Game 1
Eastern Conference Finals
Boston Bruins (8-5) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (8-3)
8:15 pm ET
National TV (US and Canada): NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Boston Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub FM
Carolina Radio: 99.9 The Fan FM
National Radio: Westwood One
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Boston Bruins Twitter
Carolina Hurricanes Twitter
*All from Official Boston Bruins Website
Need to Know: Eastern Conference Final
McAvoy: 'I Respect the Process. I Respect Their Decision'
Backes Left His Mark on Series
Rask Paces B's to Eastern Conference Final
From Carolina
Eastern Conference Final Preview: Hurricanes vs. Bruins
Tuukka Rask
13 GP | 8-5 | .938 SV% | 2.02 GAA | 1 SO
Curtis McElhinney
3 GP | 3-0 | .947 SV% | 1.56 GAA
Petr Mrazek
9 GP | 5-3 | .913 SV% | 2.22 GAA | 2 SO
Kural-leaps for luck
Hold Me
Tonight's Officials
Referees Marc Joannette (25), Dan O'Rourke (9)
Chris Rooney (5)*
Linesmen Matt MacPherson (83), Jonny Murray (95)
Devin Berg (87)*
Ntl. Anthem Todd Angilly
BOSTON NOTES
INJURIES/SUSPENSION – Playoff man-games lost: 35 - Noel Acciari – Upper body - Kevan Miller – Lower body - Charlie McAvoy - Serving 1-gm NHL-imposed suspension tonight
2019 CONFERENCE FINAL SERIES vs CAROLINA - The Bruins and Hurricanes play game 1 of their Conference Final series tonight in Boston ... Game 2 will be in Boston on 5/12 (3 pm) with games 3 & 4 in Carolina on 5/14 & 5/16, respectively (both 8 pm) ... If necessary, game 5 will be in Boston on 5/18 (7:15 pm), game 6 in Carolina on 5/20 (8 pm) & game 7 in Boston on 5/22 (8 pm). - The Bruins have reached the 2nd round of the post-season for the 2nd straight season & 7th time in their last 9 playoff appearances (lost in round 1 in 2012 & 2017; did not qualify in 2015 & 2016). - They are playing in their 8th Conference Final since the round was introduced in 1982 & they are 4-3 in the previous 7 series, including wins in each of their last 2 (2011 vs. TB & 2013 vs. PIT) … They are playing in their 33rd overall best-of-seven Semi-Final or Conference Final with a 16-16 record entering this round. - The Bruins enter tonight’s game with a 52-49 all-time record in game 1s of best-of-7 series.
BOSTON vs CAROLINA, LIFETIME SERIES - The Bruins & Hurricanes are playing their 5th series in their playoff histories with the Bruins having a 3-1 series record … They have played 26 games with Boston holding a 15-11 advantage and 80-64 scoring edge. - 3 Bruins – Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and David Krejci – played in the last series vs. Carolina in 2009. - Fun Facts: The 1st 2 series were vs. Carolina as the Hartford Whalers (1990 & 1991 DSF) with the last 2 coming vs. Carolina (1999 CQF & 2009 CSF) … The Bruins won the 1st 3 while Carolina took the last 1 with a gm 7 OT victory … The Bruins set a club record for goals in a period when they scored 6 3rd period goals on 4/11/1991 for a 6-1 win vs. Hartford … The Bruins faced a 3-goal 3rd period deficit on 4/11/1990 as the Whalers carried a 5-2 lead into the final period before Boston scored 4 unanswered in regulation for a 6-5 win … 2 of the previous series have gone to 7 games with the other 2 decided in 6. 2018-19 SEASON SERIES vs. CAROLINA - The Bruins were 2-1-0 vs. Carolina this season with a 3-2 win in Carolina on 10/30, a 5-3 loss in Carolina on 12/23 & a 4-3 OT win in Boston on 3/5. - Brad Marchand (2-3=5 totals) led the Bruins in scoring in the season series while Sebastian Aho (4-3=7) led the Hurricanes … Tuukka Rask (0-1-0, 5.23 GAA, .865 Sv% in 1 gp) & Jaroslav Halak (2-0-0, 2.47 GAA, .938 Sv% in 2 gp) shared the net for Boston, while Petr Mrazek (1-0-0, 3.00 GAA, .900 Sv% in 2 gp), Scott Darling (0-1-0, 3.10 GAA .903 Sv% in 1 gp) & Curtis McElhinney (0-0-1, 3.89 GAA & .895 Sv%) split the goal for Carolina.
CAROLINA NOTES
LAST GAME Carolina completed their sweep of the New York Islanders and won their sixth consecutive game with a 5-2 win at PNC Arena on Friday. Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen each tallied a goal and an assist, while Justin Faulk posted two assists for the Hurricanes. Greg McKegg scored the game-winning goal for his first career playoff point, and Justin Williams also scored a goal to reach 100 career playoff points. Curtis McElhinney made 26 saves to earn his third straight win.
SECOND ROUND VS. NY ISLANDERS The Hurricanes earned a best-of-seven series sweep for the first time in franchise history in the Second Round against the Islanders. Teuvo Teravainen led Carolina with five points in the series (3g, 2a), while sixteen different Hurricanes skaters recorded at least a point in the series. Curtis McElhinney posted a 3-0 record after entering Game 2 in relief of Petr Mrazek for the first three wins of his postseason career. McElhinney became the oldest goaltender in NHL history to make his first playoff start in Game 3, and stopped 71 of 75 shots faced over his three games played for a save percentage of .947.
FIRST ROUND VS. WASHINGTON Carolina won a playoff series after trailing three games to two for the second time in franchise history and the first time since the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against NJD. Jaccob Slavin led the team in points with nine (0g, 9a) and set a franchise record for assists in a playoff series. Warren Foegele (4g, 2a), Dougie Hamilton (3g, 3a) and Jordan Staal (3g, 3a) each posted six points, while Sebastian Aho (2g, 3a) and Brock McGinn (2g, 3a) each tallied five points. Petr Mrazek made all seven starts for the Hurricanes, winning a Game 7 and a playoff series for the first time in his NHL career.
INJURY REPORT Micheal Ferland, upper body, missed eight games (4/18-5/3) Trevor van Riemsdyk, left shoulder surgery, missed two games (5/1-5/3) Saku Maenalanen, upper body, missed two games (5/1-5/3) Petr Mrazek, lower body, missed two games (5/1-5/3) 2019 Playoff Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 26 2018-19 Regular Season Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 126
