BOSTON – Andrei Svechnikov opened the scoring with a lacrosse-style goal and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 4-1.
Svechnikov, who also had an assist, surprised goalie Jeremy Swayman by cradling the puck with his stick blade and flicking it into the net about midway through the second period. It was his 19th goal of the season on a dazzling move that isn’t new to his coach.
“He’s kind of revolutionized it,” Carolina coach Rod Brind´Amour said according to AP. “That one was impressive – how fast it was. And again, that’s a big goal in the game.”
Teuvo Teravainen, Jake Guentzel and Seth Jarvis also scored as the Hurricanes pulled away for their third straight win and fifth in their last six. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 22 shots.
The Hurricanes reached 50 wins and pulled within three points of the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.
“I’ve said this for years, what a great group it is,” Brind´Amour said, adding that they “just keep seeming to find new guys that” fit into the culture.
“It’s just special for me because I get to come to work with these guys every day. We’re pushing through something special and we’ll see where it goes.”
Charlie McAvoy scored the only goal for the Bruins, whose four-game winning streak came to an end. Boston still leads the Atlantic Division at 46-18-15 with three games to go. Swayman finished with 22 saves.
Guentzel’s goal midway through the third put Carolina up 3-1, then Jarvis sealed it 13:22 into the final period with a short-handed goal.
“That probably put the game away there,” Brind´Amour said. “It could go a different way if they got a power-play goal there.”
After splitting the first two meetings of the season, the Hurricanes took the season series and dominated the Bruins on their home ice, outshooting Boston 15-6 in the second and controlling much of the third after McAvoy pulled the Bruins within 2-1 late in the second period.
Despite the loss, McAvoy said the Bruins got a stern reminder of what’s ahead after three more regular-season games.
