Check out the reports of games played Wednesday in the NHL playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes played near-perfect hockey at home, but the face of their series against the Boston Bruins may have just changed.
Already without their number one goaltender Frederik Andersen, the Hurricanes lost the services of assistant Antti Raanta on Wednesday night in a 5-2 victory.
Raanta was injured while playing a loose puck in front of his half circle at 7:47 of the first period. Bruins forward David Pastrnak hit Raanta in the helmet with his right glove as he raced towards him.
Raanta fell to the ground and he was bleeding from his nose or mouth. He left the playing surface with the help of the trainer and the Hurricanes announced that he would not return to the game, without however disclosing the nature of the injury.
Pastrnak initially received a major penalty for obstructing the keeper, but the referees reduced the penalty to two minutes.
Rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, the Hurricanes’ second-round pick in 2019, took over and gave up twice on 31 shots. It was his first appearance and first career NHL playoff victory.
Kochetkov didn’t really have to worry in front of the Hurricanes net, as his teammates did a good job in all three areas. Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter both scored twice as Jesper Fast added a goal.
The Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in this Metropolitan Division semi-final series. The next two matchups will take place at TD Garden in Boston, starting with Game 3, which will be held on Friday night.
The Bruins’ indiscipline quickly opened the door for the Hurricanes and Bruce Cassidy’s men were unable to establish their rhythm. Patrice Bergeron threaded the needle twice and Linus Ullmark allowed four goals on 33 shots.
The Hurricanes didn’t get off to a bad start, but it was when Raanta fell in battle that they picked up the pace. Patient with the puck close to the boards, Jordan Staal served a perfect cross pass to Fast, who moved the ropes with a one-timer.
Two minutes and 27 seconds later, Aho deftly deflected a point shot from Tony DeAngelo, giving the team a 2-0 lead. It was DeAngelo’s first of three assists in the game.
From the 70and second of the second period, Aho took advantage of a power play to make it 3-0. His hard one-timer shot gave Ullmark no chance.
On a powerplay, Bergeron jumped on his own rebound and gave the Bruins hope, but the Hurricanes replied less than four minutes later, also with an extra man. Niederreiter managed to slide the puck past Ullmark to restore a three-goal lead to his squad.
Bergeron scored his second goal of the game with 7:39 remaining in the third period. Niederreiter completed the scoring in an empty net.
The Canadian Press