Bruins
The Bruins have now given up 27 goals within the final two minutes of a period this season.
Carolina Hurricanes celebrate after a goal by Seth Jarvis during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, March 6, 2025.
The Bruins coughed up a goal with just 18.6 seconds left in regulation to Carolina. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
The 2024-25 Bruins have had no shortage of back-breaking losses this season.
But if there was ever a sequence that accurately summed up a disastrous year for Boston, it might as well have been the final minute of Boston’s 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
With less than 25 seconds second in regulation, a shorthanded Bruins roster playing without Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and a now-traded Trent Frederic was knotted in a 2-2 tie with a stout Carolina team.
Even though Boston’s playoff hopes have dwindled, earning at least a point on the road and hanging tough with a legitimate Cup contender was a welcome sight in what has otherwise been a rudderless season.
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But in the waning seconds of play, disaster stuck for a Bruins team that was seemingly ready for overtime.
After receiving the puck from Elias Lindholm, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov attempted to fire the puck clear out of Boston’s zone or feed it over to fellow blueliner Brandon Carlo.
But what should have been a routine play quickly devolved into a catastrophe for Boston. Just as Zadorov was in the process of whipping the puck out of danger, his stick snapped — sending the puck dribbling aimlessly out to the slot.
The skittering puck was subsequently scooped right up by Carolina forward Seth Jarvis, who fired it past Joonas Korpisalo with 18.6 seconds left on the clock to seal a 3-2 win for Carolina.
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The play itself drew pained reactions from former Bruins Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, and Andrew Raycroft — who were watching the game as part of NESN’s “Unobstructed Views” alternate broadcast.
It was yet another crushing result for the Bruins, who have now lost eight out of their last nine games and have seen their playoff hopes all but snuffed out at this stage of the calendar.
As noted by 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson, the Bruins have now given up 27 goals this season within the final two minutes of a period.
“The difference today was a broken stick and a crazy bounce,” Korpisalo noted postgame.
Thursday’s ending was made even more painful by the fact that the Bruins seemingly avoided disaster just a little over a minute earlier — with former Bruin winger Taylor Hall giving Carolina a 3-2 lead with just 1:37 left on the clock.
Boston eventually challenged the play for offsides, with the subsequent video review taking Hall’s go-ahead tally off the board.
But even after being gifted new life following that video review, the Bruins still managed to skate off the ice at Lenovo Center without any points to show for it.
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“I thought the whole team was pretty good tonight,” interim head coach Joe Sacco said. The guys played hard. They were ready to play and we’re disappointed, obviously. The ending, right now, it stings because of what happened there. … That’s the way it goes.”
Profile image for Conor Ryan
Conor Ryan
Sports Writer
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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