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The Playoff Buzzer: Bergeron, Rask help Bruins advance to Stanley Cup Final

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Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak combine for eight points in Game 4 against the Hurricane to push the Bruins into the Stanley Cup Final.

  • Tuukka Rask stopped all the pucks and Boston’s top line contributed all the goals as the Boston Bruins became the first to book their ticket into the Stanley Cup Final. Boston won 4-0, knocking out the Carolina Hurricanes in four straight.

Bruins 4, Hurricanes 0 (Bruins win series 4-0)

They had to go at it without their captain, but the Bruins rallied around the absence of Zdeno Chara and put in one of their most complete performances of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to advance to their 20th Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins will contest for their seventh mug after sweeping the Hurricanes following a 4-0 win in Thursday’s Game 4 in Raleigh.

Tuukka Rask, who’s got one hand on the Conn Smythe Trophy, stopped all 24 shots he faced. The Bruins ‘Big Three’ did the rest. Patrice Bergeron scored twice and added an assist, David Pastrnak tallied once and added two helpers and Brad Marchand split it down the middle with a goal and an assist. A combined eight points from those three in Game 4, and a total of 14 between them in the series.

The Bruins now have some time to recover and get set for a meeting with either the San Jose Sharks or the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks currently lead the Western Conference Final 2-1, with Game 4 set for Friday night in St. Louis.
[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

Three stars

1. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins

The superlatives for Rask are running thin and there’s still a round to go in these playoffs. Rask has been on a mission in these playoffs, an unbeatable presence who is already in an opponent’s head before the puck drops.

Rask stopped 24 shots for the shutout on Thursday and stopped 109 of 114 in the series, good for a .956 save percentage. He’s one seven straight and 10 of Boston’s past 12 in the postseason.

He’ll win the Conn Smythe by a country mile if the Bruins are successful in the final round.

2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

Bergeron scored twice and helped another get past Curtis McElhinney, giving the perennial Selke contender three goals and five points in the series.

Bergeron is one of the few players remaining on the Bruins that lifted Lord Stanley in 2011 and he appears dead-set on doing it once more.

He’s got eight goals and 13 points in 17 games and his line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak is too hot to handle at the moment.

3. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

Pastrnak was the quieter of the Big Three heading into Game 4. He had just one assist through the first three games but exploded for a goal and two helpers.

He redirected a stiff pass from Marchand in the second period, a goal that would eventually be marked as the game-winner. Pastrnak finished the series with four points.

Highlight of the night

A lesson regarding turnovers:

You never touch the trophy:

Factoids

The ‘NFL players doing things at hockey rinks’ moment of the night

Friday’s schedule

Game 4: San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN; Live Stream). Sharks lead series 2-1


Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck