The Bruins will defend home ice for the first time on Thursday evening when the team plays host to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes, who claimed the Eastern Conference’s first wild card spot, defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals in seven games. The Canes then swept the New York Islanders and earned themselves a short rest to try and get everyone healthy. The success has driven the southern market crazy about playoff hockey and has turned PNC Arena into one of the loudest in the league. The Hurricanes have been incredibly dangerous this postseason due to their next man up approach. Injuries to starting goaltender Petr Mrazek couldn’t halt the teams momentum, as backup Curtis McElhinney has been rock solid. Unheralded names have played pivotal roles for the Hurricanes. Brock McGinn scored the series-winning goal in Washington, while Warren Foegele scored some huge goals as well. Up and down their roster, everyone has contributed. The strength of their depth could give the Bruins some trouble. The Bruins have been on a roller coaster ride through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Albeit disposing of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets, the Bruins have irked the opposition and their fanbases multiple times. From Brad Marchand’s antics to Charlie McAvoy’s hit, much of the narrative surrounding the Bruins this postseason has had to do with individual isolated incidents rather than a breakdown of how the team is performing. Many have been irrationally irate online towards the Bruins or certain members of the team for little to no reason at all. To defeat a quality opponent such as the Hurricanes, the Bruins will need to tune out the distractions and focus on the job at hand. Charlie McAvoy has been suspended for the first game of the series for a hit to head of Columbus’ Josh Anderson in game six of the second round series. Although initially making contact with Anderson’s chest, McAvoy crushed Anderson’s jaw and makes significant contact to the head. McAvoy has been the Bruins best defender in the playoffs, using his skills to create space and neutralize top opposition with his skating. It is expected that Steven Kampher will Enter the lineup tonight in his absence. If the Bruins are to be successful, the team needs to support Tuukka Rask. Rask has stood on his head, bailing out the Bruins time and time again when play becomes sloppy. Rask owns a 2.02 goals against average and a remarkable .938 save percentage through the first two series. A hot goaltender can be the easiest ticket to postseason success (Tim Thomas 2011 flashbacks anyone? ), but the Bruins need to buoy Rask’s efforts by ensuring that he faces shots from non high-danger areas. The puck drops tonight at the Garden at 8 o’clock.<doc-sep>The conference finals are officially underway, as the Boston Bruins used a huge third period to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1. The bad news? We have to wait a day until the Western Conference series begins on Saturday. Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars Play of the night | Social post of the day About last night ... Game 1: Boston Bruins 5, Carolina Hurricanes 2 (Bruins lead the series, 1-0) In the previous round, the Hurricanes saw firsthand how difficult it was for the Islanders to muster energy after a long layoff between rounds, but the Canes didn't seem to have that problem at all. Things opened up in the second period. According to Natural Stat Trick, there were a combined 13 scoring chances in the second (Carolina had a 7-6 edge) compared to just five in the first (Carolina had a 3-2 edge). Tuukka Rask, coming off an excellent second-round series, kept the Bruins in it. Then Boston surged with four goals in the third -- including two 28 seconds apart that regained the lead. The Bruins added an empty-netter and a breakaway goal in the closing minutes to make this game look less close than it was for the preceding 58. Three Stars 1. Marcus Johansson, C, Boston Bruins. Entering this game, the Bruins' power play had been the best of any team in the postseason (28.6 percent) but wasn't all too great in the Columbus series. Johansson and the second power-play unit helped reignite things, with a huge goal in the third to tie the score at 2-2. Johansson added an assist. 2. Tuukka Rask, G, Boston Bruins. Rask has been strong this postseason, and Thursday was yet another example. He stopped 29 of 31 shots, including some huge saves before and after his teammates' offensive explosion. 