WRAL Sports Fan

Hurricanes

Bruins drop Canes, 5-3

Jan 28, 2013

Raleigh, N.C. — Final: Boston 5, Canes 3

Boston scored two goals late to defeat the Hurricanes 5-3 and remain undefeated on the season.

End of 2: Canes 3, Boston 3

Just two minutes after Boston made it 3-1, Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal scored a minute apart and the game is tied at 3 after two periods.

For Skinner, it was hid third consecutive game with a goal and he is up to five on the season. Staal now has four goals on the year. Alexander Semin has two assists tonight.

End of 1: Boston 2, Canes1

Boston got a short-handed goal from Brad Marchand and a power play goal from Zdeno Chara but Jamie McBain scored for the Canes to make things 2-1 after 1.

20:00 1st: Hurricanes vs. Boston

Caronlina's scratches tonight are Zach Boychuck and Justin Faulk, who was nicked up Friday in Buffalo. With Faulk's Scratch, Sanguinetti will pair with Joe Corvo, Gleason will be with Harrison.

Cam Ward is in net for the Canes while Boston has backup Anton Khudobin between the pipes.

Pregame

After sweeping a home-and-home series with Buffalo last week, the Carolina Hurricanes will shoot for a third consecutive victory when they host the Boston Bruins Monday.

The Canes outscored Buffalo 9-4 in a pair of games to get back to .500 after dropping their first two games of the season by a combined 9-2. A big part of their success has come because the guys that are supposed to be scoring have been.

Captain Eric Staal tallied a hat trick in a 6-3 win over the Sabres Thursday with Jeff Skinner adding two goals. In the win on Friday, Skinner again found the net on an empty netter to give himself a team-leading four goals and newcomer Alexander Semin tallied his first in a Canes uniform. Fellow new-faced Cane Jordan Staal has four helpers on the season,and at least one in each of the last three games. More Info     Meet the 2013 Hurricanes

“We really focused on our zone after the second game, but still, guys are getting familiar with each other, it’s starting,” head coach Kirk Muller said following Sunday’s skate. “You can see the chemistry is starting to kick in a little more.”

Carolina has won four in a row against the Bruins (3-0-1, 7 pts.) and will see back-up goaltender Anton Khudobin who is making his first start of the season. The Canes are 1-0 against No. 2 tenders on the year and are leading the NHL in shots per game at 39.5.

“We may lead in scoring chances too,” Muller said. “It’s starting to come, but obviously we have missed some quality scoring chances. We have the fire power in here that we can score goals but we need to put defense before offense.”

The defense for Carolina has seen change every game with the pairings getting jumbled between games one and two, Jamie McBain suiting for Joe Corvo in game three and Bobby Sanguinetti taking a seat in game four. More Info     Carolina Hurricanes schedule

"The last two games we've really come into our own in terms of playing our system, and I think adding that element of grit to our game has really helped us," said back-up goalie Dan Ellis, who stopped 40 shots in his first start of the season.

Carolina is playing the first of two straight on home ice and will welcome the Ottawa Senators on Friday.

The Bruins have yet to lose a game in regulation this season and their only blemish is an overtime win against the Rangers last Wednesday. Their seven points have them second in the Eastern Conference behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"It's really tough to gain back points that you give away early in the season, especially with the shortened season," defenseman Campbell said. "Every team's so good nowadays, it's a point or two that separate teams from making the playoffs or not."

The game starts at 7 p.m. at PNC Arena on 99.9 The Fan ESPN Radio with The Stormfront and The Aftermath hosted by Mike Maniscalco on either end of the contest.

 

• Web Editor: Aaron Schoonmaker