Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, right, celebrates his goal with David Pastrnak during Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Toronto. The Bruins won the series in five games. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP
TORONTO — The Boston Bruins look as if they’ve moved past their shaky postseason start.
Patrice Bergeron broke a tie with 3.5 seconds left in the second period, David Pastrnak returned with two assists and the Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Wednesday to win the first-round playoff series in five games.
David Krejci also scored one of two power-play goals in the second period for the Bruins, who trailed 1-0 entering the final 5 minutes before the second intermission. It marked their second comeback in three days, the first when they rallied from a 2-0 deficit with a dominating third-period performance to win Monday’s Game 4.
“You’ve got to find ways to win, I guess that’s probably the best way to put it,” Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We found ways to win, probably different ways each game: different people in the lineup, different goaltenders playing. So that was the best part of this first round. I think our lineup now will get a little more solidified as we go.”
The Bruins entered the bubble as the Presidents’ Trophy winner with a league-best 100 regular-season points, only to go 0-3 in the round-robin series to determine the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs. There was also the surprise news that goaltender Tuukka Rask was opting out of the playoff run to be with his family shortly before Game 3.
Now Boston, which lost in a seven-game Stanley Cup final to St. Louis last season, is advancing after winning the last three games since Rask’s departure.
“They did what they do to be successful,” Hurricanes Coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “And sometimes we tried to do too much. We got off of our game.”
The Bruins trailed 1-0 before scoring twice on the power play, first from Krejci with 4:40 left in the second.
Then came Bergeron’s goal as the teams appeared headed to the second intermission tied at 1. He tracked down a loose rebound from Pastrnak that hit the boards, then quickly sent the puck back toward the net from the left side.
The puck slipped under a standing Petr Mrazek, bounced off his left skate and straight into the net for the 2-1 lead.
“I saw that … he was standing up, so I was trying to catch him, throw it at his feet and see what happens,” Bergeron said. “I knew there wasn’t that much time left in the period. I said, `Why not try it,’ just because it was kind of a desperate play with a couple of seconds left. I knew we couldn’t really set it up and have another shot.”
Bergeron and Krejci also had an assist each for the Bruins, while Pastrnak’s return to the lineup also provided a boost. After scoring 48 regular-season goals, he hadn’t played since the fourth-seeded Bruins won Game 1 in double overtime and he was a gametime decision for this one.
The Hurricanes swept the Rangers in the qualifying series, but lost to the Bruins in the playoffs for the second straight season.
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