Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Two-point effort Tuesday
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Bunting scored a goal and added an assist in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Flyers.
He opened the scoring early in the first period, banging his own rebound behind Carter Hart after a slick feed from Sebastian Aho. Bunting skated on the top line Tuesday with Andrei Svechnikov (illness) sidelined, but Bunting's been productive lately regardless of his assignment with two goals and five points over the last four games.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Records two-point night
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Bunting had a goal and an assist in Friday's 8-2 home loss against the Lightning.
Bunting ended up with a plus-1 rating, one shot on goal and 16 PIM over 13:38 of ice time. The left winger had his first multi-point performance since Oct. 30 in Philadelphia. Bunting only had 15 PIM in his first 17 outings of the 2023-24 campaign. He has four goals and 12 points through 18 contests.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Back at practice
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Bunting (personal) was back with his teammates for Monday's practice, according to Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site.
Bunting should be good to go for Tuesday's contest against Buffalo after missing Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over the Islanders for personal reasons. He has supplied three goals, eight points and 21 shots on net in 11 games this campaign. Bunting is projected to play on the third line and work on the second power-play unit.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Won't play Saturday
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Bunting will miss Saturday's game against the Islanders for personal reasons.
Bunting has three goals and eight points in 11 contests this season. His absence Saturday might lead to Jordan Martinook playing a bigger role. Brendan Lemieux is also likely to draw into the lineup after spending three straight games as a healthy scratch.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Two points in OT win
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Bunting tallied a goal and an assist in Monday's 3-2 win over the Flyers.
Bunting tied the game 2-2 with a power-play goal in the second period, ripping a shot past Carter Hart off the faceoff, before adding an assist on Teuvo Teravainen's game-winner in the third period. The 28-year-old Bunting now has three goals and five assists through his first 10 games with Carolina while skating in a top-six role. Four of his points have come on the power play.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Scores in Saturday's loss
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Bunting scored a goal on five shots and added two PIM in Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Avalanche.
Bunting's second-period marker briefly put the Hurricanes ahead 3-2 before the Avalanche scored the next four goals. This was Bunting's first goal since Opening Night. The 28-year-old winger has five points (three on the power play), 13 shots on net and a minus-3 rating through six appearances. He's added just two PIM and he's yet to record a hit.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Produces pair of assists
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Bunting recorded two assists in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Sharks.
Bunting set up Seth Jarvis' power-play marker in the first period and Martin Necas' insurance goal in the third. It's been a positive start to Bunting's Hurricanes career -- he's at four points (one goal, three helpers) through four contests. The pesky forward has added seven shots on net, a plus-1 rating and two PIM while seeing top-six minutes. He was on the first line alongside Teuvo Teravainen and Jarvis in this contest after Sebastian Aho (upper body) couldn't suit up.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Offers power-play helper
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Bunting posted a power-play assist, three shots on goal and two PIM in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Ducks.
Bunting set up a Martin Necas tally in the third period. Through his first three games with Carolina, Bunting has two points, seven shots on net and an even plus-minus rating. He had 49 points and 85 hits in 82 contests with the Maple Leafs last season, so he could still tap into some physicality, though his offense has been as advertised so far.
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Hurricanes' Michael Bunting: Joining Canes
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Bunting signed a three-year, $13.5 million deal with the Hurricanes on Saturday, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN.
The deal carries an AAV of $4.5 million. The 27-year-old Bunting tallied 23 goals and 26 assists in 82 games last season with Toronto. He'll bring some scoring upside and a physical presence (85 hits, 103 PIM) to Carolina's bottom six in 2023-24.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Scores goal in loss
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Bunting scored a goal on two shots in Tuesday's Game 1 defeat to the Panthers.
Bunting brought his four-game pointless streak to an end with Tuesday's marker. After returning from his three-game suspension, the Ontario native spent an additional game watching from the sidelines as a healthy scratch. As such, Bunting is far from a lock for the lineup even after scoring in Game 1.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Plays in Game 6 win
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Bunting (healthy scratch) played 16:21 in Saturday's 2-1 overtime win over the Lightning in Game 6.
