Thoughts From My Couch

After a good, albeit weird, December, the Canes entered the month just two points behind the Washington Capitals for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and two points back of the Caps and the Lightning in the President's Trophy race. COVID issues derailed the month for the team, but they had a lot to look forward to. There were a lot more division opponents on the schedule and some quality Western Conference opponents. The teams' stars were getting hot at the perfect time and the depth scoring was helping to get some big wins. The month would come down to the continuation of its stellar goaltending from a duo that was a huge question for the team. Here's a look at the Canes' month of January. The Month in Review The month got off to exactly the start we all expected. The Canes opened the new year in Columbus on New Year's Day and were immediately down 3-0 after the first period with Antti Raanta in the net. After allowing the fourth goal, the team rattled off...

Less than 24 hours after a big divisional win over the New Jersey Devils, the Hurricanes will take the ice one more time before a week-long break for the All-Star Game when they host the San Jose Sharks. The two teams are meeting for the second time this season after the Sharks took a 2-1 win in overtime back on November 22 in San Jose. Alexander Barabanov scored the game-winner in extra time shortly after the Canes had finished killing a penalty that had carried over from regulation. Tony DeAngelo scored the lone goal for the Canes, Kevin LeBanc tied it early in the third period, and James Reimer (22 saves) got the win against his former team, besting Antti Raanta (25 saves). Raanta was the star of the game last night against New Jersey, stopping 24 of 25 shots, and guiding the Canes to a 2-1 win over New Jersey. All the scoring was done in the first period, with Jordan Martinook and Andrei Svechnikov scoring for the Canes. The Devils were largely the better team for two periods of th...

It's a special night tonight as the Canes will be donning the Whaler green as the New Jersey Devils come into town for an inter-divisional meeting. It was one week ago these two faced off in New Jersey. The Devils hung seven goals on Jack LaFontaine in his first-career NHL start, though the defense didn't do him any favors. The game was close, albeit ugly, though two periods, but the Devils scored a late power play goal and added a seventh for good measure. It was an abysmal effort from a team that had been on a roll after the Columbus game. Six different Devils had at least two points, including three-point performances from Ryan Graves (3A) and Andreas Johnsson (1G, 2A) and a two-goal game from Nathan Bastian. Both Josh Leivo and Andrei Svechnikov had a goal and an assist in the losing effort. Things are going to look a little different tonight and I'm not just talking about the jerseys. Antti Raanta will likely get the start in the front end of a back-to-back. The Canes ...

The Hurricanes are taking a quick trip north of the border for the first time since mid-December to take on the Ottawa Senators for the second time this season. The Senators beat the Canes in Raleigh on December 2nd, 3-2 after the Canes came back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period. Alex Formenton scored Ottawa's first two goals before Teuvo Teravainen scored on the power play and Andrei Svechnikov tied it 1:45 later. The tie was short-lived as Josh Norris scored less than 20 seconds after the tying goal and Anton Forsberg finished with 47 saves to give Ottawa the upset victory. The Canes blew a two-goal lead in the third period on Tuesday night but managed to score in overtime thanks to Sebastian Aho, his second of the night, to win 4-3. Andrei Svechnikov recorded two assists to extend his point streak to five games, all of which have been multi-point games. Tony DeAngelo also extended his streak to five games with an assist on Aho's first goal in the third period. Frederik...

For the second time this season, the Canes and the Golden Knights are set to square off, this time in Raleigh. The two teams met back on November 16th in Vegas with the Canes winning 4-2. They took an early 2-0 lead on goals from Tony DeAngelo and Sebastian Aho, before allowing Vegas to get back into it in the second period courtesy of Shea Theodore and Brett Howden. The Canes managed to score twice in the third period, with goals by Seth Jarvis and Vincent Trocheck, while Antti Raanta closed things down to win. Though they'd been hot, the Canes dropped a bad 7-4 decision to New Jersey on Saturday night to end a three-game winning streak. The defense looked really bad and the goaltending from Jack LaFontaine left a lot to be desired. They'll turn back to Frederik Andersen, who last played Friday against New York, to lead the charge tonight. Teuvo Teravainen will remain a game-time decision as he was on Saturday following a lower-body injury on Friday. Turbo did not play against...

