Bruins rally past Hurricanes, gain in Atlantic

RALEIGH, N.C. -- David Pastrnak scored his first NHL hat trick, including the game-winning goal, and the Boston Bruins rallied from three goals down in the third period to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Matt Grzelcyk, Pastrnak and Danton Heinen scored in a span of 1:17 in the third to erase Carolina's 4-1 lead. Pastrnak scored from the left face-off circle on the power play to make it 5-4 with 3:30 remaining and completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal that made it 6-4 with 1:34 left.
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Hurricanes highlights]
The Bruins (44-16-8) are 7-1-0 in their past eight games and four points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning lost at the Ottawa Senators 7-4.

Boston played with four defensemen for part of the third period after Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug left with injuries. Forward Jake DeBrusk also left early in the third.
"We knew it was a big ask to come back, and we talked about it after the second period," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "'Listen, we just have to play better than the guy across from you. Outcompete him, win some pucks. We may or may not win the game, but that's just the way we need to play,' and we were able to do it."
The Hurricanes (30-29-11) have lost four of their past five (1-4-0) and remain seven points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"I'm still kind of stunned really," Hurricanes forward Justin Williams said. "Things can go so right for 50 minutes and you can dig in. Then you let one goal turn into another one and then another one."
Brad Marchand's 30th goal of the season gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 11 seconds remaining in the first period. Pastrnak carried the puck behind the net and left a drop pass for Marchand, who scored at the right post. Marchand reached the 30-goal mark for the third straight season.

Carolina tied it 1-1 on Sebastian Aho's power-play goal at 2:10 of the second period. Aho, who had a shooting lane at the top of the right face-off circle and a screen in front, shot to the far side for his 25th goal.
Carolina took a 2-1 lead on Teuvo Teravainen's goal with a two-man advantage. Teravainen scored on a one-timer off a pass from Aho at 12:06.
Williams made it 3-1 lead with 1:17 remaining in the second. Tuuka Rask (29 saves) stopped Brock McGinn's shot from the slot, but Williams dived to the loose puck behind the goaltender and pushed it into the net.
"It was our worst period of the year, I think," Cassidy said. "They were much better than us. They won all their puck battles."
McGinn scored shorthanded for a 4-1 lead at 51 seconds of the third period. Rask stopped Elias Lindholm on a breakaway, but McGinn tapped in the rebound.

Grzelcyk made it 4-2 when he scored on a wrist shot over Cam Ward's glove at 10:04.
"It was a weird game," Pastrnak said. "There was not much energy. Then [Grzelcyk's] goal happens and it's 4-2 with 10 minutes to go. Definitely, that gets us going."
Pastrnak scored on a wrist shot at 11:00 to pull Boston within 4-3, and Heinen took a pass across the slot from Krejci and finished at the left post to tie it 4-4 at 11:21.

Goal of the game

Pastrnak's goal at 16:30 of the third period.

Save of the game

Rask's save on McGinn with 5:37 remaining in the third period.

Highlight of the game

Heinen's goal at 11:21 of the third period.

They said it

"All of a sudden everything clicks. Every play we make is a sharp play. You kind of laugh at yourself. How can you go from not executing one play and not playing the system, to executing every play and playing in the system? You can't really explain that. We've been that resilient group all year." -- Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask
"Well, you have no option, right? We've got to do it. We've got to watch, see it unfold. We've got two days of practice. There are ways to recover, and we will see if we do it." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters on how Carolina will respond to the loss

Need to know

Boston came back from three goals down to win in regulation for the sixth time in its history and first since a 6-5 road win against the Ottawa Senators on April 20, 1995. … The Bruins are 15-3-4 against the Metropolitan Division. ... Aho, McGinn, Teravainen, Lindholm and Justin Faulk each had two points for Carolina.

What's next

Bruins: At the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-F, NESN, NHL.TV).
Hurricanes: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, NBCSP, NHL.TV).