Bunting slotted back into the top six and also saw 1:37 on the power play. He laid two hits and fired one shot. Bunting did a solid job keeping his cool and will need to do more of that in Round 2 once the Leafs know their opponent. One of the Bruins or Panthers will emerge as Toronto's combatant after Sunday's Game 7 matchup.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Will be scratched Thursday
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Although Bunting is eligible to return from his three-game suspension, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe won't use him in Game 5 against Tampa Bay on Thursday, David Alter of Sports Illustrated reports.
After the Maple Leafs dropped Game 1 with Bunting in the lineup, they won three straight contests during his suspension. Keefe presumably doesn't want to disrupt a winning lineup, but the coach does plan to put Bunting back in eventually. The 27-year-old had 23 goals and 49 points in 82 regular-season outings.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Eligible to return Thursday
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Bunting has served his three-game suspension and will be available for Game 5 against the Lightning on Thursday.
Bunting should return to his spot on the first line alongside Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner despite having scored just once in his last eight contests. Still, the emergence of Matthew Knies could factor into the team's decision on whether or not to put Bunting back in that spot on the top line.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Given three-game suspension
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Bunting was handed a three-game suspension by the NHL on Wednesday for an illegal check to the head and interference against Tampa Bay's Erik Cernak during Game 1 on Tuesday.
The incident occurred late in the second period, and Bunting was given a match penalty as a result of the play. The Leafs forward will be eligible to return for Game 5 on April 27, provided that contest is necessary. While Bunting is out, Wayne Simmonds or Matthew Knies might draw into the lineup.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Set for disciplinary hearing
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Bunting will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head and interference against the Lightning's Erik Cernak in Tuesday's Game 1.
Bunting was given a match penalty on the play, but it appears that more discipline could be coming. The ruling should be available at some time Wednesday. If Bunting is ultimately suspended, Matthew Knies or Wayne Simmonds could enter the Maple Leafs' lineup.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Still delivering in different role
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Bunting scored the game-winning goal Saturday in a 3-0 victory over the Senators.
Bunting hasn't been able to replicate his offensive success from last season (23 goals, 40 assists; 63 points), but his role has changed. Calle Jarnkrok has taken his spot alongside Auston Matthews, and Bunting has shuffled through several lines. Still, he has 22 goals this season and that's just one off his career mark (23) from last season.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Second goal in 13 games
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Bunting scored a power-play goal in Thursday's 6-2 win over Florida.
Bunting fired a shot from the slot on a 5-on-3 power play for his first goal in seven games and just his second in his last 13 (five points). He has struggled to find his footing offensively of late as he works to try to change his reputation. Bunting can still be pest and get under the skin of opponents, but he needs to find a way to keep officials from calling offsetting penalties on him, too. It's a work in progress.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Nets goal Tuesday
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Bunting found the back of the net in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Sabres.
Bunting's marker came at 12:09 of the first period to extend the Leafs' lead to 4-0. It was his 19th goal and 40th point in 58 contests in 2022-23. The 27-year-old is going through a strong stretch offensively, providing five goals and seven points over his last eight games.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Two goals help lead way
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Bunting scored twice, including once on the power play, in a 5-1 win over Montreal on Saturday.
Bunting tied it 1-1 at 5:32 of the first period on the power play when he one-timed a pass from Auston Matthews at the top of the goal crease. He pushed the score to 3-1 late in the second period with a one-timer from the right face-off dot. Bunting now has 18 goals and 39 points in 56 games.
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Maple Leafs' Michael Bunting: Earns power-play assist
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Bunting produced a power-play assist in Friday's 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets.
The Leafs continue to expand Bunting's power-play role, for which he's averaging a career-high 2:01 of ice time with four goals and three assists. On the downside, he's registered a point in just five of 16 games in the new year, and one would expect better consistency from a top-line winger sharing the ice with elite talents John Tavares and Mitch Marner.
