Bruins

The Hurricanes advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday, winning 3-2 over the Bruins to capture the series in seven games.

The Hurricanes (54-20-8) finished first in the Metropolitan Division during the regular season. The Hurricanes kept their lead, holding on to win the series. Max Domi scored two goals propelling the Hurricanes to victory.

Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron isn't sure if Saturday was his final game with the team he's played for the last 18 seasons. Read more on Boston.com.

We had a couple of good shifts, good looks – a couple good looks in the first as well that those bounces, if they go your way, it’s a different game. But Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta and the skaters in front of him made the stops needed to prevent the game from going to overtime. We started off a little slow this year, this series was kind of the same, but we battled our way back and played the type of hockey we needed to advance. It’s great to see.” “At that point, you’re a shot away,” Bergeron said of the final seconds. But tonight, we came up short and obviously we needed a little more.” “He’s the backbone of our team. If he ever wanted to open up and talk about it, then that’s up to him. It’s not the feeling that you want. “A moment to share with them and thanking them for battling together every day, basically,” Bergeron said of the final moments on the ice on Saturday. “It stings. Bergeron, who turns 37 in July, is in the final year of his contract. Not after – it’s too fresh right now,” Bergeron said when asked if he decided if he would return next season.

BOSTON — After the traditional handshake line marking the end of the series was complete, Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron skated to the corner and waited by ...

If Bergeron hasn’t made up his mind, he could want to see what the Bruins choose to do with the roster. “He’s the backbone of our team,” Marchand said. “He’s obviously the biggest part of our team. The Bruins have expressed interest in resigning him, he hasn’t said whether he plans to return to the team or even the NHL as retirement rumors have increased around him. “I have no idea. He shared a hug and a handshake with each teammate as they walked down the ice following Boston’s 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

As the seconds ticked down on Boston's Game 7 loss to the Hurricanes, Bruins fans' attention quickly shifted to the future of their captain.

Whether we've seen the last of Bergeron remains unclear. He and many Bruins fans probably share the same sentiment. "Enjoy practice, enjoy everything that's going to unfold throughout the whole thing," Bergeron told reporters, per team-provided video.

Final Game Highlights. Scoring began late in the first as Teuvo Teravainen found space out in front to pop the puck in behind Jeremy Swayman on a tip-in late, ...

The point of being the Future is that you’re building for what will eventually be the Present, and that takes time, and a lot of lessons learned. - Jeremy Swayman showed that he is capable of being a playoff goalie if given the right tools and the right effort. - I’m not going to read into the entire team hugging Bergeron as he left the ice. There’s a reason people aren’t a fan of him, and I can’t really say anything to change your mind...but when he rises to the occasion, you start to realize what Don Sweeney saw in him during That Draft We’re Not Going To Bring Up. He showed up ready to do work in these playoffs, and if this is it between this player and this team, I say I genuinely thank him for being a Bruin, because as Bruins go, he was pretty good. That isn’t news to the point that I’m writing 1200 words on it anymore, but it is kind of maddening. - While I’m not going out of my way to call any professional organization that employs Max Domi or Tony DeAngelo classy in any way, let’s hand it to the Canes for the one thing they did show up with: A Plan. They showed up and did exactly what they did in the regular season: used depth and (let’s face it) superior defense to out-possess the Boston Bruins in ways that mattered, and more importantly took advantage of inexperienced goaltending at the postseason level...oh yeah and got more out of their depth than the B’s did. And pace can be all the difference at the end. The Bruins had it and then some for games where they were at home and had the last change, they could get their stars chugging and a couple. The problem was getting those players to score on the road, and to match the kind of pace that the Canes showed all regular season matchups and all throughout these playoffs. This was the case throughout the regular season, it’s the case in the playoffs. Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak fought like hell and had individually rough games throughout, but Pasta’s late goal in this final game only starred and underlined a reality of the team: when the chips are down, they are ultimately the arbiters of fate for theBoston Bruinsas of right now. Second goal of the game.— The Puck Authority (@PuckAuthority1) #LetsGoCanes #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/tWbA0Zs03w May 14, 2022

Teuvo Teravainen nets his 18th career playoff goal to strike first for the Canes. Carolina up 1-0 at the end of the first period in Raleigh. @CanesOnBally.

