Carolina Hurricanes (2-1) over the Boston Bruins (1-2) 3-2 OT
Jussi Jokinen is becoming Carolina's playoff hero
(Photo Credit: AP)
Jussi Jokinen is starting to make this a habit. Jokinen scored the game-winning goal 2:48 into overtime to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 win and a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. Jokinen, waived by the Lightning in December, now has 5 goals in the playoffs, two short of his regular season total. "Obviously it feels great, with the things I've been through this year," said Jokinen. "I found my confidence again here. It's been a great ride." This is the third huge goal of the playoffs for Jokinen. In the first round against the Devils, he scored the game-winning goal with 0.2 seconds left in regulation of Game 4 and the game-tying goal with 1:20 left in regulation in Game 7.
The Hurricanes game-winner is proof how much things are magnified in the playoffs. Zdeno Chara had the puck in the defensive zone with time to clear it. Chara failed to get it out however when Jokinen stepped up and held the puck in the zone. Sergei Samsanov took the puck and slid a backhander that got caught up in the traffic up front. Jokinen drove the net, found the rebound, and deposited the puck in the back of the net. All of this could have been prevented if Chara had successfully cleared the puck. Jokinen also assisted on Samsanov's goal in the second period. That goal came just 69 seconds after Eric Staal's 7th of the playoffs and gave the Canes a 2-1 lead. By the way, the line of Eric Cole, Eric Staal, and Ray Whitney had 9 combined shots-on-goal. Chara has been very physical against them, but it apparently isn't enough. Staal does not need much room to score, as he showed on his goal last night.
Lost in the Hurricanes win was Tim Thomas's outstanding effort. Thomas was the only reason Boston made it to overtime. Thomas stopped 38 of Carolina's 41 shots, including a remarkable save on Matt Cullen 13:00 into the first. The rest of the team played more like they did in Game 2. "We had some chances, but there's such a thing as hockey gods, and sometimes they'll give the breaks to the team that deserves it," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Unfortunately, we didn't really deserve this game, the way we played." It's clear that the Bruins will need to get a better effort from everyone to defeat the Hurricanes.
Jussi Jokinen is becoming Carolina's playoff hero
(Photo Credit: AP)
Jussi Jokinen is starting to make this a habit. Jokinen scored the game-winning goal 2:48 into overtime to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 win and a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. Jokinen, waived by the Lightning in December, now has 5 goals in the playoffs, two short of his regular season total. "Obviously it feels great, with the things I've been through this year," said Jokinen. "I found my confidence again here. It's been a great ride." This is the third huge goal of the playoffs for Jokinen. In the first round against the Devils, he scored the game-winning goal with 0.2 seconds left in regulation of Game 4 and the game-tying goal with 1:20 left in regulation in Game 7.
The Hurricanes game-winner is proof how much things are magnified in the playoffs. Zdeno Chara had the puck in the defensive zone with time to clear it. Chara failed to get it out however when Jokinen stepped up and held the puck in the zone. Sergei Samsanov took the puck and slid a backhander that got caught up in the traffic up front. Jokinen drove the net, found the rebound, and deposited the puck in the back of the net. All of this could have been prevented if Chara had successfully cleared the puck. Jokinen also assisted on Samsanov's goal in the second period. That goal came just 69 seconds after Eric Staal's 7th of the playoffs and gave the Canes a 2-1 lead. By the way, the line of Eric Cole, Eric Staal, and Ray Whitney had 9 combined shots-on-goal. Chara has been very physical against them, but it apparently isn't enough. Staal does not need much room to score, as he showed on his goal last night.
Lost in the Hurricanes win was Tim Thomas's outstanding effort. Thomas was the only reason Boston made it to overtime. Thomas stopped 38 of Carolina's 41 shots, including a remarkable save on Matt Cullen 13:00 into the first. The rest of the team played more like they did in Game 2. "We had some chances, but there's such a thing as hockey gods, and sometimes they'll give the breaks to the team that deserves it," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Unfortunately, we didn't really deserve this game, the way we played." It's clear that the Bruins will need to get a better effort from everyone to defeat the Hurricanes.
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