Hurricanes battle Bruins to a deadlock through overtime, fall at home in a shootout

The Carolina Hurricanes held their annual Whalers Night on Sunday at PNC Arena, with all that it entails.

They wore the green Hartford Whalers retro jerseys with the iconic logo, again embracing the franchise’s past. Pucky the mascot made an appearance. Many of the Canes players wore headbands in the pregame and 80s pop music filled the air.

They also played the Whalers’ old goal song, “Brass Bonanza.” It sounded three times for the Canes, which would not be enough.

The Bruins, the best team in the NHL this season, came away with a 4-3 shootout victory as Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk scored on shootout shots. Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman stopped Brent Burns and Teuvo Teravainen in the shootout to close it out.

Forward David Pastrnak scored his 50th and 51st goals and Swayman was just good enough in net for Boston, which extended its winning streak to seven games.

Swayman stopped shots by Burns and Jordan Staal in the final four seconds of overtime, the last of his 34 saves. Anderson had 35 saves for the Canes, including five in the OT.

“It’s one of those games where you say it’s probably a good point to get out of it, considering how it was looking,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.

The Canes (47-16-9), fighting to keep the lead in the Metropolitan Division, trailed 3-1 after the second period but pulled into a 3-3 tie in the third after goals from defenseman Brady Skjei and center Sebastian Aho.

“Obviously a great pushback by us against the best team in the league right now,” said Skjei, who has 16 goals. “Obviously you want to get two points but proud of the way we came back in the third period. That’s the way we need to play all 60 minutes.”

Jack Drury had a second-period score for the Canes’ first goal, redirecting a pass from Jalen Chatfield.

Skjei, on his 29th birthday, scored early in the third to pull the Canes within 3-2. Aho made it 3-3 at 3:44 of the third with his 33rd of the season, taking a centering pass from Jordan Martinook.

“In the locker room between the second and third we were still confident,” Skjei said. “We knew if we got to our game we can put some pressure on them.

“To get two goals there fairly quick was big and I thought we finished the game strong. We had a chance in overtime and came up short in the shootout, but there were a lot of good things to take from this game.”

After clinching the Atlantic Division title Saturday with a win at Tampa Bay, the Bruins (57-11-5) played without captain Patrice Bergeron, who had an illness. Also sitting out were Brad Marchand and defenseman Hampus Lindholm, and goalie Linus Ullmark was given the day off as Swayman played his 32nd game and picked up his 20th win.

After Drury scored from the low slot, the crowd was loud. But Canes forward Teuvo Teravainen was soon called for high-sticking defenseman Charlie McAvoy — a call that had the crowd booing and Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour livid.

Pastrnak scored on the power play, beating Andersen short side, making Brind’Amour madder. During a bench interview on Bally during a break, he criticized the referees.

“It’s hard when you feel like you’re just tossing them a goal,” Brind’Amour said after the game. “But you have to kill it. I get it.”

Jakub Lauko added a goal for the Bruins later in the second for a 3-1 lead, stopping and firing from the right circle.

The Bruins led 1-0 after a first period that had two goals disallowed.

Pastrnak’s first goal counted. Pastrnak was able to shake loose on a breakaway and beat Andersen low.

The Canes’ Stefan Noesen deflected a shot past Swayman and the goal horn sounded — briefly -- but Noesen’s stick was above the crossbar and the goal quickly waved off.

Then came a bizarre sequence, with action on both ends of the ice.

Martinook crowded Swayman in front, dropped his stick, then was shoved by Swayman as he leaned over to pick it up. Seconds later, McAvoy put Martinook in a choke hold from behind.

A penalty was called on McAvoy just before the Bruins’ Tyler Bertuzzi scored — no goal.

Skjei and Aho had Canes fans roaring in the third. A night after a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canes again pushed hard in the third, then the OT.

“It’s a good challenge. You want to be playing the toughest teams,” said Drury, whose father, Ted, once played for the Whalers. “It’s good preparation for the playoffs and I think we’re embracing it.”