Recap and Ranker: Hurricanes earn a point, but losing streak continues in OTL to Bruins

Almost two months ago, the Carolina Hurricanes went to Boston and were trounced by the Bruins in a 7-1 romp. Tonight, the Canes returned to TD Garden and got a point, but the result was the same, extending Carolina’s losing streak to six courtesy of Charlie McAvoy’s goal a minute into the extra session.

For the first 19:56 of the first period, the Canes looked locked in. Victor Rask nearly gave the Canes the lead nine minutes in when his rebound of a Jaccob Slavin shot bounced off Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and behind the goaltender, but the puck was cleared off the line by Rick Nash, keeping the game scoreless for a time.

But it didn’t take long for the Canes to cash in. On an abbreviated power play halfway through the first, Jeff Skinner tipped a Justin Faulk shot into Tuukka Rask’s pads, and Brock McGinn cleaned up the rebound for his first goal in twelve games and only his third since December 1.

The Bruins then took advantage of a Faulk defensive miscue to set up Nash for his first goal with his new club. Jake DeBrusk swiped the puck from the Canes captain at the blue line and set up Nash to walk in all alone on Scott Darling, who stood no chance.

Teuvo Teravainen then restored the Canes’ lead, again on the power play after Joakim Nordstrom took a high stick that ruled him out of the remainder of the game and likely necessitated a visit to the dentist. Teravainen took a wrist shot through an Elias Lindholm screen that Rask had no track on and the Canes recorded multiple power-play goals for the first time since tallying three against the Kings two weeks ago, coincidentally the last game in which the Canes scored with the man advantage. It was Teravainen’s 16th of the season, setting a new career high for the winger.

When Sebastian Aho scored off a Teravainen give-and-go with a minute left in the period, the Canes looked to be set to go on cruise control. But these being the Hurricanes, nothing comes easy, and former Cane Riley Nash scored off a Slavin turnover with 3.2 seconds remaining in the first period, pulling the Bruins to within one but more importantly planting a seed of doubt in the minds of the visitors.

The Hurricanes took 15 shots in the second period, forcing Rask into several key saves, but it was a lackadaisical line change that cost the Canes and tied the game. Tommy Wingels, acquired from the Sharks at Monday’s trade deadline, finished off a cross-slot pass from DeBrusk on a 3-on-2 rush and tied the game at 3 over Darling’s blocker.

That’s where it stayed through the rest of the second and into the third. Neither team took a penalty after the first period, allowing the game to get into a rhythm, and Darling looked relatively solid in stopping the final 12 shots he saw in regulation. But McAvoy finished off a brief 2-on-1 1:08 into overtime, and the Canes took a point but couldn’t move closer than four points behind idle Columbus for the final playoff spot.

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