The Boston Bruins (9-3-1) fell in a 2-1 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes (10-2-2) on Tuesday night in a matchup of the two teams with the best records in the NHL.

Just over a minute into the contest, Boston earned the first power play opportunity as JJ Peterka drew a slashing penalty against Andrei Svechnikov. 

On the man advantage, the Bruins took advantage of a draw win from Elias Lindholm to hold the zone as the top power play unit got to work. Morgan Geekie fired the first attempt towards the cage, but Sean Walker managed to deflect it. Elias Lindholm collected the loose puck and sent it around the boards to Pavel Zacha. Zacha moved it to David Pastrnak before the captain found Lindholm out in front. Lidholm made the pass to the far post, opening up a tap-in for Zacha to give the Bruins a 1-0 advantage 91 seconds in.

The Bruins would hold the lead until the final minute of the first frame. Nikolaj Ehlers forced a Frederic Brunet turnover behind the net and found Jackson Blake to the right of Jeremy Swayman’s net. Blake fought his way across the crease and kept the puck on his stick until he found an opening to put home his third of the year.

Carolina dominated the middle portion of the contest, limiting Boston to just two shots in the middle frame, but were unable to break the deadlock. The Bruins were called for three penalties in the period, including two in the final minutes that set up 90 seconds of five-on-three time for the Hurricanes but the penalty kill was able to get the job done and keep the score level.

Midway through the third period, Matthew Poitras found himself free in front of Pyotr Kochetkov’s net. Poitras saw nothing but an empty net in front of him but sent the backhanded attempt off of the post.

After the missed opportunity by Boston, William Carrier raced up ice before sliding the puck to his right for Andrei Svechnikov. The right winger found Sebastian Aho across the attacking zone at the far post, giving the twenty year old center plenty of time to give Carolina a 2-1 advantage.

The Hurricanes gifted Boston a pair of opportunities to equalize late as both Jordan Martinook and Sebastian Aho were whistled for minor penalties in the final five minutes. Boston struggled to hold the zone, managing a total of four shots on goal in the four minutes of power play time, as a suffocating Hurricane penalty kill saw out the 2-1 victory.

Carolina doubled up Boston in the shot count, with Jeremy Swayman stopping 28 of the 30 he faced. Pyotr Kochetkov had a relatively easy day at the office, stopping 14 of the 15 he faced, including only seeing nine shots in the first forty minutes of action.

 Next up, the Bruins travel to St. Louis, Mo., to take on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET on NESN.

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