Regular Season, Game 35: Hurricanes v. Vancouver Canucks

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 Tamp Bay on Thursday. Jaroslav Halak was supposed to be the starter this afternoon, but he was placed in COVID protocol right before puck drop, meaning Demko is likely to be the starter. This is also the front end of a back-to-back for the Canucks, who'll be in Washington tomorrow afternoon. Jordan Martinook might be in the lineup for the Canes for the first time since early December after missing several games with a lower-body injury, but it will depend on how warm-ups go. Joey Keane will also be making his season debut today in place of Ethan Bear, but I'm not sure what the reason is quite yet. There's no other way to go but up for the Canes after the nightmare of a game against Columbus. I expect a huge bounceback game for the Canes in their final matchup with Vancouver this season. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 8:17- Sebastian Aho (16) PP (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (18) & Tony DeAngelo (19))

(VAN) 13:24- Bo Harvat (12) (assisted by Luke Schenn (5))

Thoughts

The start of the game was all Carolina. The Staal line looked great in their first couple of shifts. The kill prevented an early chance. Then the power play broke the ice after Sebastian Aho blasted one past Thatcher Demko. The kill would be challenged twice more in the period, but the Canes allowed zero shots in the three kills in the period and killed them all. Bo Horvat knotted the game at one with a wicked shot that Andersen had no great chance at stopping. I felt the game shifted more in the Canucks favor as the period went on, though the kill at the end of the period should help the Canes get back into it. Trocheck misses the net twice on two decent chances, which is something the Canes can't afford to do much this afternoon. Rough first period of the season for Joey Keane, taking a holding penalty shortly after the Aho goal and then being the guilty party for a too many men call late in the period. Ian Cole looked great on the kill as did the entire team. Some offense in the second period from the Cane would be great. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 1:02- Vincent Trocheck (8) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (15) & Martin Necas (13))

(CAR) 4:49- Martin Necas (8) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (16) & Vincent Trocheck (16))

Thoughts

That was an excellent period from the Svechnikov-Trocheck-Necas line on the 23rd birthday of the young Czech winger. They contributed both goals in the period for the Canes, with all three forwards earning two points. The Trocheck goal was courtesy of some great puck retrieval and passing as Svechnikov found Trocheck alone out front. The Necas goal was bardown, but the highlight is the hit that Svech just spins off and finds Necas to score the goal. Great period for Andersen, but he didn't face too many high danger chances. The Canes were clearly the better team for the entire 20 minutes. Things got really physical in the period, led by the Canes. Svech and Smith each laid some good hits. The 4-on-4 session was as wild a two minutes as there were in this game. Andersen sprawled out to make a huge save, then Jarvis was stopped and then almost guided a puck in with his skate, but it hit the post and rode the goalline. An excellent period for the team, but they need to finish it here. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 4:09- Steven Lorentz (6) (assisted by Brady Skjei (9) & Brett Pesce (11))

Thoughts

The Canucks got the better of the shot chart in the period, but the Canes felt like the more dangerous team and finished the game by scoring the only goal of the third period. That goal was a gorgeous tip by Steven Lorentz from the side of the net on a great set up by Brady Skjei. Frederik Andersen stopped all 16 shots he faced to keep the Canucks off the board. The penalty kill finished the afternoon perfect and extended their kill streak. There wasn't a lot to this period with the Canes dominating in every aspect. It was a great win bouncing back from the embarrassing loss on Thursday. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Vincent Trocheck (Goal, Assist)

I'm giving some love to the entire forward line for the Canes that put them ahead in the third period. Trocheck will get the game-winner today after a great set-up by Andrei Svechnikov. He was on all afternoon, getting a couple more chances in the first period that just missed the net. He got it done in all aspects of the game today. 

Second Star- Martin Necas (Goal, Assist)

Today is special not only because it's his 23rd birthday, but Necas also netted his 100th NHL point with his third period goal. His forecheck allowed the Trocheck goal to happen, then he went bar down just a few minutes later to make it a two-goal game. He almost had a second goal in the third period that missed just wide. An all-around great game from the birthday boy today. 

First Star- Andrei Svechnikov (2 Assists)

Though he didn't score a goal, Svech set up both goals with two primary assists. The highlight for me was how he spun off a hit to find Necas up the ice and get him the goal. He had a couple shots on the net, but he was also very physical today. He was throwing the body all afternoon, leading to a roughing penalty, but he was all over the place. Nice to see this effort from him today. 

Final Thoughts

This is the team I'm used to seeing on the ice. This was a dominant game in the final two periods for the Canes as they outscored the Canucks 3-0 in the final 40 minutes. Frederik Andersen earned his 19th win with 30 saves on 31 shots. Each member of the Trocheck line finished two point each, but all four lines felt like they played very well all afternoon. The quietest might have been the Aho line, but even Aho and Turbo finished with points on the power play. The penalty kill stepped up big and killed five penalties to extend the kill streak to 35 straight, one shy of the franchise record. It was a good bounceback game for sure. Next up for the Canes are the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night as Willie O'Ree's jersey will hit the rafters in Boston. I'd bet we'll see Tuukka Rask in the net as the Bruins look to stay hot. The Canes got the better of Boston earlier in the season in Raleigh, but going to Boston makes this a new animal. I'm looking forward to a fight, that's for sure.