Ante Ranta halted 35 pucks, Vincent Trochek and Seth Jarvis took two points each and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 to lead 1-0.
In Fredrik Andersen’s absence, it was Ranta who had to defend the Hurricanes net in the first game against the Bruins. The goalkeeper understood the message well and stood out at the start of the match. Ranta quickly chased away the tensions in the first playoff of his career.
The 32-year-old veteran was solid in the first half as he saved 14 times. In particular, he received a nine-shot volley in the first six minutes of play, the two teams retired to the locker room, still tied after 20 minutes of play.
At Bruins, Bruce Cassidy trusted Linus Ullmark for this game. Solid so far, he saw Swede Seth Jarvis break the ice at the end of the second half. Young rookie Canes subtly channeled a shot from Jaccob Slavin to put it ahead.
Carolina accelerated by adding a second. Nino Niedretter He doubled the lead after 130 seconds and Canes was two points ahead after two laps of play.
The match would have been very different had it not been for Ranta’s strong work against Canis, while the goalkeeper was still perfect after 40 minutes with 25 saves.
Bruce Cassidy’s men solve Ranta’s mystery at the beginning of the third engagement. Taylor Hall surprised Canes guard with one good timer off the top of the hole to close the gap.
Teofu Tervainen was kind enough to make fans smile after a few minutes. He accepted Troshik’s surrender in a double round and beat Linus Olmark with a perfect wrist shot to make him 3-1 Hurricane.
After showing off his passing skills, Trocheck returned at 16:59 of the third period. Trochek stunned Olmark with a backhand kick from a tight angle and Canes was completely in control of the game. Andrei Svichnikov finished scoring in the empty net.
“I was able to focus on what brought me success,” Ranta said. It’s a good result, but it’s only one match. »
“We were lacking in opportunism to come back,” Bruce Cassidy, coach of the Bruins said.
We dealt with some very physical play in this first game between the two teams, when no less than 90 shoulder kicks were dealt.
It’s the third time in four seasons that these two teams have met in the playoffs and the Bruins have had the upper hand in the previous two series. This year, Canes easily won all three matches between the two teams, winning 3-0, 7-1, 6-0.
