Carolina Hurricanes vs Boston Bruins Match Player Stats On Aug 12, 2020

Patrice Bergeron scored 1:13 into the second overtime on Wednesday, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series in Toronto.

Bergeron shot from the right side just inside the left post past goalie Petr Mrazek, after receiving a pass from David Pastrnak that went through the legs of Hurricanes defenseman Joel Edmundson. Bergeron's first goal of the postseason gave the Bruins their first victory since the NHL restart earlier this month.

Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle and David Krejci also scored for the Bruins, who swept the Hurricanes in last year's Eastern Conference finals. Boston goalie Tuukka Rask made 25 saves.

Edmundson, Brock McGinn and Haydn Fleury had goals for the Hurricanes. Mrazek stopped 36 shots.

Krejci's goal off a rebound 59 seconds into the third period gave the Bruins a 3-2 edge. Fleury's first career playoff goal tied the score with 10:11 remaining in regulation on a blast from the blue line.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is set for Thursday night.

Edmundson opened the scoring with a blast with 6:58 left in the first period, as the defenseman was beginning a shift and accepted a pass from Teuvo Teravainen. It was Edmundson's first point of this postseason, coming about 14 months after he helped the St. Louis Blues to the 2019 Stanley Cup title.

The Bruins pulled even with 2:15 left in the opening period. Pastrnak took a pass from Brad Marchand, who sent the puck across the crease. It resulted in the first goal for Boston's top line since the season's restart.

The first half of second period involved several momentum shifts, with the Bruins twice denied with pucks striking the post.

Boston went up 2-1 on Coyle's goal, a sequence protested by the Hurricanes, who felt Mrazek had covered the puck and a whistle should have been blown. Carolina challenged, and lost the ruling, so the Bruins were awarded a power play.

The Hurricanes, though, pulled even on McGinn's short-handed breakaway just 21 seconds later.

Boston held a 21-9 edge in shots through two periods.

The Hurricanes, who were the only team to sweep a qualifying-round series to reach the first round, hadn't played in more than a week. The layoff was extended with Tuesday night's unusual postponement.

Game 1 was rescheduled because Tuesday afternoon's game between Columbus and Tampa Bay, played on the same ice in Scotiabank Arena, went into a fifth overtime. Rather than a late-night start, the NHL pushed Game 1 of the Carolina-Boston series to an 11 a.m. ET start Wednesday.

The Hurricanes had lineup adjustments, welcoming back defenseman Dougie Hamilton for his first game since suffering a broken leg in January. However, Carolina winger Justin Williams and defenseman Sami Vatanen were both held out with undisclosed injuries.

--Field Level Media