The Hurricanes are having trouble stomaching their emerging playoff woes.
Or as captain Jason Williams put it after his team fell to the Bruins 6-2 on Sunday:
“Sometimes you’ve got to eat a poop sandwich. It doesn’t taste good and you have to chew on it for a little bit,” Williams said. “We’ll have to do it for a couple days and get the taste out of our mouth next game.”
The surprise Hurricanes, who disposed of the Islanders to come within one round of the Stanley Cup final, currently find themselves in a 2-0 Eastern Conference Final hole as the series shifts to Carolina.
Before Williams discussed the Hurricanes’ stinky situation, Bruins fans sang a different tune.
With a five-goal, third-period lead and the Bruins still not done scoring, the crowd in TD Garden began a throaty chant of “We want the Cup!”
The next time they see their team, the NHL’s championship trophy might be on the line for real. The Hurricanes are in trouble
Matt Grzelcyk scored twice — his first career multi-goal game — and Tuukka Rask made 21 saves to lead the Bruins.
Connor Clifton had his first career NHL goal — the 19th Bruins player to score this postseason, tying a franchise record. Jake DeBrusk, David Backes and Danton Heinen also connected, and Torey Krug and Charlie Coyle had three assists apiece.
“It does feel contagious,” said Boston coach Bruce Cassidy, whose team won its fifth straight game and needs two more victories to reach the final for the third time in nine seasons. “Everybody’s contributing.”
The series moves to Carolina for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The Hurricanes need to win at least one to force a fifth game back in Boston on Saturday night.
— With AP