RALEIGH, N.C. - At 19:21 of the second period of Wednesday's Game 3, the Bruins went on their second power play after defenseman Niclas Wallin was called for boarding for drilling Stephane Yelle headfirst into the boards.
Wallin's penalty came less than two minutes after Carolina's Sergei Samsonov beat Tim Thomas to make it 2-1. The Bruins didn't score on their previous power play, but had moved the puck crisply and with more confidence than they had in opportunities during the first two games of the series.
But the No. 1 power-play unit had barely gotten its legs moving when Marc Savard ran into Cam Ward. Savard was called for goaltender interference at 19:56, negating Boston's power play. As Savard went to the box, the center gave referee Bill McCreary an earful.
"I thought [Ward] elbowed me as I went through. And I didn't think I went through the blue," said Savard by phone yesterday. "But after seeing it again, I did go through. It was my fault. I let my emotions get the better of me."
It was an ill-advised penalty for Savard, who had helped the Bruins score the game's first goal in the opening period. After Milan Lucic rimmed a puck around the boards, Savard won a race against forward Chad LaRose, then sent a pass to Dennis Wideman at the right point. Wideman's shot deflected off Lucic in front, then the left wing tucked home the rebound to give the Bruins the lead.
In overtime, Savard had two close-range chances to win the game. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg blocked Savard's first shot, and Savard sent the second shot wide of the net.
"We've got to bear down when we do get those chances," Savard said. "We had some pretty good chances last game that we didn't score on. We have to bear down around the net and make life more miserable for [Ward]."
If Ference can't play, Shane Hnidy would dress for the first time in the series. Hnidy would most likely play with Mark Stuart, while Steve Montador would skate with Wideman.
"If he's called upon [tonight], I have no doubt in my mind he's going to be a good player for us," Julien said of Hnidy.
Julien also didn't disclose any information on Blake Wheeler. The rookie was hurt while blocking a shot in the second period. Wheeler required X-rays after the game. Byron Bitz, a healthy scratch in the first three games, could make his second-round debut tonight if Wheeler can't play.
