Carolina Hurricanes vs. Boston Bruins: Top 3 takeaways from Game 2
2. Where’s The Bruins 5v5 Offense?
Both of the Boston Bruins goals on Thursday came via the power play. They’re lucky their power play was clicking because they couldn’t get much going at 5v5 or even strength. After scoring four even-strength goals in Game 1, they couldn’t get any in Game 2.
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The Carolina Hurricanes dominated Game 2 at even strength and that’s a huge reason why they won. Carolina had more shot attempts, shots on goal, and scoring chances than Boston in Game 2. While the Bruins were strong on the power play, it didn’t really matter because the Hurricanes dominated for most of the game.
As usual, the top line for the Bruins did well. Patrice Bergeron, Marchand, and Anders Bjork (who filled in for Pastrnak) controlled 76.92% of the 5v5 shots, as the Bruins outshot the Hurricanes 10-3 with their makeshift Perfection Line on the ice.
The issue is the other lines didn’t do well at 5v5. Their second line struggled mightily even though Krejci did have one of the Bruins two power play goals. The Bruins tend to be a bit over-reliant on their top line at times. They should be encouraged by how well their top line played even without Pastrnak. But the Bruins should also be worried about their other lines.