Regular Season, Game 17: Hurricanes at San Jose Sharks

The Canes are perfect on their road trip so far with wins over Vegas, Anaheim, and Los Angeles, all in very different fashions. The win over Los Angeles was a nightmare if you're a goalie or a head coach that likes defense, as the Canes and Kings traded goals for two periods before the Canes shut it down defensively and held on for a 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon. The first big piece of news for the Canes today was the announcement that Ethan Bear had tested positive for COVID. He was originally listed as a game-time decision before the news of the positive test broke. This means we'll be seeing Brendan Smith for the first time since Brett Pesce returned. The happier news is that Seth Jarvis is slated to be in the lineup tonight for his tenth game. This is significant because it means he'll officially trigger the first year of his rookie deal, which will now end at the end of the 2023-24 season. He can still be sent to juniors but as long as he steps on the ice tonight, it will still count as his first season. It's not clear who the extra among the forwards will be since it appears there's a carousel on the fourth line. For San Jose, they last played on Saturday as well in a 4-0 loss to Washington. They sit in sixth in the Pacific Division and have lost their last two games. This team has some star power in forwards like Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Brent Burns, and Erik Karlsson, but the real story has been the play of former Hurricane James Reimer. Reimer has a 1.98 GAA and a .938 SV% in his first eight games and has pulled away as the starter for this Sharks team. He'll get the start in the net tonight opposite the Canes' stater, Antti Raanta. These two haven't met in San Jose since October 16, 2019. Evander Kane scored a hat trick in a 5-2 win for the Sharks, with Reimer taking the loss in that game. The last time these two played at all was nearly two months later on December 5. Andrei Svechnikov had two points and scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Canes a 3-2 SO win. Jordan Staal is set to play in his 600th game as a Hurricane tonight when he leads the Canes on the ice against San Jose. Let's hope the Canes can avoid getting bitten and beat the shiver. 

1st Period

Scoring

None

Thoughts

This period was all about the Canes' ability to create turnovers and the Sharks' ability to block shots. It didn't feel like the Canes were about the get anything to the net with traffic, making all of Reimer's stops being made with minimal difficulty tracking it. Antti Raanta had a big save on Timo Meier, but it didn't feel like he was challenged too much either. The Canes were able to use their sticks quite a few times and stop San Jose's attempts to get the puck out of the zone. I thought each line was able to get some time in the zone and have a sustained attack. The only thing missing was pucks in the net. There were some physical moments, Nino Niederreiter's hit on Alexander Barabanov being the most notable. The Canes are going to need to find a way to get pucks through on Reimer with bodies in front of the net. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 1:16- Tony DeAngelo (4) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (10) & Seth Jarvis (2))

Thoughts

It took a couple weird bounces, but the Canes were finally able to solve Reimer early in the period with a snipe from Tony DeAngelo, giving Seth Jarvis a point for the fourth straight game. The star of the period was Antti Raanta. I didn't love the way the Canes played with the puck after they scored the goal, but Raanta was also to make some huge saves throughout the period to keep the team ahead. I thought the Sharks were largely the better team, even if the shots were more in the Canes' favor. They killed the only penalty of the game so far with relative ease. Reimer made a huge stop on Sebastian Aho to prevent it from becoming a 2-0 game. Timo Meier and Logan Couture seemed to be on to something late in the period, so keep an eye out for them. I wouldn't be surprised if Rod Brind'Amour moves the lines around a little bit as we head into the third period. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(SJ) 3:54- Kevin Labanc (3) (assisted Jasper Weatherby (3))

Thoughts

The Sharks controlled play for most of the period again and were able to score the tying goal after the Canes couldn't clear the puck early in the period. From that point on, Antti Raanta was on top of it all and stopped a bunch of chances from Tomas Hertl late in the period to keep the game tied. The Canes are going to have to kill 1:39 of a PP during the OT session, which doesn't bode well, but what's important is the Canes are guaranteed at least one point. I hate that it wasn't until the very end of the period that the Canes were called for a penalty, but it was a clear trip on Pesce, so it isn't anything to be too upset about.

Overtime

Scoring

(SJ) 1:42- Alexander Barabanov (3) (assisted by Tomas Hertl (5) & Mario Ferraro (6)

Thoughts

Not too much to this one since it ended in the first two minutes of the session. The Canes did a great job of killing the penalty but right as it ended and before Pesce could really enter the play, Hertl found Barabanov to beat Raanta and give the Sharks the extra point. That's about all there was to it. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Nino Niederreiter (15:18 TOI, 3 Hits, 2 Blocks)

I thought about Seth Jarvis for this spot, but I thought Niederreiter was a huge force defensively all night. He laid a couple big hits, the biggest being the one on Barabanov in the corner in the first period, and blocked a couple shots. I've really liked his game since he came back from his injury and tonight may have been one of his best. 

Second Star- Tony DeAngelo (Goal)

He was the only Canes player to beat Reimer tonight and it was a wicked shot. He found a way to beat the Sharks goalie early in the second period and it may have been his most impressive goal to date. I thought he played well defensively with Slavin for most of the game as well. He needed to step up tonight and I thought he did it on both sides of the puck. 

First Star- Antti Raanta (25 Saves on 27 Shots)

Even in a losing effort, the Canes don't secure a point without the effort of Raanta tonight. He probably wants the Labanc goal back, but he didn't let that stop him the rest of the night. He made some huge saves down the stretch and was beaten in overtime on a goal in tight right as the penalty ended, so you can't fault him there either. He was the best player on the ice for the Canes all night long.

Final Thoughts

The fact that we can say 17 games into the season that the Canes have only lost three times is amazing. While the loss no longer means we're perfect on the road trip, we managed to secure a point in the standings without giving up the extra point to a division rival. I didn't think the Canes were bad by any stretch of the imagination, I just thought the Sharks were the better team for longer periods in the game and they probably deserved to win this one more than the Canes did. I hate that it was a carry-over penalty that eventually led to the game-winner, even though it won't be considered a power play goal, but the penalty was legit. It's our first blemish on the road trip, but we've still secured seven of a possible eight points with two games left, so that isn't too shabby. There isn't much to dwell on with this one, so I say we leave it at that and look forward to our first meeting with the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night. It sucks to lose since it isn't a feeling we've experienced much this season, but this just means we get to try and start a new winning streak in Seattle.