Thoughts From My Couch

The month of February was supposed to be a three-week break for the Olympics. There weren't games scheduled at the beginning of the season until the end of the month. Instead, there were some games that needed to be made up and the schedule quickly became loaded. There were some high-quality opponents on the ledger, especially early in the month. The All-Star break helped to break some of it up, but the games came fast and furious in the month. With a lead in the division, the focus was going to be finding a way to extend the distance between the Rangers and the Penguins. This is a look back at February for the Carolina Hurricanes.  The Month in Review Before the fun of February could begin, Sebastian Aho, Frederik Andersen, and Rod Brind'Amour represented the team in the All-Star game for the Metropolitan Division. They all had great showings too. Aho proved he was the league's most accurate shooter, knocking out all four targets in four shots. He also scored a goal, while...

It's Kids Day at PNC Arena and though I'm not sure we'll see another game like it, the Canes are going to need to be just as good with the Oilers in town for the final meeting this season. The Canes outshot Columbus 50-19 in their 4-0 win on Friday night against a tired Blue Jackets team. Frederik Andersen recorded his third shutout of the season with four different Hurricanes finding the back of the net on J.F. Berube. The win was their fourth straight and they've scored at least four goals in each of those wins. This is the second and final meeting between the Oilers and Hurricanes this season. They met on December 11, my birthday, north of the border with the Hurricanes shutting down the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl. Sebastian Aho scored twice and added an assist to factor in on each of the team's goals in a 3-1 victory. Andersen made 22 saves that night, beating Mikko Koskinen. I don't expect any lineup changes for the team from the win on Friday nig...

For the fourth and final time this season, the Blue Jackets and Hurricanes will square off in Raleigh tonight. This season series has been a weird one. The Canes dominated Columbus 5-1 at Nationwide Arena back on October 23, then scored seven unanswered goals in the second and third periods to beat them 7-4 in Columbus on New Year's Day. 12 days later, in their most recent encounter, they played on ESPN+, the team's first game with ESPN in attendance since before the lockout in 2004, and the Jackets demolished them 6-0 for their first and only shutout loss of the season. That game also saw the NHL debut of Jack LaFontaine in relief of Frederik Andersen and it didn't go well. Someone has scored twice in each of the first three meetings (Trocheck on 10/23, Lorentz and Skjei on 1/1, and Chinakov on 1/13). The Canes are coming off a short break after completing four games in six days. They earned seven of a possible eight points, including wins in three straight. After beating ...

With today being Presidents' Day, the Hurricanes will play yet another afternoon game as they travel to Philadelphia just 24 hours after playing in Pittsburgh. It got close at the end, but the Canes were able to escape yesterday's game with the Penguins with a 4-3 win to take sole possession of the division lead. Ten different players recorded a point and Antti Raanta stopped 31 shots to earn his 100th win in the NHL. The Hurricanes and Flyers are meeting for the third of four matchups. The previous two games took place in November. The Flyers traveled to Raleigh on November 12 and Carter Hart goalied the Canes, stopping 39 of 40 shots in a 2-1 win for Philadelphia. The Canes returned the favor when they last visited Philly on November 26. The game was back-and-forth to begin, with the Flyers leading 2-1 after the first period and 3-2 1:16 into the second period. The Canes would then score four unanswered to win 6-3 as Aho, DeAngelo, and Kotkaniemi recorded multi-point games. F...

It feels like it has been forever since these two have squared off, but it's finally time to see Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite being division opponents, this is the first meeting of the season between these two teams and the first time during the COVID era that they'll be sharing the ice. You have to go all the way back to March 8, 2020, to find the last game between these two and it was a pretty memorable affair. It marked the debut of Morgan Geekie, who scored twice, in a 6-2 win for the Canes in Pittsburgh. The Canes were down 2-1 after the first period but scored five unanswered, including two third period goals from Justin Williams on Tristan Jarry. The Canes are riding high after a 5-3 win over Nashville on Friday night. Andrei Svechnikov scored twice and added an assist, while four others recorded two points. Frederik Andersen earned his 15th win in his last 19 decisions. Antti Raanta will get the start for this matinee. He's looking for his 100t...

After playing almost a thousand times in 2021, the Canes and the Predators will square off for the first time in 2022. The Canes are coming off a disappointing finish against Florida, blowing a lead in the final minute of the game and then allowing a goal just 16 seconds into overtime to drop a 3-2 decision. While they earned a point, it's their fourth loss in the last five games since coming back from the All-Star Break. It's led to some upset fans during this hard stretch in the season, This is the second time they've faced off this season, but it has been a while. They faced off the second game of the season in Nashville on October 16 with the Canes winning 3-2. Frederik Andersen and Juuse Saros went to battle and Andersen made just one more save in the win. Andersen will be in the net tonight again for the Canes as they try and break out of their rut. Seth Jarvis is a game-time decision tonight and Brendan Smith is probably going to be in for Ethan Bear.  The Predators ...

