What do Hurricanes, Bruins need to change after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Hours before game time Monday, Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was talking about the work that would be done in the hours after the game.
“I think you’re prepared to play the game and the adjustments come as you go along,” Cassidy said after the Bruins’ morning skate. “I think tonight at about 10:30 or 11 o’clock the coaches staffs of both teams will be saying, ‘OK, this is maybe the direction it’s going to go’ or it plays out how you think.
“But that’s when the tinkering starts, I think. After each game you say, ‘OK, they exposed us here or we didn’t see that coming or whatever.’ I think both teams are playing good hockey. But it takes a little while most times to get into it and get going and kind of build that animosity, typically.”
That said, the Bruins were beaten 5-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup first-round series. Let the tinkering begin.
The Canes’ coaching room had to be a happier place late Monday night. But coaches are never completely pleased and that includes the Canes’ Rod Brind’Amour.
Granted, the start could have been better for Carolina. The Bruins did their best to try and quiet a raucous crowd at PNC Arena, putting 14 shots on net, only to have Canes goalie Antti Raanta turn away all 14.
“They played a good game. They came out and they were good at the start,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday, “(Raanta) made some big stops early to allow us to get to our game. But there’s quite a bit we can get better at and we’re going to have to.”
It’s hard to say how the game could have been affected had Boston’s Jake DeBrusk scored on a shot 20 seconds into the game. It was close. Raanta made the stop at the post. But the Bruins were inches away from a 1-0 lead and had other chances in the first.
“Their goalie made saves, and there were pucks around the front of the net that we just couldn’t locate or take the right path to but they were there,” Cassidy said. “He did a good job and he held them in the game.
“It is a team, if you have the lead on, it’s easier for us if we get the lead. They play better when they have it. They’re made for that, they check well. It opens them up a little bit if they’re behind. It could have been an impact on the game, for sure, if we finish.”
Instead, with the Canes leading 2-1 in the third period, the Bruins were the ones caught opening it up a little bit. With defenseman Matt Grzelcyk pinching down the wall in the offensive zone, the Canes were able to transition into an odd-man rush going the other way, Teuvo Teravainen scoring off a Vincent Trocheck pass.
“They have to chase the game. That’s what led to the third goal,” Brind’Amour said. “They were being a little more aggressive than they probably normally would and we were able to take advantage of it.”
It started with a basic play, Cassidy said — a battle for the puck on the wall. The Canes’ Max Domi chipped the puck past Grzelcyk and out of the Carolina zone to Trocheck, and Teravainen went top-shelf on goalie Linus Ullmark.
“They did a good job most of the night outside the dots in the walls,” Cassidy said. “If you look at the third goal, we’re pinched down and we don’t win the battle there for the puck and they get a two-on-one. That’s where we need to be better and that’s where they were better than us.”
With the last change at home, Brind’Amour was able to match up the way he preferred. That often meant Jordan Staal’s line with Niederreiter and Jesper Fast on the ice with defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce against the Patrice Bergeron line.
Boston’s goal came from its second line as center Erik Haula, after some hard work behind the Canes’ net, found Taylor Hall open in the slot to make it a 2-1 game. That came against Sebastian Aho’s line.
It’s on to Game 2, Wednesday at PNC Arena. Brind’Amour could stick with what worked. Cassidy said Tuesday that Ullmark would start Game 2.
Either way, there figures to be a few more late-night coaching confabs.
Canes-Bruins viewership highest in 20 years
The Canes received a lot of national exposure from the Game 1 victory. It was the most-watched opening-night playoff game in at least 20 years, according to Sports TV News & Updates.
The game attracted 857,000 viewers on ESPN, topping the previous record of 844,000 for the Flyers-Penguins opening-night playoff game in 2012. The Tampa Bay-Toronto playoff opener Monday had 466,000 viewers on ESPN2.
The Canes game was the most-watched NHL game on cable since the opening game of the 2021-22 season other than the Winter Classic, Sports TV News & Updates tweeted Tuesday.
Shoot, Teuvo, shoot
Teuvo Teravainen was surprised Tuesday to learn he now has more career playoff goals (17) than assists (16). Trocheck was not.
“He’s got a phenomenal shot. He puts it right where he wants it,” Trocheck said.
Teravainen, who had 22 goals in the regular season, often has been told by Brind’Amour to shoot the puck more. To which Brind’Amour noted, “There are other things I remind him to do. ... One of his gifts is he has a great shot but he’s very unselfish and wants to make plays all the time.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 10:03 AM.
