Swayman lit up, offense cold, and more: 3 reasons why Boston Bruins lost 8-2 to Carolina Hurricanes

The Boston Bruins were on the wrong end of an 8-2 shellacking at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC Arena on Thursday night. The rout was Boston’s worst performance this season with Jeremy Swayman getting lit up for six goals on 22 shots.

Hampus Lindholm and captain Brad Marchand had the goals for the Boston Bruins. Andrei Svechnikov and Jack Roslovic had two goals apiece with Jackson Blake, Martin Necas, Sean Walker, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi adding the others for Carolina.

So, let’s take a look at the three reasons why the Boston Bruins were pounded by the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

3 reasons why Boston Bruins lost to Carolina Hurricanes

#3. The penalty kill took the night off

The Hurricanes made the Boston Bruins pay for the lack of discipline on the ice. The Bruins took five penalties, three of which resulted in power-play goals. In particular, the Canes scored twice with the man advantage as they opened up a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.

After Hampus Lindholm got one back to make the game 4-2, Svechnikov buried another power play marker to put the game out of reach at 8:51 of the second period.

The ineffective penalty kill made the difference as the Bruins could have clawed their way back if not for the three power-play tallies by the Hurricanes.

#2. The offense also took the night off

The Bruins had 15 total shots on the Canes. It seemed like the Bruins couldn’t get anything going. In part, the lack of momentum was due to the numerous penalties the B’s had to kill.

Nevertheless, the Bruins struggled to string various solid shifts together. Boston’s best stretch was midway through the first when Marchand tied the game at one with a power play marker of his own.

Then, the Bruins tried to get back into the game early in the second. That effort led to Lindholm’s goal. But that was essentially it for the Bruins’ offense on the night. The lack of scoring has become a concerning trend for the B’s, as the club’s main offensive stars fell silent.

#1. Jeremy Swayman lit up

The usually outstanding Jeremy Swayman had a terrible night. He gave up six goals on 22 shots. The uncharacteristic outing looked bad on Swayman. He was pulled after the Canes made it 6-2 in favor of Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo gave up two more goals of his own.

Case in point, Jackson Blake’s goal. The play started as the Canes entered the Bruins’ zone. With the two Boston defenders falling back, the original shot was Swayman’s to stop. While he made the initial save, no one picked Dmitry Orlov, who shot from the high slot and got a redirection from Blake.

It’s hard to blame Swayman solely for that goal. But a positionally sound goaltender would have had a chance to make that save. Unfortunately, Swayman was out of position following the first save, and no other Bruin got back into the play. The goal counted and made the game 3-1 at the time.

The Boston Bruins will have a chance to regroup following Thursday night’s disaster and face the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.