Regular Season, Game 15: Hurricanes at Anaheim Ducks

Two of the hottest teams in the league are going at it tonight, but the current eight-game winning streak of the Anaheim Ducks is far from what most people expected. A lot of the Ducks' success can be pointed towards Troy Terry. He's on a 15-game point streak and he's top five in the league in goals (11) and points (21). Ryan Getzlaf has been enjoying a hot start as well, starting the season with 18 points, 17 of which are assists which is the third-most in the league. Starting goalie John Gibson is tied for the league-lead in wins with nine wins, the same number as Carolina's starter tonight, Frederik Andersen. Speaking of Andersen, this will be his fifth game against his former team, holding a 2-1-0 record with a .927 SV% and a 2.28 GAA. Anaheim's most recent win was a 3-2 overtime win against Washington on Tuesday night, the same night the Canes beat Vegas 4-2 to open their road trip. This will mark the first game of the California portion of the road trip for the Canes, with Los Angeles and San Jose to follow. This is the first meeting between these two games in 671 days, a 2-1 overtime win for the Ducks, and the first time the Canes have visited Anaheim in over two years, the last being October 18, 2019. That game in 2019 may also be remembered as the game Haydn Fleury scored his first NHL goal. Both of these teams lead their respective divisions, so something is going to have to give tonight. On paper, this is going to be a slugfest. Hopefully, the Canes can shoot down the Ducks and put an end to their many streaks. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 4:44- Ethan Bear (1) (assisted by Martin Necas (6))

(ANA) 11:03- Troy Terry (12) (assisted by Adam Henrique (9) & Ryan Getzlaf (18))

Thoughts

The Canes are going to have to settle for stopping the Ducks' win streak because Troy Terry has already extended his point streak to 16 games after scoring the tying goal for the Ducks on a rebound. It seemed like all three of the hottest Ducks factored in on the goal as Adam Henrique and Ryan Getzlaf picked up the assists. The Canes' goal of the period was on a beautiful pass from the point by Martin Necas to Ethan Bear to bury his fist as a Hurricane as he jumped from the blueline. It was one of the best setups we've seen so far this season from the Canes. After the Ducks scored to tie it, the period went a little slow. Frederik Andersen has already faced 17 shots and looked solid in the first period. John Gibson followed suit for the Ducks as well after giving up the goal early. This isn't going to be an easy 40 minutes. 

2nd Period

Scoring

None

Thoughts

Things are starting to get seriously chippy between these two teams. The fans in Anaheim seem to be going nuts every time a Canes player falls to the ice, even if sometimes there isn't a hit. No one scored in the period, but Anaheim had quite a few good chances. They had two 2-on-0 chances in the period that resulted in no shots on the net. We saw our first few penalties of the period, but neither team was able to score there either. The Canes came out hot to start the period, but the Ducks got the momentum back in the last few minutes of the period. Something to keep an eye on will be Steven Lorentz. He went head-first hard into the boards late in the period. He stayed on the bench, but it didn't look fun. There's going to be a winner eventually. I'd like to see the Canes swing the momentum back to start the period and then put a stranglehold on a Ducks offense that has been unable to convert on some good chances. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 9:34- Seth Jarvis (3) (unassisted)

Thoughts

This felt like a playoff-type game between teams in opposing conferences. It's early enough in the season that a game like this doesn't matter an insane amount, but it's always fun to win. I thought this was easily the best period of the night for the Canes as they limited Anaheim's chances, but the Ducks' chances tended to be good ones. Andersen made a couple big saves on Trevor Zegras in the period to keep the Canes tied the first time and ahead the second time. The winner is credited to Seth Jarvis after he banked it in off Gibson from behind the net, but Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho did a lot to cause the turnover to get it all started. It was a gutsy effort in the third period and they were able to get the win. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Ethan Bear (First Goal with the Canes)

I've been waiting all season to say something about Ethan Bear and now that he's scored his first one, this is my opportunity. Martin Necas deserves a ton of credit for the unbelievable pass to Bear, but the finish was even better to beat Gibson. Bear was one of my favorite offseason acquisitions and he's been very good to start the year. I was happy to see him score his first with the team. 

Second Star- Frederik Andersen (31 Saves on 32 Shots)

This wasn't like some of the other performances we've seen from Andersen this season where's he's only allowed one goal and he didn't have a lot to do. Especially in the first period when he faced 17 shots, Andersen was sharp with only the one rebound getting past him in the period. He then kept the Ducks out of the net, even with some serious scoring chances in the third period, to earn his tenth win. 

First Star- Seth Jarvis (Game-winning Goal)

The Vegas game solidified for me that he was worthy of staying with the team for the rest of the season and tonight only strengthened that mindset. He had plenty of chances early in the game, but his third period was spectacular. Obviously, he scored the game-winner, but he earned a penalty shot that, while it was stopped, served as a major turning point for the game for the team. Then he got the second goal past Gibson and put the Canes ahead to get the win. 

Final Thoughts

The team stays perfect on the road trip and halts an eight-game win streak for the Ducks in the process. Anaheim was as advertised in this game, but the first ten minutes of the third period were the most important stretch of the game. The Canes controlled the play, earned a penalty shot, and then were able to capitalize on a turnover in the offensive zone that led to the game-winner from Seth Jarvis. Aho and Svechnikov won't get credited for points on the Jarvis goal, but they deserve some praise for causing the turnover in front of Gibson before it finds its way into the net. I thought all four lines had their moments tonight even though they only scored twice. This may have been one of the most impressive wins of the season thus far and might even be in the running for the toughest. It gives the team a three-game winning streak of their own as they head into Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. The Kings are another team that has played a little bit better than expected. It's always tough on these road trips, but this has been a great start.