Canes center Eric Staal has nasty looking bruises on both arms, evidence of the physical play of the Bruins.

Tonight in Game 4, it may be even rougher. The Bruins, after sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, trail 2-1 against the Canes. They've lost two in row and have been outplayed and outquicked in both.

"We all know what we have to do. We know what's at stake," Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara said today. "We all realize the situation we are in."

Canes forward Jussi Jokinen says he has no doubt as to how the Bruins, trailing 2-1 in the series, will play tonight.

"Obviously it's a huge game for both teams," he said today after the morning skate. "They have lost two in a row, and when's the last time they lost two in a row?

"I'm sure they're angry. They're going to be ready. It's going to be a war."

But Canes coach Paul Maurice isn't so sure of how Game 4 will begin or unfold.

It was the kind of play that can turn around a game, can help win a game. It's also was the kind of play — pure hustle — the Canes likely will need again tonight in Game 4 against the Bruins.

Late in the second period of Game 3, the Canes trailed 1-0. The Bruins had possession in the Canes zone but a Mark Recchi pass missed its target, with the puck skidding back toward the Boston blue line and Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart in position to easily skate back and retrieve it.

But the Canes' Eric Staal thought otherwise. Using his long strides, he went racing after Stuart and the puck, determined to make something happen.

"He wasn't going back as hard as he could have for the puck, and I kind of noticed that and I pushed real hard to get back there and get on him tight," Staal said today. "I got a good couple of stick checks on him, stripped him from behind and then ended up finishing him."

The playoffs are filled with highs and lows — sometimes, just seconds apart.

For Canes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, a low came in the opening minute of overtime Wednesday against the Bruins. Boston forward Milan Lucic spun Seidenberg around with a nifty move with the puck, then suddenly was one-on-one with goaltender Cam Ward.

With the RBC Center crowd in a collective gasp, Lucic's shot was blocked by Ward — in the Canes' case, disaster averted.

"I knew Cam was there so I was sure it wasn't over," Seidenberg said today. "It was close. I mean, he put a couple of good moves on me and I turned the wrong way. You just don't expect it from a big guy like that."

What a year it has been for Jussi Jokinen, who now has two game-winning goals in the playoffs after his overtime winner Wednesday night in Game 3 against the Bruins.

For Jokinen, the season began with the Tampa Bay Lightning, under a new coach, Barry Melrose. But Melrose was fired and Jokinen fell out of favor with interim coach Rick Tocchet.

"I was waived twice and no one was willing to pick me up," he said.

Staff photo by Chris Seward

• Photo gallery: Canes 3, Bruins 2 (OT) 

• First Look: See 291 raw images from Game 3

RALEIGH — The Carolina Hurricanes' overtime hero, Jussi Jokinen, scored yet another big game-winning goal. Jokinen's goal gave the Canes a 3-2 overtime win and a 2-1 series lead.

Sergei Samsonov's shot from the right circle hit Tuomo Ruutu in front of the net and Jokinen was there to score the winner off the deflection only 2:48 into overtime.

"That was a great play by (Samsonov)," Jokinen said. "When he moves, he's at his best and [he] moved the puck to the net hard.

"Sammy got a good shot and I was able to spin out of my defenseman. I didn't get a lot on my rebound shot but I got enough. Big goal for our team and a big win."

The way Canes coach Paul Maurice has been shuffling his lines, it's become somewhat of a guessing game.

It is for the Bruins, who had this Carolina lineup — with "Probable" written on top — posted on a whiteboard in their locker room today:

LaRose-Staal-Cole, Whitney-Cullen-Walker, Bayda-Jokinen-Eaves, Samsonov-Brind'Amour-Ruutu.

Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward used the word "discombobulated" after Game 2 to explain what the Canes were able do in winning 3-0 and tying the series.

The Canes' 3-0 shutout of the Bruins in Game 2 was impressive and the Canes' improvement from Game 1 striking.

But where did the Canes improve the most, especially from a defensive standpoint, from the 4-1 loss in the opener?

"You have to look at the whole game," defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said after today's morning skate at the RBC Center. "We got the puck out of our zone, which meant less defensive zone time, and we had more chance of a rush. Just by doing little things, making smart plays in our zone and not turning the puck over in the neutral zone, makes a big difference.

"We didn't try to force the puck into the middle. The first game we skated up the wall and tried to make the pass into the middle and turned it over a couple of times. We didn't have any gap on their forwards. They had a lot of time and speed to go back and create a scoring chance."

Here's a good sign for the Canes: Matt Cullen was at the morning skate.

Cullen has missed the team skates and nearly all of the Canes' practice time since being hit on the left foot by a shot in the March 20 game against the New York Islanders. After sitting out the last eight games of the regular season, the veteran center has not missed a playoff game and in Game 2 against the Bruins, Canes coach Paul Maurice said he appeared to fully have his speed and quickness back.

"He said it was the first time he really started to feel good again," Maurice said today. "Confidence for him, for any player, is so big. I'm really hopeful, because for us to continue on we're going to need him to get back to that.

"I think he's starting to feel good about himself, which is a huge bonus to us."

With a win in Game 2 in Boston, the Canes now have the home-ice edge in the playoff series with the Bruins.

Can the Hurricanes make the most of everything that goes into that edge — the support of the "Caniacs," the noise, the excitement, being at home?

"Definitely," forward Tuomo Ruutu said. "We've got to use it the right way. We must have that emotion — not too much, just perfect. I think we can definitely use it."