Regular Season, Game 41: Hurricanes v. New Jersey Devils

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 have won both games this week since their loss in New Jersey. They took down Vegas 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday night in Raleigh before traveling to Ottawa and scoring late in the third period to force overtime and win the game in the shootout 3-2 on Thursday night. They've bounced back well with two big wins to keep pace in a loaded Metropolitan Division. 

Things haven't been as kind to the Devils since their win last Saturday night. They've lost all three games this week at home to Los Angeles and Dallas before traveling to Tampa Bay and losing 3-2 on Thursday night. Jon Gillies, the starter against the Canes, took the loss with Damon Severson (1G, 1A) and Jesper Bratt (2A) leading the way with two points as well as a goal from Jack Hughes. Gillies will get the start again based on his recent performances. Still no Dougie Hamilton for New Jersey, but he's in Raleigh and will likely get a nice video tribute tonight. Hopefully, the crowd embraces him for what he helped to accomplish in his three seasons with the team. He was a major part of the culture changes surrounding this team, helping the franchise make three straight postseason appearances. This is the second-to-last game for the Canes before the All-Star Break with San Jose in town for an early evening tilt at PNC Arena tomorrow. With the added emotion of Whalers Night, I expect to see a much different team than we saw last weekend in New Jersey. Keep an eye on Teuvo Teravainen after he missed morning skate and could likely be replaced by Jordan Martinook in his potential return to the lineup. The feel should be different, but I expect a focused team tonight. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 8:02- Jordan Martinook (2) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (10) & Brady Skjei (11)

(CAR) 14:22- Andrei Svechnikov (15) (assisted by Ian Cole (8))

(NJD) 17:26- Jesper Boqvist (1) (assisted by Jimmy Vesey (5) & Janne Kuokkanen (5))

Thoughts

I must admit I missed most of the period, but I was able to listen to a little bit of it on the radio. I missed the Martinook goal live, but it was good to see first-line Marty get a goal. I also heard the penalty kill that sounded like it went smoothly as well as Tony DeAngelo ringing the pipe. Andrei Svechnikov scored right as I was parking and it came after Mike got very excited by a save from Raanta. I did see the Boqvist goal live and I hate that the Devils were able to get some momentum back on their side right as the period was ending. They'll start the period with a lot of time left on a high-sticking call that, frankly, it looked like Nino Niederreiter missed on. It probably wouldn't have been called if PK Subban didn't whip his head back the way he did. Nevertheless, they'll need a good kill to get the momentum back and build a period from there. 

2nd Period

Scoring

None

Thoughts

The Devils played like the faster and more lethal team in the period, but Antti Raanta looked amazing. This period was mostly spent playing defense though no one scored. This isn't the type of game the Canes want to play and have to rely on Raanta to bail them out. The power play didn't get much going at the end of the period. The Devils had the best chance as the period was ending with Raanta stopping a breakaway from Nathan Bastian. The Canes had a little bit going at the beginning of the period, they just couldn't sustain it. I don't like the way this game is going if they continue to play this way. They'll enter the period with a one-goal lead anyway, so this is their game to win. 

3rd Period

Scoring

None

Thoughts

I never thought I'd ever say this, but I'm concerned about the Canes' inability to score on the empty net. Outside of that minor problem, the defense held strong and the team as a whole played a much better period than in the second. I think the team owes Raanta a steak dinner for the huge performance he had tonight. The Canes had a couple solid chances on Gillies, but he played very well tonight as well. To say they escaped with the win tonight would be a very accurate statement. They almost managed to score after a puck squirted through Gillies, but a heads-up play by Subban kept the puck out. A win is a win, so I can't complain about too much. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Andrei Svechnikov (Goal)

It's always good to see him score a goal, but this continues a recent stretch of really good games for Svech. His goal midway through the first period is the game-winner for tonight and he fought hard for it. He took four shots, recorded four hits, played over 20 minutes, and drew a crucial penalty late in the third period. He's had a good month of January and it's nice to see him rewarded again tonight. 

Second Star- Jordan Martinook (Goal)

There are jokes that are often made when Marty plays on the top line with Sebastian Aho, but the jokes are on them tonight. In his return to the lineup after missing a few games due to COVID, he came back in style by scoring a goal in the first period on the backhand. He had a few chances throughout the game, but he brings an energy to the lineup that is almost unmatched.

First Star- Antti Raanta (24 Saves on 25 Shots)

After not playing in almost exactly a month, Raanta put the team on his back tonight and led them to victory. Particularly in the second period, he made some huge breakaway saves the keep the Canes ahead by a goal. It's great when the team can throw their backup out in a division game and feel confident he can earn them two points. Raanta did exactly that tonight to earn an important two points in the standings. 

Final Thoughts

This is the second straight game that the Canes have played an inferior team and I haven't loved the performance. They looked very good in the first period but didn't feel very lethal in the final 40 minutes. If not for the play of Raanta, this could've been a very different game. Major props to Jon Gillies for playing very well in the second and third periods to keep the Canes out of the net and give the Devils a chance to win tonight. It doesn't matter how it gets done though as they earn two big points before the break and end the game in regulation. They have to recover quickly as they face the San Jose Sharks tomorrow afternoon for a 5 pm start in Raleigh. It's weird for two start times less than 24 hours apart, but it'll be the last game before the break for over a week, so they need to come out hot and take it to the Sharks early. They also played tonight against Florida and lost 5-4. They'll be coming in hungry after blowing a lead tonight. I would imagine Frederik Andersen will get the nod for the game tomorrow before heading to Vegas for the All-Star festivities. A good win tonight, albeit a hard-fought and sometimes ugly one. They'll retake first place of the Metro before tomorrow's game and must now defend it against the Sharks.