Regular Season, Game 28: Hurricanes v. Detroit Red Wings

It has been a very weird last couple of days, but then again, so has the last almost two years. News broke right before the Vancouver game on Sunday night that Sebastian Aho was going to miss the game and it was later revealed that he'd tested positive for COVID, along with Seth Jarvis, who'd tested positive the day after. Cut to Tuesday, with the Canes set to face the Minnesota Wild, it was revealed that four more players from the team had tested positive. We'd later learn that it was Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, Ian Cole, and Steven Lorentz. The league decided to cancel the game, but it didn't do anything to make the situation any better. All this leads to tonight's game against Detroit. With the help of the emergency recall rules, the Canes will be playing with just 16 skaters, ten forwards and six defensemen. AHL leading scorer Andrew Poturalski plays his first NHL game in almost five years, Stefan Noesen will be making their team debuts, while Jack Drury will be making his NHL debut tonight. Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo will also be making their returns to the lineup tonight after being out with COVID and then being unable to join the team for the Canadian portion of the trip. The Canes will be able to play a normal six-man defensive unit that looks relatively untouched despite the situation, but it's the forward group that is noticeably thin with all the guys out. They will only be able to play three full lines with an extra forward coming in whenever they can. 

The Red Wings are putting together a solid start to the season, sitting in fourth place in the Atlantic. They last played Tuesday night, a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders. They are a very young team and right in the middle of it are 19-year-old Lucas Raymond, leading the team in points (25), and Moritz Sieder, leading their defense with 20 points. The starting goalie tonight is a familiar face, Alex Nedeljkovic. The Canes dealt the Calder-finalist in the offseason to Detroit and he's putting together some solid numbers as their starter. He'll play opposite Frederik Andersen tonight for the Hurricanes. Detroit has a couple guys in COVID protocol as well, Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen. Marc Staal, brother of Jordan Staal, will be available to play tonight after exiting protocol earlier this week. Tonight's game is going to be an adventure. With an incomplete lineup, the goal is to just make it through tonight and live to fight another day. The outcome of the game is truly going to be secondary. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 2:05- Nino Niederreiter (7) PP (assisted by Jesper Fast (3) & Andrew Poturalski (1))

(DET) 5:32- Sam Gagner (4) (unassisted)

(CAR) 7:38- Tony DeAngelo (5) (assisted by Jesper Fast (4) & Jesperki Kotkaniemi (4))

(DET) 13:54- Dylan Larkin (12) (assisted by Lucas Raymond (16))

(CAR) 18:40- Jack Drury (1) (assisted by Jesperi Kotkaniemi (5) & Teuvo Teravainen (15))

Thoughts

This was exactly the period every single one of us thought it would be. Both Jesper Fast and Jesperi Kotkaniemi recorded two points. The Canes' second power play unit scored on their only power play. Tony DeAngelo scored in his first game back. Andrew Poturalski recorded his first NHL point on the power play goal. Jack Drury scored his first NHL goal. It's the period we thought we were going to get. All kidding aside, it is very clear the Canes are down a few men because this period was a mess. The defense was not great. Ethan Bear had a rough period and Frederik Andersen will likely want both of those goals back. Getting rebounds and capitalizing on them has been the name of the game for the Canes. I'm ok with this game remaining exciting, just as long as the Canes are the team scoring. I want to see them play with a lead. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(DET) 11:19- Tyler Bertuzzi (10) (assisted by Dylan Larkin (13) & Lucas Raymond (17))

Thoughts

Things slowed down a little bit in the second period. The penalty kill killed both penalties in the period and the only real blemish was the tying goal from Bertuzzi that went undetected until Toronto buzzed in and said it went over the line. Again, it wasn't a particularly strong period for the Canes, but you can tell they're trying their best with what they have available. Andersen made a huge save on Bertuzzi right after he scored the goal to keep the game tied and Nedeljkovic has settled into this game for Detroit. The Necas penalty is a poignant moment for me in the period. Just seconds before he was called for interference on an unnecessary hit, he was cross-checked at shoved in the head while he was on the ice right in front of the referee. He took a bad penalty, but he shouldn't have been in that position if the referee had called the initial penalty. Someone needs to step up and get the Canes ahead to start the third period. I'd love for it to be Trocheck or Necas since it feels like the supporting cast is getting the job done. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 0:18- Nino Niederreiter (8) (assisted by Martin Necas (9) & Brett Pesce (7))

(CAR) 19:55- Vincent Trocheck (7) EN (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (16) & Martin Necas (10))

Thoughts

This was a gutsy win for a team that was playing without a full arsenal. The goal from Nino just 18 seconds into the period set the tone for the rest of the period and the defense took over from there. Andersen was perfect in the third period and made some huge stops down the stretch. The Canes negated two icings late in the period to take some time off the clock and the second is what got Trocheck the nail in the coffin goal at the end. The defense has been great in the third period all season long, but tonight felt different. It was a big win to keep the momentum going and, most importantly, no one got hurt. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Jack Drury (First NHL Goal)

There are others that played tonight that could fall in this position, but Jack Drury played really well in his first NHL game. He scored his first goal in his first game and it was a tough, hard-nosed goal. He had some other chances throughout the night, but I thought he played well even without the puck. He recorded two hits, two blocks, and four shots. Not bad for your first time. 

Second Star- Martin Necas (2 Assists)

Necas looked like he was buzzing in the third period and he was rewarded with two assists to join the group with multi-point games. He made everyone else look like they were moving in slow motion and almost pulled off another of his patented wrap-around goals. He didn't quit on a play late in the game that could've gone for icing and helped take even more time off the clock. He stepped up big time. 

First Star- Nino Niederreiter (2 Goals)

No one stepped up more than Nino did tonight, in my opinion. He got the scoring started with a power play goal early in the first and then netted the game-winner early in the third period by finding the smallest of spaces. This was a game where the veterans that are used to playing on the top lines needed to pick up the slack with almost the entire top six out and that's what Nino did, leading this team to a victory. 

Final Thoughts

The narrative was repeated all night, but this was a huge win for the Canes. I didn't expect this effort from the team tonight, so shame on me for underestimating what they are capable of, even with two fewer players than the other team. Eight of the ten forwards recorded points tonight and five of them recorded multi-point games. Drury and Poturalski scored their first-career NHL points tonight in the first period. Andersen, while not looking his sharpest tonight, made the saves when he needed to guide the team to a win. The veterans were noticeable when they needed to be. Overall, this might be the most impressive win thus far this season. Everyone contributed in some way tonight in a positive way. The Canes have a back-to-back to look forward to this weekend against Western Conference opponents Los Angeles and Nashville. I'd expect the goaltending duties to be split during this set, but I'm interested to see how the roster changes. I would think more players will get called up on an emergency basis to give the Canes a full team for the two games. The Canes are the second team to reach 20 wins this season, Toronto being the first, and this was a heck of a way to get to it.