Bruins tie the series against the Hurricanes

The Bruins were without their top two defenders after Charlie McAvoy was removed from the roster in the final minute. He joined Hampus Lindholm on the side.

Twice the Boston team came from behind and Marchand broke the deadlock early in the third period to help his team get a second straight playoff win.

Patrice Bergeron had a goal and two assists, David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist while Jake DeBrusk threaded a needle once for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves.

Brett Pesce and Jordan Staal answered for the Hurricanes. Antti Raanta came back and blocked 23 pucks in the net for the Metropolitan Division champions.

Game 5 of this series is Tuesday night in North Carolina. One of the two teams will advance to the next round Thursday night, in Boston.

Pesce gave the Hurricanes the lead in the sixth minute of play. This is the fourth consecutive time in this series that Rod Brind’Amour’s staff has been ahead in scoring.

Bergeron tied the game with four minutes left in the first period. He placed a loose puck between Raanta’s pads.

Just 33 seconds into the second period, Nino Niederreiter returned the puck to Staal, firing a pinpoint one-timer to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.

The Bruins took advantage of a power play to return the two teams to square one. Marchand sent the puck to Raanta and the puck remained in the semicircle, where DeBrusk pushed it behind the net.

Brind’Amour challenged the goal for what she felt was a hindrance to the goaltender, but the referees upheld their decision. The Bruins got a power play in the decision and it became a two-man advantage when Sebastian Aho hit Bergeron in the face.

The Bruins took the lead with just one second left in two-man power play. Marchand scored with a wrist shot and Pastrnak scored the insurance goal five minutes later.

McAvoy was removed from training

Prior to the game, McAvoy was removed from the Bruins roster and placed under the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol.

To replace McAvoy on the roster, the Bruins added defenseman Josh Brown, who played six games with the team after being taken from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline.

The 24-year-old McAvoy was a first-round pick for the Bruins in 2016. A former Boston University teammate, McAvoy finished in the top 10 in trophy voting Norris, who was awarded the NHL’s top defenseman, in each one over the past two seasons. .

In 2022, he reached personal career peaks in goals (10) and assists (46). He led all of the team’s defensemen in points this season and averaged 24:39.