DeBrusk and Pastrnak gave the Bruins a little life after responding to Carolina’s second and third tallies, respectively. Or he may decide to sign with a Stanley Cup contender with the Bruins’ championship window possibly closed. Perhaps the Bruins will move on from Sweeney’s mixed history with drafting along with certain head-scratching trade and free-agent decisions. They also have a pair of top prospects in Fabian Lysell and Mason Lohrei, who will likely compete for NHL minutes within the next couple of seasons. “They get the matchups they want, and it’s the same thing when we’re at home; we get the matchups that we want,” Marchand said of the Round 1 home-road dynamic. A fortunate bounce on Frederic or Coyle’s chances could’ve also swung the momentum in Boston’s favor in a tightly-contested Game 7. David Pastrnak cut the Bruins’ deficit to 3-2 with a little over 21 seconds remaining in regulation. “If we bury that 2-on-1, things might change in a game like today, where it’s hard to score,” Cassidy said. The Bruins certainly benefitted from home ice. Jake DeBrusk provided life a mere 1:50 after Domi’s first goal of the postseason. Instead, one of their troubling trends popped up at the worst possible time. Talyor Hall committed an ill-advised high-sticking double-minor on the ensuing shift.

What's the Hurricanes-Bruins score? Who's winning Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the first round of the NHL playoffs, ...

Touch pass to Teravainen in the slot gets the Hurricanes on the board first. Stepan replaced the injured Jordan Martinook in Game 4. Holding call — and Carolina gets the first PP. Update here: No goals for Carolina on the PP, but it looked solid. First PP to Carolina: Kotkaniemi dumps the puck past Forbort and Forbort tackles him. Far better than sitting cold for a while to start the game, per most keepers. Big save at the horn: Swayman with a big stop right before the horn. Sneaks out of the corner, deflection comes right to him off Jordan Staal as he battles with Lindholm in front, slips the puck between Swayman and the near post. Pinpoint feed from Teravainen and Domi skates into the slot at the right time for his brace. Missed call there on Smith, and the Canes dodge a bullet. With 20 minutes to play in this one, Boston needs to mount a significant comeback. Skjei to the room. Maybe a goal?: Staal might have beat Swayman on the stuff there but not sure there’s going to be a conclusive replay.

The 2022 offseason has begun for the B's, and everything hinges on the future of captain Patrice Bergeron, whose future with Boston is uncertain.

The road to the Stanley Cup Final through the East figures to be quite hard for a while. Maybe if Bergeron comes back the Bruins could add a few pieces and contend for another Cup. But the Eastern Conference is absolutely loaded. The 2022 NHL Draft isn't until July 8, and free agency begins July 13. The team has traded away 2023 and 2024 second-round picks, too. That's far from ideal, to say the least. He's still one of the best players in the league. What about the trade market? If Bergeron were to leave, his departure would create a massive hole at first-line center. University of Michigan center John Beecher, who was Boston's first-round pick in 2019, is nowhere near ready for a top-six NHL job. From an analytics standpoint, Bergeron had one of the best defensive seasons since these stats entered the public eye after the 2004-05 lockout. He made similar comments during Round 1 of the playoffs, including his press conference after Game 7. Obviously, I’m going to have to think about it, but I’m not there right now.”

Bergeron's actions at the end of the Bruins' loss seemed to indicate a possible farewell.

The Boston Sports Journal shared a video of the 2003 draft pick hugging each of his teammates as they made their way off the ice for one last time in Raleigh. Bergeron, 36, said throughout the season he intended to discuss his future when Boston’s year officially concluded, an outcome that came to pass Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. “It’s too early right now,” he said when asked about his future, per NBC Sports Boston. “Not after—it’s too fresh right now.

Max Domi had two goals and an assist Saturday as the Canes beat the Bruins 3-2 in game seven.

In a somehow lopsided but also close series of hockey, it was the home team that did end up holding serve in every single game. Antti Raanta was solid in net once again, as he stopped 26 shots in the biggest game of his NHL career so far. TO THE MAX— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) pic.twitter.com/oFfZ8YTQzc May 14, 2022 Domi, the lone trade-deadline acquisition for the Hurricanes, played maybe his best game with the team in its biggest moment so far this season. MAD MAX— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) pic.twitter.com/PPJvZBYZL1 May 14, 2022 The first period was a very tight, very game seven period of hockey, as the teams battled for most of the frame and exchanged some penalties.

"It hurts": The Bruins reflected on their early exit from the playoffs following a Game 7 loss to the Hurricanes. Read more on Boston.com.

“It stings and it’s not the feeling that you want. “It’s always hard to say that when you come up short, but it is something to be proud of. Cassidy said it was a big-time save from Antti Raanta and that it shifted the momentum. At that point, the Bruins had a steep, uphill climb and simply ran out of time. We needed one on the road and we couldn’t do that.” And we thought we had that this year,” Brad Marchand said.

For much of the Hurricanes - Bruins series, Max Domi was quiet. In Game 7, Domi made the biggest difference, and Carolina advanced to the Second Round.

While Boston created quite a bit of pressure in the remaining moments, Antti Raanta and the ‘Canes came through. Yet, in Game 7, Domi emerged as a big difference-maker as the Hurricanes beat the Bruins 3-2 to advance to the Second Round. Through six games of the Hurricanes – Bruins series, Max Domi managed zero goals and two assists. Generally speaking, the Bruins’ big guns ( David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand) were productive in Boston, but unable to break through on the road. Teravainen and Jaccob Slavin also generated multiple points for the Hurricanes in Game 7. During the second period, Domi scored his first two goals of this postseason.

The final seconds of the season contained a couple of oh-so-close scoring opportunities and endless chaos, but in the end all the Bruins were left with were ...

And the rest of that remaining 2011 core is heading to the twilight of their careers — Marchand just turned 34. Their stars were always admirable, but as a whole, their rosters just haven’t had the depth required to navigate the NHL’s brutal postseason. Jake DeBrusk’s score from the slot cut the Hurricanes lead to 2-1 at the 5:04 mark of the second. The stakes, of course, weren’t in that range on Saturday, but the Bruins’ performance in Game 7 of their first-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes had shades of that Cup Final loss three seasons ago. But had the Bruins won that game, they still would have trailed the series, 3-2, and they lost the previous two games to the eventual Stanley Cup champions by a combined 10-2 score. The Isles scored the game’s first goal, three unanswered to break a tie in the second period, and a pair of empty netters for a couple of unnecessary exclamation points.

The Hurricanes' social media team is taking a victory lap after Carolina eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs with a Game 7 victory Saturday.

They are active on Twitter, to say the least. Shortly after the final buzzer, the 'Canes sent out this tweet trolling Bruins fans: The Hurricanes eliminated the Boston Bruins from the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-2 win in Game 7 at PNC Arena on Saturday night.

The Boston Bruins have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. How does this season rank for a team that had high hopes for 2022?

In addition, the departure of Rask and the uncertain future of Bergeron demonstrates a potentially declining situation in Boston. They battled back, but were ultimately unable to steal a game in Raleigh and lost the series. The B’s lost Game 7 to the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that Boston had eliminated in both 2019 and 2020.

Boston eliminated from postseason with 3-2 loss to Hurricanes at PNC Arena.

He's done so much for this group and sacrificed so much that it would've been nice to make a good run for him. We needed to win a road game and we didn't. "He's the backbone of our team," said Marchand. "Obviously the biggest part of our team. And so tonight was kind of going to be the end of that building and on to the next round. But tonight, we came up short and we needed a little more." "The road games hurt us in the long run," said Bergeron. "I thought it was close. I think this is probably the toughest group to come out of the East with this group. But that being said, we did it together," said Bergeron. "It's always hard to say that when you come up short, but it is something to be proud of. "It stings and it's not the feeling that you want. "You only get so many kicks at it," said Cassidy. "We were down in the second period of Game 2 here, I think it was 4-1 and things weren't going well. Early in the third, Coyle and Craig Smith had a 2-on-1 that could've cut the deficit back down to one, but the puck hopped over Coyle's stick. We had a couple good looks in the first as well that if those bounces go your way, it's a different game.

RALEIGH, NC - MAY 14: The Boston Bruins take a timeout during the third period of game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Boston ...

Everything the Bruins do to reload for 2022-23 depends on what their captain, Patrice Bergeron, wants to do.

That is not the type of player teams trade away simply because he wants out. Even if he re-signs, the Bruins still have to explore the center position. The Bruins would not have a problem with that. As such, the Bruins are under no obligation to fulfill his request. He is the slam-dunk favorite for the Selke Trophy. He remains a scoring threat. They cannot afford to have Pastrnak walk for nothing at year’s end, as John Tavares did to the Islanders when he left for Toronto. The Bruins were satisfied with his Round 1 performance. Marchand is ready for the title, regardless of his discipline history. Bergeron could leave the game without any part of his legacy being blemished. It was his lowest percentage in the playoffs since his rookie season. He is a No. 1 center in all situations. There is a lot to do.

"I think this is probably the toughest group to come out of the East," Bruins star Brad Marchand said after the Canes won Game 7 to advance.

