Patrice Bergeron scored a late second period game winning goal Wednesday evening, as the Boston Bruins advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs by knocking out the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in game five of an Eastern Conference First Round series at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Boston wins the best of seven series 4-1.
Carolina opened the scoring in the first period when Haydn Fleury took a drop pass from Sebastian Oho and fired a wrist shot off the post and in past Boston goalie Jaroslav Halak at 9:35, and it was 1-0 ‘Canes after the opening 20.
Both teams had great chances early in the second period, including Carolina right in front of Halak who somehow kept the puck out on at the end of a Hurricanes powerplay. On the ensuing scramble, David Pastrnak who was back in the lineup for the first time since game one had a breakaway out of the box that was stopped by Petr Mrazek. Boston evened it on the powerplay at 15:16 when David Krejci found a loose puck in the slot and fired it in. It was the third of the series for Krejci. Bergerons game winner was a lucky one to give the Bruins the lead on another powerplay late in the period. With time running out and behind the net looking to make a play, Bergeron fired it out front and the puck went off the skate of Mrazek and into the net at 19:56 as Boston had a 2-1 lead after two.
After both teams went scorless on a powerplay each early in the third, Krejci had a great chance on another powerplay 8:30 into the third when he found another rebound and beat the goalie but hit it off the post instead. The Bruins had a couple more Grade A chances but couldn’t convert, but the ‘Canes didn’t have any for the remainder of the game as the defense kept them to the outside for the most part. Carolina pulled Mrazek late, but it was Boston holding on to move into the second round.
Halak stopped 23 of 24 shots in the win. Bergeron and Krejci both had a goal and an assist, while Pastrnak also helped with two assists. Boston went 2-4 on the powerplay, while Carolina went 0-3. Mrazek made 25 saves in the loss. The Hurricanes end their season with a final record of 42-28-5. The Bruins now await their opponent in the semifinal round of this years NHL playoffs, where they will face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or New York Islanders.
Jayson Tatum had another huge game Wednesday night, racking up a team high 33 points and adding five rebounds and five assists, as the Boston Celtics shrugged off a tough start and crushed the Philadelphia 76ers 128-101 in game two of an Eastern Conference First Round series at the Walt Disney World Resort. Boston now leads the best of seven 2-0.
Philadelphia started out really strong after dropping game one, jumping out to a 25-11 lead with 4:52 left in the first quarter. That was the only highlight of the night though for the 76ers. Boston, who is playing without Gordon Hayward who is out four weeks due to an ankle injury in the opening game, ended the first 12 minutes on a 16-8 run and cut it to a 33-27 deficit when Tatum knocked down a three-pointer as time expired. The Celtics took over the lead again for the first time since early in the first when Brad Wanamaker made a reverse layup with 9:11 to go in the half. The green led by as many 13 in that second quarter and led 65-57 at the break. They continued to increase the lead and led by 23 when Kemba Walker nailed a jumper with three seconds left in the third. Boston led by 28 twice late in the game, their largest of the night. Philadelphia was never closer than 10 points after a Tatum basket that began the third, as the Celts took an early stranglehold in the series.
Walker added 22 points and four rebounds in the Boston win. Jaylen Brown had 20 points and five rebounds, while Marcus Smart and Enes Kanter also got into double figures with 10 points a piece. Smart had four rebounds, while Kanter had nine. Fan favorite and rookie center Tacko Fall even made an appearance in the last two minutes (three points, one rebound). Joel Embiid carried the way for Philadelphia again in the loss with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. The Celtics knocked down 19-43 from three point range in the game (44.2%), while the 76ers were only 5-21 (23.8%). Tatum alone shot 12-20 from field, 8-12 from behind the arc. Game three is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m.
At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox finally snapped their losing streak at nine games by rallying past the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 Wednesday afternoon.
Boston (7-18) went down 2-0 early as Phil Gosselin had an RBI single and Didi Gregorious added a sacrifice fly in the top of the first. Rafeal Devers tied it with a long two run homerun to center in the third. Jackie Bradley Jr. gave the Sox the lead for good with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Kevin Pillar reached on a fifth inning error to score Alex Verdugo to make it 4-2. After Philadelphia cut it to 4-3 in the seventh, Devers added an RBI double in the bottom half and Bradley Jr. also did the same in the eighth to finish the scoring.
Austin Brice (1-0) got the win in relief of starter of Kyle Hart. Brice pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless and hitless baseball. Ryan Weber and Matt Barnes both got holds, while Brandon Workman picked up his fourth save. Devers had three hits and three RBI, while Mitch Moreland added two hits. Jake Arrieta (1-3) allowed four runs and five hits over 4.1 innings to take the loss for the Phillies. Philadelphia (9-10) was held to three hits on the day. Boston begins a four game series at Baltimore Thursday night at 7:35. Nathan Eovaldi will take to the mound for the Sox.
