3 Keys: Bruins at Hurricanes, Game 5 of Eastern First Round

(WC1) Bruins at (1M) Hurricanes
7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, BSSO, NESN
Best-of-7 series tied 2-2

The Carolina Hurricanes will attempt to wrest back momentum from the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference First Round as they return home to PNC Arena for Game 5 on Tuesday.
The Bruins won the past two games at home, 4-2 in Game 3 on Friday and 5-2 in Game 4 on Sunday, after the Hurricanes won the first two games of the series in Raleigh.
Before Games 3 and 4, the Bruins had lost five straight regular-season and playoff games this season to the Hurricanes and had been outscored 26-4.
It has been quite a turnaround for the Bruins, one predicated on the improved play of their reunited top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, and their power play, even as they have played without their top two defensemen, Hampus Lindholm (undisclosed injury) and Charlie McAvoy (COVID-19 protocol).
"We're looking forward to the challenge tonight," Bruins forward Taylor Hall said. "We like to think the momentum's on our side, but it's great to have momentum until you don't have it."
The Hurricanes are working on ironing out some things that have gotten away from them the past two games, including their penalty kill.
"The main message is just keep your head up," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It's a new series. Just flush everything. We're starting over now. That's the good part of it. We've done a lot of good things. Everyone's talking about the bad things, but there's way more good that's going on."
Teams that win Game 5 when a series is tied 2-2 hold an all-time series record of 219-58 (.791), including a 6-0 record in the 2021 playoffs.
Here are 3 keys for Game 5:

1. Defensive adjustments

The Bruins managed to win Game 4 despite missing Lindholm and McAvoy. Lindholm hasn't played since he was injured on a hit by Andrei Svechnikov late in the second period of Game 2 and McAvoy was placed into COVID-19 protocol just before Game 4.
Both players remain out for Game 5.
Boston found a way to win with solid play from their other defensemen, including Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton, and will need more of the same if Boston hopes to take the lead in the series.
Matt Grzelcyk said the Bruins have been cleaner on their breakouts and they've been able to work together as five-man units as they make adjustments without Lindholm and McAvoy.
"Obviously we'd love to have those guys back in the lineup," Grzelcyk said. "They make a huge difference for us. But we've always had that next-man-up mentality no matter what, and our backs are kind of against the wall there, especially the last two games. We've got to win those games.
"We're never going to have one guy that's going to replace either of them. We're going to do it by committee. I think guys really take a lot of pride in that and want to buckle down."

2. Staying out of the box

The Hurricanes took eight penalties in Game 4 and got increasingly frustrated as the game went on.
It's something that Carolina said Monday needs to be better in Game 5, though Brind'Amour specified that there was only one penalty Sunday that he didn't like.
"We've talked about it all year," Brind'Amour said. "I think we play hard, play aggressively. It's obviously an issue, the ones you can control for sure. Those are the ones we have to take out of the game. … We can cut those out."
Not only have the Hurricanes taken the penalties, but the Bruins have taken advantage, going 4-for-14 on the power play the past two games. They were 1-for-8 in the first two games.
"Our execution is poor," Brind'Amour said. "We've got to dial in on that. They're forcing us to make some high-end plays we haven't been able to make. That's the game."

3. Starting strong

The Hurricanes have scored the first goal in each of the first four games of the series, something that the Bruins will look to change in Game 5.
"They're a fantastic hockey team," Hall said. "But when we've had a lead we've been able to keep it against them. That's a good thing for us and that shows that if we can get that lead tonight, hopefully we can produce the same results and hold on to a win."
In the past two games the Bruins have followed the Hurricanes first goal with a tying goal, 7:59 later in Game 3 and 2:03 later in Game 4. But not allowing Carolina to score the first goal in the first place would help.
"It's less about the crowd and just playing with the lead," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "It's been a challenge. Here we've started well in this building, so maybe we'll get rewarded for it tonight."

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall -- Erik Haula -- Craig Smith
Jake DeBrusk -- Charlie Coyle -- Tomas Nosek
Nick Foligno -- Curtis Lazar -- Chris Wagner
Matt Grzelcyk -- Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton
Mike Reilly -- Josh Brown
Jeremy Swayman
Linus Ullmark
Scratched:Anton Blidh, Trent Frederic
Injured: Hampus Lindholm (undisclosed)
COVID-19 protocol: Charlie McAvoy

Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Teuvo Teravainen -- Vincent Trocheck -- Martin Necas
Nino Niederreiter -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Max Domi -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Derek Stepan
Jaccob Slavin -- Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Brendan Smith -- Ian Cole
Antti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched: Ethan Bear, Steven Lorentz
Injured: Frederik Andersen (lower body), Jordan Martinook (lower body)

Status report

Each team will use the same lineup as it did in Game 4. … Lindholm, a defenseman who was injured in Game 2, did not travel to Raleigh. … McAvoy, a defenseman, will miss his second straight game.