3. Greg McKegg, C, Carolina Hurricanes. It was the second straight game with a goal for the fourth-liner; before that, he had gone 23 straight games, dating back to the regular season, without one. It's a pretty cool moment for McKegg: The Hurricanes are his fourth team since the start of the 2016-17 season (he has been traded twice and waived twice). Play of the night And the first goal of the Eastern Conference Final has been scored by... Steven Kampfer, just as we all drew it up. #NHLBruins lead 1-0 pic.twitter.com/NAkHjEL3vN - Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 10, 2019 This was a special moment for Steven Kampfer, who drew into the lineup because of Charlie McAvoy's suspension. Kampfer, 30, was playing in his second career playoff game, a chance eight years in the making. No problem. He plugged in with a goal just three minutes in. "My parents always told me, if you're nervous, you're ready to go," he told NBC's Kathryn Tappen after the first period. Dud of the night Poor Dougie Hamilton. He got traded from Boston, and then his old fans serenaded him with chants of his name as he took two penalties. And not everyone agreed with this call. This? An NHL referee who I'm certain was assigned this game because he earned it, called this? That sets a ridiculous standard for this game and both teams, that he can't maintain... and won't. What a joke. Do better. https://t.co/Vo1dkZHu4l - Aaron Ward (@NHL_AaronWard) May 10, 2019 ...including Dougie. Dougie Hamilton reviewed video of both of his third-period penalties before speaking with reporters: "I just watched both of them and I didn't agree with either." - Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 10, 2019 Social post of the day Hintz played Game 7 with a broken foot. Janmark broke foot back in February or March and it kept getting aggravated. Zuccarello break was healed, but tendons were struggling and got injections before each game. - Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) May 9, 2019 Hockey Players are Tough, Volume 1, 332. Quotable Reporter: Can you talk about the Bergeron line Brind'Amour: Again?! - Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) May 9, 2019 Unfortunately for Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, he'll likely have to face the same questions before Game 2.<doc-sep>Is this an Eastern Conference finals matchup that most people saw? Definitely not, but here we are. What can you say about the Carolina Hurricanes other than they have fully embraced the "Bunch of Jerks" moniker? They went from the last team to advance to the second round to the first team to solidify a spot in the conference finals. They easily swept the New York Islanders out of the Stanley Cup playoffs and will have had a week off by the time the puck drops on this series. SN STAFF PREDICTIONS: Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Stanley Cup In comparison, the Bruins are coming off a hard-fought, six-game series against the Columbus Blue Jackets that wrapped up Monday. The series was the second one of the postseason where Boston had to come back from a 2-1 deficit. Against Columbus, they eventually rattled off three straight wins including a convincing 3-0 victory in Game 6 to close out the series. The Bruins are in the East finals for the first time since 2013, when they went on to lose in the Stanley Cup Final. Carolina has advanced at least this far in each of its last four playoff appearances. Boston Bruins (-150) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (+130): Schedule, breakdown, prediction Date Matchup Time (TV channel) May 9 Game 1 at Boston 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA) May 12 Game 2 at Boston 3 p.m. ET (NBC, CBC, SN, TVA) May 14 Game 3 at Carolina 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA) May 16 Game 4 at Carolina 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA) *May 18 Game 5 at Boston 7:15 p.m. ET (NBC, CBC, SN, TVA) *May 20 Game 6 at Carolina 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN1, TVA) *May 22 Game 7 at Boston 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN360, TVA) (*if necessary) Season series The Bruins won the season series 2-1 but each game was close. Boston's No. 1 goaltender, Tuukka Rask, started the Bruins' lone loss, allowing five goals on 37 shots. On the flip side, Carolina netminder Petr Mrazek, who appears to be healthy enough to return from an injury, started in the win (three goals allowed on 30 shots). Mrazek's backup and recent fill-in, Curtis McElhinney, allowed four goals on 38 shots in an overtime loss. Sebastian Aho led all scorers with four goals — one short-handed — and added two assists while teammate Teuvo Teravainen chipped in four points (two goals, two assists). Brad Marchand paced the Bruins with two goals and three assists, including the game-winning goal in the first matchup of the season. DATE ROAD HOME RESULT Oct. 30 Bruins Hurricanes BOS, 3-2 Dec. 23 Bruins Hurricanes CAR, 5-3 Mar. 5 Hurricanes Bruins BOS, 4-3 (OT) Offense Carolina: The Hurricanes roll four lines and can score up and down the roster. Youngsters Teuvo Teravainen (four goals) and