If the Boston Bruins' early-season showdown with the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Tuesday night was an exam for head coach Marco Sturm and his club, well, they likely would not have passed the test with much of a grade.
Carolina rallied from an early Bruins power-play goal, just 1:31 into the game, and broke a 1-1 third-period tie on a Sebastian Aho goal midway through the final period for a 2-1 win for the defending Stanley Cup champs. Here are two winners and four big losers after the Black and Gold fell to 9-3-1.
Winner: Jeremy Swayman
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was good. In fact, he was very good. He turned back 28 of the 30 shots the Hurricanes fired at him, with many being high-danger chances. He didn't have a shot at stopping either of Carolina's goals by Jackson Blake late in the first period and Aho on a 2-on-1.
The Hurricanes' pressure in the offensive zone all night long made things difficult for the Black and Gold to exit the zone and created many more chances. Swayman came up clutch, and if it wasn't for him, Carolina could have had six, seven, or even eight goals. Once again, goaltending wasn't the problem.
Loser: Frederic Brunet
It's all about learning from mistakes for NHL rookies, and on Tuesday night, rookie blueliner Frederic Brunet learned firsthand what it's like to play against the Hurricanes. Carolina pressured the puck in all three zones, and Brunet was slow in his decision-making, which cost him late in the first period.
Jackson Blake, just after coming out of the penalty box after being called for his second minor penalty of the opening period, stole the puck from Brunet behind the Black and Gold net and swung out in front and beat Swayman with a nice move to tie the game. It was a tough night overall for Brunet, who finished with a plus/minus of minus-2. It might be time to give him a night off and a break from a hectic start to the season.
Winner: Pyotr Kochetkov
Quietly, Kochetkov is having a great start to the season, taking over the top duties between the pipes for coach Rod Brind'Amour. He had to make just 14 saves in the game, but when he was called upon, he came up big. He is 8-0-0 to begin the season and is playing with a ton of confidence. He made some big saves late in the game and robbed Morgan Geekie twice in the first period.
Loser: David Pastrnak
The Bruins need more from their top players, and right now, despite having some good stats, they are not getting much from David Pastrnak. In 22:39 of ice time, Boston's captain had just one shot, three giveaways, and a minus-2.
There were instances where he passed up shots to make an extra pass, or he had the puck taken off his stick without much resistance. Boston lives dangerously with him near the blueline at times on the power play, as he is just one bad pass or turnover away from sending the opponents' penalty kill going the other way with a high-danger chance. He needs to be better, much better moving forward.
Loser: Nikita Zadorov
For whatever reason, Nikita Zadorov just hasn't been good all season for Sturm. Before he was benched on the road trip earlier this month out West, and after, he just doesn't look like the guy he was the first two seasons with the Black and Gold. He took a lazy second-period tripping penalty, which ended up being a lengthy 5-on-3 after Hampus Lindholm was hit with a tripping penalty seconds later. Whether he's injured or just not playing well, Sturm needs to figure it out with his big blueliner.
Loser: Pavel Zacha
Yes, Zacha scored the only Bruins goal early in the game, and he had one more of Boston's 15 shots, but other than that, he really didn't make much of an impact in the game. Like Zadorov, he just doesn't look right. Whether he's injured and playing through something, it's the trade rumors, or the pressure of playing in a contract year, something is off. If this keeps up, then general manager Don Sweeney missed his chance to sell high on him with a trade over the summer.
Add us as a preferred source on Google