the time that he needs. I guess time will tell.
"That's why this one probably hurts more is the unknown for next year with him. He's done so much for this group and sacrificed so much that it would've been nice to make a good run for him. It's disappointing."