Returning home after a four-game road trip, the Hurricanes are looking for a reversal of fortune after a tough return from the break. They lost three of four games, earning just three of a possible eight points. Two of the losses were to playoff teams and all three losses were by one goal. They haven't played since falling 3-2 in Minnesota on Saturday night. The Canes fell down 3-0 just over 2:30 into the third period and were almost willed to a win by Andrei Svechnikov, who scored both goals for the Canes in a 3-2 loss. This is the third and final meeting between the Canes and Panthers this season and Florida has the advantage thus far. In the most recent encounter on January 8 in Raleigh, the Panthers jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first 20:35 of the game, but the Canes fought hard and tied the game 3-3 in the third period to force overtime and earn a point. Anthony Duclair earned the second point for the Panthers by undressing Alex Lyon in overtime to win 4-3. The lineup...

The end of a four-game road trip is upon us as the Hurricanes travel to the "State of Hockey" for a showdown with the Minnesota Wild. This is the first meeting between these two teams in over two years. The last meeting was on December 7, 2019, in Raleigh, a 6-2 win for the Canes headlined by a three-goal, five-point performance from Sebastian Aho and three assists from Teuvo Teravainen. The last time the team visited Minnesota was a month before their game in Raleigh, a 4-3 win in overtime for the Canes, a game I remember much clearer than I thought I did, with Andrei Svechnikov getting the game-winner in extra time. Carolina is coming off a strong bounce-back game against the Boston Bruins. Aho scored twice and Teravainen and Svechnikov recorded three points each in a 6-0 shutout win for Frederik Andersen and the Canes. The good news is that Jesperi Kotkaniemi has exited COVID protocol and has joined the team in Minnesota. He's expected to start tonight in place of Stev...

This game is going to feel very weird, but we'll get through it. The Hurricanes have come back to America after two games in Canada that didn't go as expected. Following their overtime loss to Toronto, the Canes dropped a 4-3 decision in Ottawa despite a third-period comeback where they almost erased a 4-0 deficit. The Senators scored four goals in the 22:54 on Tuesday night, but goals from Svechnikov, Smith, and Trocheck made it a game in the third period. Tonight, the Canes will look to continue their success against Boston in this third and final meeting of the season. Carolina has outscored Boston 10-1 in the two meetings, including a 7-1 win in Boston almost a month ago. They scored five goals in the first period and two power play goals late in the third after the retirement of Willie O'Ree's jersey. The Canes will hopefully be welcoming Teuvo Teravainen to the lineup, while Ian Cole is coming back into the lineup for Brendan Smith. Frederik Andersen is in the cre...

24 hours removed from a tough overtime loss to Toronto, the Hurricanes are back at it in their second game back from the break. They remain north of the border for tonight's contest against an Ottawa team that has given them fits this season. Last night's loss for the Canes broke a four-game win streak, but they were able to secure a point. The game was very back and forth for the Canes. They led after the first, trailed after two, then led midway through the third before allowing the tying goal late in the period and the overtime winner to Mitch Marner. No word on the status of Teuvo Teravainen yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's out again tonight with Jesperi Kotkaniemi also out with COVID. If Turbo is still out, I'd imagine the Canes will roll with the same forward group as last night, though nothing has been confirmed. The only real changes are Antti Raanta getting the start with Andersen playing last night and Ethan Bear drawing in for Ian Cole. This will ...

After a week off for the All-Star Break, the Hurricanes are back in action north of the border. Carolina travels to Toronto for the first time since the David Ayres game just under two years ago. The story of the night has become very well-known and haunts the dreams of some Maple Leafs fans. This will also be the first game back in Toronto for the Canes' starting goalie tonight, Frederik Andersen, who was the losing goalie in the Ayres game. It'll be in front of an empty arena, so it won't be nearly as special, but it should still be very sentimental. This is the second meeting of the season for these two teams. Toronto visited Raleigh in October for Andersen's first game against his former team and the Canes took that game 4-1. Aho, Lorentz, Niederreiter, and Svechnikov scored the goals for the Canes that night against Jack Campbell, while Auston Matthews scored the Leafs' lone goal on Andersen. The Canes entered the break hot. They've won four straight and se...