The Boston Bruins came into Friday night’s Game 3 with the Carolina Hurricanes knowing that they really needed to win. Down 2-0 and having been downright dominated by their opponents in their last six outings, they would require a severe turnaround. They answered the call, too, even if the visitors struck first through Vincent Trocheck. However, the Bruins would score four goals in a row, and three of those had a direct hand from Brad Marchand. He scored once in that flurry while dishing out assists on two others, and that helped them eventually land a 4-2 result. 2-1 in the series proved to be the theme for the night, not only in the NBA but the rest of the NHL as well.
In LA, the Kings faithful would not have been too impressed by their team’s performance as the Edmonton Oilers came to town to demolish them 8-2 on the evening. Evander Kane scored a hat trick, making his total five in the playoffs thus far, while Zach Hyman had two goals and a helper to his name. That makes 14 goals scored in two games for the Oilers over the Kings, and it gives them clear momentum in the series. Two more road teams also grabbed wins to take edges in their respective series on Friday. One of those happened to be the Toronto Maple Leafs following a 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. A fast start saw the Leafs get two goals in the first ten minutes, and that set the tone for them as they won fairly easily in the end. Ondrej Palat recorded a goal and an assist while Jack Campbell racked up 32 saves in the triumph. The Minnesota Wild also obtained a ‘W,’ knocking off the Blues 5-1 in St. Louis. Kirril Kaprizovv, hat trick hero last time out, stayed hot with a goal and an assist, and Joel Eriksson Ek matched him in the dominant display.
