Bruins score six against Hurricanes in Game 2, extend series lead

BOSTON --Matt Grzelcyk scored two goals for the Boston Bruins in a 6-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at TD Garden on Sunday.

Danton Heinen had a goal and an assist, Charlie Coyle and Torey Krug each had three assists, and Tuukka Rask made 21 saves for the Bruins, who lead the best-of-7 series 2-0.
"I think, again, it was just kind of the importance of taking advantage of home ice," Grzelcyk said. "We came out ready to go, and that's been a strength of our team throughout the Stanley Cup | Complete series coverage]*
Justin Williams and Teuvo Teravainen scored, and Petr Mrazek made 19 saves for the Hurricanes.
"I think just all in all we've got to rediscover who we are," Williams said. "You spend all this time off leading up [to the series] and everyone writing articles about how great we are, and then you come out and sometimes you've got to eat a poop sandwich. It doesn't taste good, and you have to chew on it for a little bit, and we'll have to do it for a couple days and get the taste out of our mouths next game."

Game 3 is at Carolina on Tuesday.
Grzelcyk gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 15:22 of the first period when his shot from the left face-off circle trickled under Mrazek's arm.
"I wasn't happy about the first goal," Mrazek said. "Obviously, I have to have that. I knew it went through me."
Jake DeBrusk scored a power-play goal to make it 2-0 at 18:32 after getting his third rebound at the top of the crease.
"Yeah, we got a little frustrated after the second one went in," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "But again, we weren't very good after the first period or the last five minutes of the first and throughout the rest of the game. We got off our game, and give them credit, there's a reason we got off our game. They're playing their game, and we haven't gotten to ours."
Connor Clifton scored his first NHL goal at 3:46 of the second period to extend the lead to 3-0.
"It was great, something special," Clifton said. "Something I will always remember. It was a solid effort by everyone, and it was a great win."
Grzelcyk made it 4-0 at 17:56 on a backhand shot from the right hash marks on the power play. It was his first multigoal game in the NHL.
David Backes made it 5-0 1:10 into the third period, and Heinen scored off a pass from Patrice Bergeron on a 2-on-1 to make it 6-0 at 4:32.
Williams scored for Carolina at 11:17 on a redirection to make it 6-1, and Teravainen scored into an open net at 17:32 after intercepting a clearing attempt from Rask, who came out to play the puck.
"It's 2-0 and we have been in this situation before (against the Washington Capitals in the first round)," Mrazek said. "We are going home, and we know that we can do it at home and we have to shake it off and think about the next one."

They said it

"I don't think we played in their end enough to get enough point shots. I thought we were trying to be a little too cute around the blue lines with our forwards and D instead of crashing the net and shooting the puck more. I think in general we have to be grinding it out more in their end and get to the net. But obviously, they make it difficult for you." -- Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal
"He's a gamer. … He's a rock for us and he played awesome tonight. I couldn't be happier for him to break through and get a couple." -- Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy on Matt Grzelcyk

Need to know

The Hurricanes defeated the Capitals in seven games in the first round after falling behind in the series 2-0. The 2011 Bruins and 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins are the only teams to come back from trailing 2-0 in a best-of-7 series twice in the same postseason. … Boston has won five games in a row. ... Grzelcyk is the fifth Bruins defenseman in the past 35 years to score more than one goal in a playoff game, joining Ray Bourque (1990), Darren Van Impe (1998), Dan McGillis (2003) and Zdeno Chara (2010 and 2011). … Clifton was the 19th player to score for Boston in the playoffs, tying its record for a single postseason (1988).

What's next

Game 3 of Eastern Conference Final at PNC Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS)