RALEIGH, N.C.The Bruins remember the two losses to Carolina early in the season, but they couldnt do enough to reverse that trend in a gritty 4-2 loss over the Hurricanes at the RBC Center.
The loss snapped a two-game winning stretch for the Bruins following their emotional loss to the Canucks, and drops them to a still-impressive 25-5-1 since the beginning of November. Jay Harrison fired a left point shot through traffic with less than two minutes in the third period to hand the Hurricanes their victory.
The hockey game wasnt going to win any hockey aesthetic contests for either team, but it appeared Milan Lucics 16th goal of the season early in the third period would provide the difference for the Black and Gold. Lucic pounced on a loose puck after a David Krejci shot was blocked in front of the net, and managed to steam the puck past Cam Ward attempting to track the puck.
But Justin Faulk rifled a point shot through traffic that tied things up after a lengthy video review of the score.
After a scoreless first period between the Bruins and Hurricanes, the two teams traded goals in the middle 20 minutes. Patrice Bergeron jumped on the rebound of a Johnny Boychuk shot in front of the net and managed to outwork Bryan Allen for a shot that pushed past Ward. Carolina responded four minutes later with a strike to knot things up again.
Brandon Sutter wound up from the high slot and Patrick Dwyer managed to get a piece of the puck before it caromed past Thomas. It was the only puck Carolina managed to get past the Bs goaltender on a night that featured gook work from both Ward and Thomas.