What a difference a weekend makes.
On Thursday and Friday, the talk on this station and elsewhere wasn’t about whether the Bruins could win this first-round series against the Hurricanes. It was about whether they could even win a single game.
It was about whether these were the last couple games of Patrice Bergeron’s career. It was about whether Don Sweeney and Bruce Cassidy’s jobs were in jeopardy.
And it was understandable. The Bruins appeared to have no answers for the Hurricanes, a team that had dominated them in the regular season and outscored them 10-3 in Games 1 and 2. They had just lost their No. 2 defenseman, Hampus Lindholm, to an upper-body injury. To suggest that Boston could win four of the next five games was laughable.
Fast forward a few days. The series is now tied. The Bruins won both games in Boston by a combined score of 9-4. They took Sunday’s Game 4 despite losing star defenseman Charlie McAvoy to COVID protocols just minutes before warmups.
So, how the heck did this happen? There are the tangible, on-ice reasons, like the previously struggling power play catching fire, the penalty kill being impenetrable, and the reunited “Perfection Line” being, well, pretty darn close to perfect.
Just as importantly, there are the intangible reasons, like heart and resiliency. Those are qualities we thought the Bruins’ veterans had because we’ve seen it before, but we didn’t necessarily know that this year’s team was going to have at this moment.
The Bruins didn’t handle adversity well in Games 1 and 2. When they gave up the first goal in those games, they quickly gave up a second. They didn’t respond to Lindholm’s injury the right way either, as they took a couple penalties right after and gave up a power-play goal. They allowed themselves to be overcome by frustration, giving the Hurricanes nine power plays in Game 2 alone.
Games 3 and 4 looked like a completely different team in a completely different head space. Overcome adversity? How about digging out of an 0-2 hole despite missing your top two defensemen?
The Bruins gave up the first goal in Games 3 and 4 as well, but now they were answering back. Jake DeBrusk setting up Charlie Coyle for a game-tying shorthanded goal in Game 3 may go down as the turning point of the series if the Bruins go on to win. Boston piled on three more goals after that before hanging on for a 4-2 win.
In Game 4, the Bruins overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits before taking over in the third period for a 5-2 victory. This time it was the Hurricanes who got frustrated, lost their cool and gave away nine power plays.
With two of their best players out, the Bruins needed their other best players -- namely Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak -- to step up and lead the way. They did. Marchand had an absurd eight points in the last two games, including two goals and three assists on Sunday. Pastrnak had multiple points in both games. Bergeron had three points in Game 4.
This is where the tangible and intangible meet. While moving Pastrnak off the top line helped ignite the Bruins’ second-half turnaround in the regular season by giving them more offensive depth, Cassidy reuniting them late in Game 2 and keeping them together since has helped save their season.
Over the last three games with the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line on the ice at 5-on-5, the Bruins have out-attempted the Hurricanes 22-9, outshot them 13-4, and outscored them 4-0. They have also been the catalysts on the power play, which has scored four times in the last two games.
It was the perfect move at the perfect time from Cassidy, but it only works if those three players go out and perform and put the team on their backs.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Marchand said of the team rallying. “We’re playing for our season. Yeah, it’s really tough when you lose guys like [Lindholm and McAvoy]. They’re great players and they play big minutes, but it doesn’t mean you can roll over and fold. There’s a lot of pride in the room and a lot of character.”
Those three were not the only ones to step up. Jeremy Swayman looked more like a veteran than a rookie after taking over in goal these last two games. Charlie Coyle had multiple points in both games and played nearly 20 minutes on Sunday. Jake DeBrusk had a multi-point game Sunday and has continued to play well even after getting moved off the top line. Curtis Lazar has drawn four penalties in the last two games and been a key part of a penalty kill that has gone 10-for-10.
Speaking of the PK, Derek Forbort’s performance on it in Game 3 was cult hero stuff -- 6:46 shorthanded time on ice, six blocks (and nine blocks total in the game). He and D partner Connor Clifton have not just been a good third pairing, but have been able to take on a bigger workload with Lindholm and then McAvoy out. Forbort led the team in ice time on Friday. Clifton led all Boston defensemen in ice time on Sunday.
“There’s different people that have to step up,” Cassidy said. “Obviously the guys on the back end going in. It’s [Josh Brown’s] first turn. Cliffy’s probably playing a little more. Just guys having to add more to their plate, which I think every player relishes. But getting it done in crunch time against a really good team like this is a complement to them, obviously.”
Just as the series was not actually over when the Hurricanes went up 2-0, it certainly isn’t over now just because the Bruins won two in a row and have the momentum. Charlie McAvoy will likely miss at least one more game before he can clear COVID protocol. Hampus Lindholm might return for Game 5.
The top line’s task will get tougher in Game 5 when Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour can use last change to sic his top checking line, centered by Jordan Staal, on them. Cassidy made sure to avoid that matchup as much as possible in Boston.
The Bruins still face real questions going forward. Can they continue to rely on one line and their special teams like this? Can their defense continue to survive until Lindholm and McAvoy return?
But the odds were stacked against them after Game 2, too, and they overcame them. Good luck finding anyone who’s counting them out now.
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