Regular Season, Game 24: Hurricanes at Winnipeg Jets

There are a bunch of fun storylines for the Canes as they face the Winnipeg Jets tonight. First, Andrei Svechnikov will be back in the lineup tonight after missing the Buffalo game on Saturday. The timing is perfect because we'll get a Battle of the Brothers with Andrei's brother Evgeny on the opposing side tonight. The elder Svechnikov scored a goal in Winnipeg's last game, a 6-3 win over Toronto on Sunday, and it's being reported that their parents will be in attendance tonight. Second, Seth Jarvis is returning home to play the team he grew up watching for the first time, and his family is also reported to be at the arena as well. Lastly, this is the Canes' first game in Winnipeg since December 17, 2019, just ten days shy of two years. On that date, Andrei Svechnikov scored the second of his lacrosse goals, this time beating tonight's starter, Connor Hellebuyck. The Canes won that game 6-3 and beat the Jets again 4-1 in Raleigh in January that got very chippy in the third period, featuring a fight between Brett Pesce and Mark Scheifele. Speaking of chippy, Winnipeg's game against Toronto on Sunday saw some serious sparks. Neal Pionk, a major reason for this, will miss tonight's game for the Jets. He's been suspended two games for kneeing Rasmus Sandin, but also has been placed in concussion protocol as a result of a hit from Jason Spezza, so he was already going to be out. The Jets have 14 goals in their last two games and feature some insane offensive talent. There are plenty of forwards in this group I would classify as "Canes Killers", including Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Kyle Connor. The biggest key for the Canes is going to be stopping the Jets' power play. They scored three times against Toronto and have had success against the Canes in the past. The Canes ended their three-game skid with a 6-2 win over Buffalo on Saturday night. It's been noted there've been some health issues with a non-COVID bug going through the locker room. Martinook, Pesce, and DeAngelo all didn't make the trip with tonight's game being the first of five on the road over the next week and a half. Frederik Andersen, who was not on the bench for the last game with that non-COVID illness, will be opposite Hellebuyck. Winnipeg is probably my favorite of the Canadian teams to watch, so just from a hockey fan's perspective, this is going to be fun. I just hope as a Canes fan that it's competitive and the Canes can pull out a win. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 0:30- Jaccob Slavin (1) (unassisted)

Thoughts

Who is this team and where have they been in the last three weeks? This was one of the best periods of the season. Jaccob Slavin scored his first of the season just 30 seconds into the game, with a great net-front by Jordan Staal. Andrei Svechnikov had a few chances, Seth Jarvis got some looks, the defense jumped into the play and even though it amounted to just one goal, I'm not that upset about it. Connor Hellebuyck made some huge save after allowing that first goal. Even when the Jets wanted to mount some pressure, it was short-lived. The Canes looked better on the Jets' power play, getting the best chance of the two minutes. The penalty call on Aho was a little suspect, and then Seheifele got away with a penalty on Skjei, so look out for the Jets forward for the rest of the game. He's known to cause trouble with his team down.

2nd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 1:12- Sebastian Aho (11) (assisted by Jalen Chatfield (1) & Nino Niederreiter (5))

(WPG) 2:18- Nikolaj Ehlers (10) (assisted by Paul Stastny (6) & Nate Schmidt (14))

(WPG) 16:06- Pierre-Luc Dubois (13) PP (assisted by Blake Wheeler (13) & Mark Scheifele (9))

(CAR) 19:40- Martin Necas (6) PP (assisted by Seth Jarvis (6) & Nino Niederreiter (6))

Thoughts

The second period was not as controlling as the first period was, but I didn't hate the way the Canes played, despite the two goals allowed. The Canes got on the board early in the period with a goal from Aho, which did result in a failed goalie interference challenge by the Jets. Vincent Trocheck was called for a really weak hook that Dylan DeMelo absolutely sold like a champ, leading to a 4-on-4 goal by Ehlers. Pierre-Luc Dubois deflected a pass from Wheeler between his legs on the Jets' fourth power play of the game late in the period, but Martin Necas answered with a power play goal of his own with 20 seconds left. Seth Jarvis gets an assist in his return home, moving his point streak to three games. It was definitely a weaker period for the team, so a strong start in the third period could take the Jets out of it. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 3:04- Vincent Trocheck (6) PP (assisted by Sebastian Aho (16) & Jaccob Slavin (12))

Thoughts

The third period was all about defense after the Trocheck power play goal just over three minutes into the period. Ian Cole was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for kneeing Mark Scheifele in the period, but the Canes killed all five minutes and allowed just two shots. I'm not going to defend Cole's penalty and I know you can't not call it because Scheifele got up soon after it happened and played on the power play, but I don't think it looked as bad as the penalties imply. The only Achilles' heel for the team tonight was icing the game away with the net empty. The Jets blocked at least five attempts to score with no goalie, but it didn't matter. The Jets never mounted much offense in the period, allowing the Canes to run away with it. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Nino Niederreiter (2 Assists)

While they were both secondary assists, there's no doubt that Nino was a huge part of the first goal from Aho, keeping the puck in the zone. His second assist was more about a scrum in front of the net on the power play, but it ultimately led to a goal for the second power play unit. Something has come over him lately and I've really liked what I've seen from him. 

Second Star- Sebastian Aho (Goal, Assist, 7 SOG)

Through two periods, Aho had half the total shots of the entire Jets team. He scored a goal out front by outmuscling Connor Hellebuyck and then earned the primary assist on the power play goal from Trocheck to put the game out of reach. He played as well as you'd have expected after a three-point game on Saturday night. 

First Star- Jaccob Slavin (Goal, Assist, 29:51 TOI)

It's the second time in the last three games that Slavin has played nearly half the game. He spent a lot of time on the ice for the short-handed moments, but his shutdown defense was on full display tonight. He also proved he's not just a defensive defenseman by scoring his first of the season and adding a secondary assist on the power play goal. He has a role that is critical for this team and we should all be thankful. 

Final Thoughts

Special teams were the story of the game. While they went to the box way too many times, they allowed just one power play goal in five attempts, show down the Jets during the five-minute major kill, and scored two goals on the power play themselves. It was great to see both units get on the board. While the prolonged kill was huge, the moment of the game was Frederik Andersen's save on the rebound shot from Pierre-Luc Dubois that he swung his pad around on to take the puck off the goalline. It was shortly after Trocheck scored to give the Canes a two-goal lead and could've changed the momentum back in Winnipeg's favor. I don't think we've given enough attention to the fact that three of the four goals were in tight right in front of the goalie. Seth Jarvis quietly scored a point in his return to Winnipeg. Everyone contributed in some way and the entire defense had to step up after Cole was ejected.  I think it's likely the league looks at the kneeing penalty and Cole will likely be suspended for a few games, so it's going to be all about the next man up stepping in. The stats will indicate the Canes dominated this game and they did in several areas, but the Jets didn't go away quietly. This was an excellent start to a tough road trip. The next team is the red-hot Flames team in Calgary on Thursday night. I don't know who will get the start, likely Freddie, but that's in a few days. Tonight's win was big and they officially have a winning streak going again.