The Canes needed every edge they could get in the crapshoot that is a Game 7, and their consistency in the regular season paid off. His performance is tough to convey even through advanced analytics; it was more about keeping the Canes in games while they still had the chance to win. But I am talking about discipline in more of an existential way — the response game from DeAngelo after he flung his stick. Then the image of DeAngelo holding back Trocheck in Game 7. Brind’Amour and Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy are Jack Adams winners and two of the best coaches in the NHL. The cool thing about that is they differ in philosophy, which The Athletic’s Bruins reporter, Fluto Shinzawa, and I covered in our live room before Game 7. Whether it’s Game 7 or the 50th game of the season, he says the same thing. Brind’Amour had said repeatedly that he liked the team’s game at even strength, and if he meant that, why would he make huge changes? Defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Tony DeAngelo are leading the Canes with eight points apiece (two goals for Slavin, one for DeAngelo). He expects the same thing every day. He doubled down on that philosophy throughout the Bruins series and didn’t make any major lineup tweaks after losses (save for Steven Lorentz’s Game 7 debut replacing Derek Stepan). The expectation in “Raleighwood” has changed for sure, as the team finished the regular season atop the Metro Division and No. 3 in the league. We knew it was going to be a tough battle, but we also knew if we got through this team, we would make a deep run.

Whether it's in personnel or attitude, reworking Boston's front end is a big priority for Bruce Cassidy, Don Sweeney, and Cam Neely.

Not all the offensive shortcoming falls to forwards, of course. Hand in hand, the coaching staff of Cassidy et al, have to develop more of a grind factor out of whatever forwards Neely and Sweeney bring to the table. That was glaringly obvious for the Bruins on PNC ice, where in four games the Hurricanes fashioned leads of 2-0, 4-1, 3-0, and 3-1 by the 40:00 mark or each game, respectively. Hurricanes forwards were more of a pain, a greater threat, and in the end, more successful. Even with Bergeron aboard the last two weeks, the Hurricanes proved to be too much, even if the series ended in a Game 7. Be it now or later, it will feel painful, empty, and too soon — especially for a roster currently ill-suited and engineered to move ahead without him.

Watching these Bruins players being hugged by Bergeron after Boston's 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of this opening-round Stanley Cup playoffs ...

Yes, he did miss the remainder of the season as he recovered from a broken nose and a Grade 3 concussion. If he decides to retire, there will be handwringing that he didn’t go out a winner the way, say, Peyton Manning did. Or that he didn’t do something extra special in his last game, the way Ted Williams socked a home run in his final trip to the plate. I feel a lot of the symptoms from the concussion, and so far, it’s hard for me to walk on two feet. The Garden was silent as the kid remained on his back for a few moments, motionless. He was eventually placed on a stretcher and soon was on his way to the hospital, and to an uncertain future. He was already a star, already a Bruin, and you know exactly what I mean by that. This latest early-round playoff exit is going to be placed under a Big, Bad Bruins Microscope in the days and weeks to come. And any talk about Bergeron, now an unrestricted free agent, will include lots of what-might-have-beens but also a ton of what’s-next if the Bruins captain, who turns 37 on July 24, either retires … or … and decorum requires that this be mentioned as a possibility … signs with another team. First, it was David Pastrnak. The next was Brad Marchand, Bergeron’s teammate on the Bruins since Marchand’s NHL debut in 2009. The season was over. The game was over.

Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron will take some time to decide whether to return for a 19th season.

“He’s the backbone of our team. Hampus Lindholm, 28, was acquired midseason to shore up the defense, and Marchand is still one of the league's most dangerous scorers at 33. Longtime captain Zdeno Chara left as a free agent in 2020, David Krecji opted to play at home in the Czech Republic last summer and goalie Tuukka Rask abandoned his comeback from hip surgery in the middle of this season. He is second in Bruins history with 47 playoff goals and 123 points, helping the team win the 2011 Stanley Cup and return to the Final two other times. “It’s too fresh right now,” he said in Raleigh, North Carolina. “It still stings from a hard-fought series. “It would have been nice to make a good run for him.

The final seconds of the season contained a couple of oh-so-close scoring opportunities and endless chaos, but in the end all the Bruins were left with were ...

And the rest of that remaining 2011 core is heading to the twilight of their careers — Marchand just turned 34. It did not go unnoticed — it could not go unnoticed, for all eyes were drawn to the captain at the conclusion of what could have been his final game — that he took a moment to acknowledge every teammate with a hug or a handshake as they departed the ice for the final time this season. Jake DeBrusk’s score from the slot cut the Hurricanes lead to 2-1 at the 5:04 mark of the second. The Isles scored the game’s first goal, three unanswered to break a tie in the second period, and a pair of empty netters for a couple of unnecessary exclamation points. But had the Bruins won that game, they still would have trailed the series, 3-2, and they lost the previous two games to the eventual Stanley Cup champions by a combined 10-2 score. The Bruins had home ice for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against St. Louis, but from the get-go the brutish Blues treated TD Garden like it was their own backyard rink.