Regular Season, Game 2: Hurricanes at Nashville Predators

For the 17th time this calendar year, and 15th time when it counts for something, the Hurricanes and Predators are set to do battle in the Hurricanes' first road game of the season. The two teams have become very familiar with each other after spending last season as division rivals before engaging in a hard-fought six-game series in the first round of the postseason, ultimately won by the Canes. The two teams met twice in the preseason as well, both games won by the Predators. The Canes will be at full strength, unlike the preseason, and will be sending the exact same lineup as they did Thursday night during their 6-3 season-opening win against the Islanders, meaning Frederik Andersen will be getting the start in the net. Nashville is coming off a loss to the Seattle Kraken and will be starting a goalie I love to watch except when he's playing the Canes, Juuse Saros. They have a top line that underperformed last season but is out to prove everyone wrong this season. This is bound to be an electric game between two foes with some unfinished business.

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 6:18- Jesper Fast (2) (assisted by Jordan Staal (2) and Jaccob Slavin (2))

Thoughts

There were a lot of shots in the first period, but only one goal has been scored. Frederik Andersen looked phenomenal the entire period and was challenging a lot of shots. I must admit that my cable box decided to reboot itself, so I missed the Jesper Fast goal. I was able to look at the replay and it felt like a major breakdown from the Nashville defense that allowed Fast to get in close to Saros and he sniped it over his glove to score for the second time in the young season. Other than this one goal, the story has been the play of the goalies. Saros looked just as good as Andersen and was easily the biggest part of the Predators' ability to kill off 1:37 of a 5-on-3 midway through the period. It was good to see some shots from the Aho line. I feel a goal from their line coming soon. This could very much be a low-scoring game, but it'll take some time in the second period to figure that out for sure.

2nd Period

Scoring

(NSH) 7:54- Ryan Johansen (1) (unassisted)

Thoughts

This was the roughest of the periods the Canes have played so far this season. I know the season is very young, but Nashville felt like they had all the momentum. The game is tied going into the third period thanks to Ryan Johansen and his high hockey IQ. He read a pass from Andrei Svechnikov and walked in on Andersen before finishing his shot on the backhand and tying it. Juuse Saros continued to be an absolute nuisance and stopped everything to keep the Predators in this game. The Crazy 8s line has been the team's best line all night. They've had a ton of great chances, but haven't been able to solve the goalie yet. Frederik Andersen continues to be the backbone of this team so far tonight. He made some huge saves, the biggest being the wraparound stop on Mattias Ekholm. This game has turned into an absolute slugfest. Nashville will be on the power play for about 1:59 to open the third period. This could be a major swing in momentum for whichever team can capitalize on it.

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 14:00- Andrei Svechnikov (3) (assisted by Martin Necas (1) and Brett Pesce (1))

(CAR) 18:48- Teuvo Teravainen (2) ENG (assisted by Brett Pesce (2) and Sebastian Aho (2))

(NSH) 19:15- Filip Forsberg (1) (assisted by Mattias Ekholm (1) and Ryan Johansen (1))

Thoughts

Things got hairy at the very end, but the Canes were able to get the job done. Nashville was the better team for the vast majority of this period. They had some great chances on each of their power play opportunities and the fan really got into it late. The chippiness continued into the period and it slowly turned into a playoff game in the second game of the season. Rod Brind'Amour changed up all the lines except for the Staal line and it would pay off. Late in the period, Andrei Svechnikov made up for his mistake in the second by beating Saros over his blocker to give the team the lead. Teuvo Teravainen scored on the empty net with Saros pulled and Filip Forsberg did everything he could to keep Nashville in it by scoring soon after, but it was all for not and the Canes were able to move to 2-0-0 on the extremely young season.

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Brett Pesce (2 Assists)

This is Pesce's season to step into the spotlight with Dougie Hamilton gone and he was able to produce tonight. He assisted on both goals in the third period, the biggest being his aerial flip that led to the Svechnikov goal late in the period. He had one small hiccup in the first when he pinched when he didn't need to, but otherwise, I thought he was the best defenseman on the ice tonight.

Second Star- Jesper Fast (Goal)

The Staal line was the best forward line for the Canes for the second straight game and it was Jesper Fast's tally that got things going for the team. He's been buzzing to start the season and has hit a gear I didn't think I saw last season. With two goals in two games, I hope this will only snowball into even more production from the Canes' most productive line.

First Star- Frederik Andersen (38 saves on 40 shots)

The reason the Canes won this game was without a doubt the play from their goalie. Andersen stepped up tonight and looked much more comfortable in the net. He was at the top of his crease challenging Nashville's shooters all night. It's hard to place too much blame on him for the goals since they were the result of a bad turnover and a deflection. He was big tonight, especially in the moments where Nashville was building some serious pressure. 

Final Thoughts

I really hate playing Juuse Saros. He's such a hard goalie to beat and always plays the Canes tough. Tonight was no exception with tonight's game turning into a major goalie duel. Andersen was spectacular and was able to carry the team on his back. I didn't love the way the team played in the second and third periods, but they were able to escape Nashville with two points. I loved that tonight felt like a heavyweight fight at times. Andrei Svechnikov had a very up and down game. He took a questionable penalty in the first and the Predators' first goal was off his turnover in the neutral zone, but he was able to put that behind him and score the goal that broke the tie. Still waiting for something from Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but it's early. Looking forward to seeing the team on the ice in Montreal Thursday night. It's wouldn't be crazy to think Frederik Andersen could start again given how much time they have between games, but I'd really like to see Seth Jarvis draw in somewhere to help provide some spark for the offense. It was a hard-fought win that was not easy, but it's two points nonetheless and every point counts at the end of the day.