Just 24 hours removed from an emotional win over the New York Rangers, the Canes are back on the road against another division opponent for the first time this season, the New Jersey Devils. Last night's 6-3 win over the Rangers gave the Canes control of the Metro Division, but it came at a cost and left us with some questions. The team got a little banged up last night, most notably Teuvo Teravainen, who took a nasty hit, went to the locker room, and came back for a shift in the second period before being ruled out for the third. Teravainen will be out tonight as well, but Martin Necas has cleared protocol and we'll be in the lineup. The Canes got to Georgiev for two periods and did just enough to come out with a three-goal win and push the team's win streak to three games where they've outscored their opponents 17-5. Their opponents tonight are trending the other way. They've lost three straight games to teams outside of the playoff hunt. They last played on Wedne...

I'm not quite sure how these two teams haven't managed to play yet, but that all changes tonight. The top two teams in the Metropolitan Division will hit the ice in the first of four meetings. The Rangers hold a two-point lead in the standings (NYR 56, CAR 54), but the Canes have four games in hand (CAR 36 GP, NYR 40). They haven't been on the ice together since they met in the bubble in Toronto during the Qualifying Round of the playoffs in August 2020. The Canes swept the Rangers in the best-of-five series quite handily, with Game 3 being a 4-1 win for the Canes and Sebastian Aho scoring THAT goal again Tony DeAngelo. Back in those days, DeAngelo, Brendan Smith, and Jesper Fast, who'd been knocked out of the series by deadline acquisition from the Rangers Brady Skjei in Game 1, were all in blue and white. Tonight, they'll be sporting the Canes' colors for the first time against their former team. The Canes dismantled Boston on Tuesday night, scoring five goals...

It's a special night in Boston and it's not just because the Canes are taking the ice against the Bruins. Hall of Famer Willie O'Ree, the first African-American to ever play in the NHL, is having his jersey retired and hung from the rafters in Boston tonight. This means there's going to be some extra emotion coming in for the Bruins as they honor a true legend in the world of hockey. The Bruins are scorching hot right now, winning their last five games, beating Nashville on Saturday in overtime 4-3, and are holding on to the second wild card spot. There are some heavy hitters on this team that we've grown accustomed to. Brad Marchand was just named the first star in the league last week. They, like the Canes, have special teams units that ranked in the top ten in the league. They're one of the best defensive teams in the league and they can score in bunches, as evidenced during their winning streak where they've scored at least five goals three times. The Ca...

After what can only be described as a miserable outing against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, the Canes have to leave it all in the past as they prepare for the Vancouver Canucks. The Canes laid a major egg, losing 6-0 and allowing four breakaway goals as they left Frederik Andersen and Jack LaFontaine, making his NHL debut, out to dry for 60 minutes. It was easily their worst performance of the season. The team will turn back to Frederik Andersen for this afternoon's start after allowing four goals in just over two periods, though he doesn't deserve all the fault. These two met just over a month ago in Vancouver with Thatcher Demko outdueling Antti Raanta in a 2-1 win for the Canucks. Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson both scored for the Canucks, while Martin Necas broke the shutout in the third period. There were only two penalties in the entire game, one for each team. Vancouver has lost their last two games, dropping a 5-2 game to Florida on Tuesday and 4-2 to...

After another extended period off, the Hurricanes take to the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets for the third time this season and the second time in 2022. The last time these two met was truly historic. The Jackets jumped out to a 4-0 lead, chasing Antti Raanta during the game after the first period. Frederik Andersen took over in the net and the Canes rallied for seven unanswered goals to win 7-4 on New Year's Day in Columbus. Brady Skjei and Steven Lorentz both scored twice in that game. Skjei is in the midst of a three-game goal streak. The Canes earned a point in their last outing against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night, dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime. Alex Lyon took the loss in that game, but that wasn't the only bit of news surrounding the goalies for the Canes. The team, during this time of health issues for goaltending in the NHL and AHL, signed prospect Jack LaFontaine to a one-year entry-level contract straight out of Minnesota. He's practicing wi...

After having their last matchup right after Christmas canceled, the Canes and Panthers are set to do battle for the second time this season. The Panthers got the better of the first encounter in early November, handing the Canes their first loss of the season, 5-2. Florida lit Frederik Andersen up with four goals in the first period, three of which came on the power play, and Anthony Duclair contributed two goals and two assists that night. After a strong showing last night against Calgary, Andersen is getting the night off, but Antti Raanta won't be taking the net. It has been reported that Raanta is out tonight with an injury, meaning Alex Lyon will be in the starter's crease for the second time this season. Lyon won his previous start on November 13, 3-2 against St. Louis. Florida dropped a 6-5 decision in a shootout against Dallas on Thursday night. Florida has several key contributors out of the lineup tonight. Spencer Knight, Mason Marchment, Sam Reinhart, and Patric Horn...