Brad Marchand’s 400th career NHL goal began a first-period offensive onslaught from the Boston Bruins en route to a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Boston (45-17-15, 105 points) scored its first three goals in the first 10:46 and wound up winning its third straight game and fourth during a six-game road trip (4-2-0).
David Pastrnak and Danton Heinen also scored in the opening stanza and each finished with a goal and an assist for the Bruins, while Hampus Lindholm sealed the win with a late empty-netter.
Pavel Zacha dished out two assists.
Jeremy Swayman earned his third straight win in Boston’s goal, making 28 saves.
Jake Guentzel scored the lone goal and Frederik Andersen made 24 stops for Carolina (47-22-7, 101 points), which is 11-3-1 in its past 15 games.
Boston took advantage of the hosts’ sluggish start after the Hurricanes’ three-day break, scoring only 2:12 into the first period. Morgan Geekie’s pass from neutral ice sent Marchand in on a breakaway for his milestone goal, which he banked past Andersen after an initial save.
Pastrnak doubled the Bruins’ lead at 7:42. He took a long Zacha feed and shuffled in from the left corner to the top of the crease, lifting home his 47th goal of the season over Andersen’s shoulder.
Boston’s three-goal run concluded at 10:46 when Heinen touched home Pastrnak’s feed through the high slot, restarting the play after a keep-in near the blue line.
In the second period, the Hurricanes killed off a four-minute high-sticking penalty on Andrei Svechnikov before using a five-on-three goal to get on the scoreboard during a run of three straight Boston penalties.
Guentzel netted Carolina’s goal at 15:12 of the middle frame, batting home a puck that fell loose near the crease as Swayman fell to the ice after Brady Skjei’s point shot.
Swayman thwarted any chance of a Carolina comeback in the third. He made a point-blank stop on Guentzel charging down the middle of the rink just before the five-minute mark.
Lindholm hit an empty net from long distance with 2:11 remaining, giving the Bruins a three-goal lead.
–Field Level Media
