The Hurricanes entered nostalgia mode by paying homage to their Hartford roots. The Bruins, on the other hand, brought an early holiday spirit, and not in a good way.
Boston’s two-goal lead quickly turned into a deficit against the former Whalers squad on Sunday night. A crisp attack turned passive. Their sound defensive efforts over the last few games turned into a sloppy plethora of turnovers.
By then the Bruins played on their heels and the PNC Arena DJ got busy blasting the Brass Bonanza.
“The Bruins absolutely thought this one was going to be one of those easy games, and you can see it,” NESN analyst Billy Jaffe said during the second intermission.