Sebastian Aho (three goals) and veterans Justin Williams (two goals) and Jordan Staal (two goals) led the way in the second round. Staal netted the game-winning overtime goal in Game 1 that set the Hurricanes down the path toward a sweep. Carolina has also gotten big point production from the defense corps, led by Jaccob Slavin's 11 assists. That helps explain how the Hurricanes have 3.09 GF/GP when they were at 2.96 during the regular season. They also have 26 goals when skating 5-on-5, which leads all postseason teams. Carolina's offense got back Andrei Svechnikov late in the second round and should get back Micheal Ferland in this round. Ferland had one of the best seasons of his career in 2018-19. Boston: David Pastrnak has had an up-and-down postseason, but the 2019 NHL All-Star did net four goals in the second round, including the game-winning goal late in Game 5. He has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 12 career games against Carolina. Boston will need him, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand to increase their production. The line has not matched its regular-season level of output, but it has shown its ability in spurts. The unit will need to be more consistent. The rest of Boston's forwards will need to continue chipping in goals, because the Hurricanes have shown they can shut down some of the top players in the game. David Krejci and trade deadline acquisition Charlie Coyle have stepped up their games. Edge: Boston. Defense Carolina: Among the teams remaining, Carolina has allowed the fewest goals against (25) with an impressive 2.27 GA/GP (second-best). That's not a surprise, considering the Hurricanes have allowed the second-fewest shots against per game in the playoffs (27.8). They'll face a solid test in this series as the Bruins have the third-best GF/GP (3.08) and will pepper their netminders (35.7 shots/GP) with an attack that has produced the most shot attempts for (620). Slavin has been a star in the postseason and a workhorse along the blue line (26:36 TOI). His partner, Dougie Hamilton, will have something to prove to the team that traded him 2015. Those two will need to step up their games; they are minus-3 and minus-5, respectively, against Boston in their careers. Boston: Compared to Carolina, the Bruins are not far off their GA number (28) and are first in GA/GP (2.15). They'll be without Charlie McAvoy for Game 1, however; the NHL suspended him for a headshot on Columbus' Josh Anderson. McAvoy was one of the best defensemen in the second round and made a brilliant save in Game 5 — one of his 26 blocks in the playoffs. His partner, captain Zdeno Chara, is no slouch, though. The 6-9 Chara leads all playoff performers this year with a plus-9. He also holds an impressive plus-20 in 69 career games against Carolina to go with 28 points. Edge: Even. (Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/f1/d9/tuukka-rask-boston-bruins-042519-getty-ftrjpeg_jil93u1zmgq11rzbcr5o2yojl.jpg?t=1432633210&w=500&quality=80 Goaltending Carolina: Who will start for the Hurricanes is still to be determined, but considering how Mrazek and McElhinney performed through the first two rounds, it probably doesn't matter. Mrazek, 27, went 5-3 with a 2.22 GAA and a .913 save percentage before getting hurt in Game 2 of the Islanders series. McElhinney, who will turn 36 on May 23, stepped in and went 3-0 with a 1.56 GAA and a .947 save percentage. In seven career games vs. Boston, McElhinney is 3-2-1 with a 2.21 GAA and a .934 save percentage. His numbers far exceed those of Mrazek, who is 4-2-1 in nine games with a 3.09 GAA and an .888 save percentage. Mrazek was Carolina's No. 1 netminder this season, however, and is expected to be back between the pipes if healthy. Boston: Tuukka Rask is 8-5 in this year's postseason with a 2.02 GAA, a .938 save percentage and a shutout; after the series against the Blue Jackets, his GAA dropped to 1.71 and his save percentage rose to .948. As coach Bruce Cassidy said after Rask's shutout in the clinching Game 6 victory, "I think he was our best player tonight. I thought we had a lot of guys play well, but he was our best player." Rask is 9-4-3 with a 2.27 GAA and a .928 save percentage in 17 games liftetime against Carolina, Edge: Boston. Mrazek's status remains uncertain and Rask has been phenomenal. Special teams The Hurricanes' power play has been atrocious in the postseason at just 10.5 percent effectiveness — and 4.8 percent on the road. In comparison, the Bruins are tops in the playoffs at 28.6 percent — and an unheard-of 43.8 percent on the road. With Carolina only 75 percent effective on the penalty kill, it must stay out of the box if it wants to have any chance of winning the series. Edge: Boston. (Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/5f/3d/justin-williams-carolina-hurricanes-new-york-islanders-050119-getty-ftrjpeg_qfj209rqpea71h2jfp8d5xowk.jpg?t=1984645018&w=500&quality=80 Key players to watch Dougie Hamilton, D, Hurricanes. He still isn't sure why the Bruins traded him, but he'll definitely try to show them why they shouldn't have. He has had a solid postseason and is a veteran leader for this young team. Zdeno Chara, D, Bruins. Chara has looked slow at times, but he knows when to pick his spots and is one of the best at positioning.<doc-sep>
The Carolina Hurricanes don't always make the playoffs, but when they do, they go on big runs. Since the NHL's current playoff system was instituted in the 2013-14 season, the Hurricanes are only the second wild-card team to advance to the conference finals, joining the 2016-17 Predators... who went to the Stanley Cup Final. The Canes are the big disrupters in the NHL this season. They spent year after year as everyone's Cinderella pick, and finally, they're at the ball again. Carolina has spent only 78.6 percent of the salary cap, which is the lowest of any conference finalist in the past eight years -- by far (the next closest is the 2012-13 Los Angeles Kings at 93.2 percent). They're also having a ton of fun and galvanizing the fan base. Their postgame storm surge celebrations irked some (well, specifically one) in the old guard of hockey media, earning their nickname as the "Bunch of Jerks." 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs Miss a game from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs? Want to experience a game again? Every playoff matchup is available for replay on ESPN+. Watch now » If you don't root for Boston and you're sick of the city's professional sports teams' success -- well, you're not in luck. The Bruins are in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2013, making it Boston's 28th appearance in a conference final in the four major sports since 2001. The next-closest city? Los Angeles, with 19. What's more: The Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox have all appeared in the conference/league championship round in the past year, with the Red Sox and Patriots winning titles. The nucleus of Boston's team looks a lot like its 2013 team, which lost to Chicago in the Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins' core isn't getting any younger, and though they were able to retool on the fly, this might be the best chance for Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Tuukka Rask, et al, to win another championship. First line: Marchand, Bergeron and David Pastrnak were quiet to begin the second-round series against the Blue Jackets. And then -- reunited, perhaps for good these playoffs -- they started roaring, combining for 11 points over a two-game stretch. The Hurricanes have done some shuffling to their top six, with budding superstar Sebastian Aho as the constant at center. Depending on whom he lines up with (some combination of Teuvo Teravainen, Justin Williams, Warren Foegele and Nino Niederreiter) the Canes can present a very good top line, but not one that can exceed the talent and versatility of the Bruins'. Advantage: Bruins Depth: In Carolina, Foegele has been a breakout star; even though he was a fringe roster add and could have used some minor league seasoning at times this season, he's here to stay and has performed (five goals, four assists in 11 playoff games). Carolina has been balanced; seven players have at least three goals this postseason. Meanwhile, Boston has benefited from surprise secondary scoring. David Krejci, in his age-33 season, is quietly having a strong spring, with 10 points through 13 games. The bottom six have chipped in more than expected. Trade deadline acquisition Charlie Coyle (slotted at third-line center) looks like the best version of himself, and he was at times the team's best forward in the Toronto series. Advantage: Even Defense: The Canes' blue line is deep enough to withstand the season-ending injury to Trevor van Riemsdyk and not miss a beat. It's a talented group. Jaccob Slavin, in particular, is having an excellent postseason, especially offensively, as he leads the team with 11 points. Boston's blue line has been formidable, and the playoffs have been a coming-out party for Brandon Carlo, who, on most nights, is the Bruins' best defender by far. A big issue for Boston is the Game 1 suspension of Charlie McAvoy for his hit to the head of Josh Anderson in Game 6 of the series against Columbus. The Bruins surrendered a lot of shots to the Blue Jackets, and they'll be without a key cog for the series opener. Advantage: Hurricanes Goaltending: Tuukka Rask is playing some of the best hockey of his life. He had a .955 save percentage at even strength in the last four games of the Blue Jackets series, also stopping 26 of 27 high-danger shots (for a .963 save percentage) at even strength in that span.