On a day dedicated to sugar and creepiness, the Bruins put on a performance scarier than any Halloween horror movie, getting pummeled by the Hurricanes, 8-2 in Raleigh.

If you were hoping for a bounce-back performance from the B’s after a frustrating night against Philadelphia on Tuesday, you definitely didn’t get it.

Instead, the Bruins were bad on defense, bad on special teams, inept on offense and generally looked helpless against Carolina.

Brad Marchand and Hampus Lindholm each scored for the Bruins, but it was little consolation.

Jeremy Swayman couldn’t even get through half the game, pulling away after allowing six goals on 22 shots – although it would be difficult to pinpoint Swayman as the problem.

No, this was a debacle for the entire team, the kind of loss that increases the pressure on a team already feeling it.

Jack Roslovic got the scoring started six minutes into the game, beating Swayman from the high slot with a penalty ahead of the Bruins. 1-0 Carolina.

Things didn’t look so bad for the B’s when Brad Marchand cashed in on a 5-on-3 power play seven minutes later, making it a 1-1 match.

Annnnnnnnnnnn then the wheels fell off!

The Bruins allowed three goals in about 60 seconds of playing time to end the first period.

Andrei Svechnikov made it 2-1 Carolina with 2:46 left in the first.

Dmitri Orlov made it 3-1 Carolina 38 seconds later.

Martin Necas took advantage of a friendly rebound on the power play to save it 4-1 Carolina just 14 seconds of playing time after Orlov’s goal.

Lindholm would give the Bruins some life four minutes into the second period, scoring his second of the year 4-2 Carolina.

That was as close as it got. Svechnikov scored again on the power play about five minutes later to cap it off 5-2 Carolina.

Roslovic scored again about 40 seconds later, completing the goal 6-2 Carolina.

Sean Walker would add insult to injury in the third and make it 7-2 Carolina.

And then for one final outrage, Jesperi Kotkaniemi would add another midway through the third to make it 8-2 Carolina.

Yes, 8-2.

Luckily that was the final.

Hey, at least the Hurricanes didn’t break double figures!

Game notes

• Impact! No violation. Terrible team defense. Bad special teams. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. To be honest, this game probably wasn’t as close as a six-goal lead would suggest. It might as well have been 18-2.
• The Bruins allowed three power-play goals on five opportunities for Carolina; they earned only one of their own five power plays.
• The Bruins had five shots on goal in the first period, and only five more in the second. You would think that with the B’s chasing the game in the third that they would increase the number of attempts on net, but no. How many shots did they have in the third? Five!
• Honestly, I don’t even know what else to say. This performance was a disaster, in all aspects of the game. Against Philly, you could at least point to frustration, blocked shots, “close but not quite,” etc. It wasn’t that. This was a loser.
• How do you solve this? Good question. You’ve been trying to juggle your lines. Calling from Providence? Trade? It seems too early for a coaching change, but if one or two more performances like this happen in the coming weeks, that might not be off the table.

I’m not going to spend any more pixels on my insights into this game. Do it in the comments instead.

The B’s are back in action on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.