Carolina Hurricanes Month in Review: April 2022 (+1st Round Postseason Preview)

There was still a lot that needed to be solved heading into the final month of the season. The Canes were in a deep battle for the Metropolitan Division with the New York Rangers with two meetings in April in New York. The Canes were also chasing franchise history with the wins and points records for a single season well within reach. Making the playoffs was a foregone conclusion, but they wanted more. They were looking to benefit from a light schedule in terms of strength of schedule despite having to play 14 games in 28 days. It was going to be a tough test for the Canes as they geared up for the postseason. Here is a look at March for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Month in Review Through Headlines

4/2 v. Minnesota "The Canes dig themselves into an early hole, Marc-Andre Fleury stands on his head to help the Wild take a 3-1 win in Raleigh"

4/5 at Buffalo "Buffalo gets two late goals in the third period as Anderson outplays Andersen in a huge upset win for the Sabres"

4/7 v. Buffalo "Despite a slow start, Aho and Staal each score twice, four unanswered to clinch a postseason berth for the fourth straight season in a 5-3 win"

4/8 v. New York (I) "Trocheck breaks through with a minute left to tie it, but Kyle Palmieri scores with 15 seconds left to give the Islanders a heart-breaking 2-1 win in Raleigh. 

4/10 v. Anaheim "The teams combine for five goals in the first period, Staal records his first regular season hat trick since 2008 in a 5-2 win for the Canes"

4/12 at New York (R) "Andersen outduels Shesterkin in Madison Square Garden as the Canes score three times in the third period to beat the Rangers in a battle of Metropolitan Goliaths"

4/14 v. Detroit "Alex Nedeljkovic returns to Raleigh for the second time and records a 46-save shutout as the Red Wings upset the Canes 3-0"

4/16 at Colorado "The Canes fall back 4-0 and can't recover as the Avalanche rout the Canes 7-4, Andersen leaves the game early with a lower-body injury"

4/18 at Arizona "Max Domi scores his first goal with the team as the Canes hold off the feisty Coyotes, win 5-3 in Raanta's first game back in Arizona"

4/21 v. Winnipeg "The Jets score twice in the first period, but the Canes score four unanswered to complete the comeback in a 4-2 win"

4/23 at New Jersey "The offense comes alive in the final five minutes to force overtime, Jarvis wins it to earn Pyotr Kochetkov his first NHL win"

4/24 at New York (I) "Raanta leaves in the second period with an injury, Kochetkov picks up his second win in relief as the Canes score three times in the third period"

4/26 at New York (R) "Kochetkov, Canes withstand a late push from the Rangers to win 4-3 and clinch their second-consecutive division crown"

4/28 v. New Jersey "The Canes sit several starters and still put up six goals on the Devils to finish the regular season with another win as Kotkaniemi scores three points in his return from injury"

Other Notes

• The Canes finished the month 9-5-0 for 18 points, clinching the Metropolitan Division on 4/26 with a win over the Rangers and finishing with the 3rd-most points in the league with 116. 
• The power play was abysmal in April, converting just three times on 34 attempts (8.8%), dropping to 13th in the league for the season (22%).
• The penalty kill dropped just a little, killing 36 of 42 penalties (85.7), but they were still easily the best kill in the league at 88% and tied for 8th in NHL history, 1.6% off the record of the '11-'12 Devils.
• Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta captured the Williams M. Jennings Trophy for the first time in franchise history by allowing the fewest goals in the league. 
• The Canes' 54 wins and 116 points break the franchise record for wins and points, passing the 2005-06 team's previous franchise-highs (52 wins, 112 points).
• The Canes clinched a postseason berth on April 7 with a win vs. Buffalo, marking the first time since relocation the Canes will qualify for the postseason in four straight seasons and is now the second-longest streak in Whalers/Hurricanes history.
• Sebastian Aho broke his tie with Jeff O'Neill for third in Hurricanes history in goals, now sitting alone in third all-time.
• Pyotr Kochetkov became the fourth goalie in Whalers/Hurricanes history to win in his NHL debut and the third to win in his first two games. 
• With 2 assists against New Jersey on 4/23, Tony DeAngelo became the franchise's single-season leader in assists (41) and points (51) by a defenseman.
• Jordan Staal tied Eric Cole for fifth in the team's history in points with an assist on 4/24. 
• This is the first time since 2006-07 that five different players scored 20+ goals in a season: Aho, Svechnikov, Niederreiter, Trocheck, and Teravainen.
• With goals in the game on 4/26 against the Rangers, Teuvo Teravainen recorded his 100th goal as a Hurricane and Sebastian Aho recorded his 400th NHL point. 
• Jordan Staal led the team in goals for the month (9), Brady Skjei led the team in assists (9), and Sebastian Aho led the team in points (13).

Moment of the Month- Seth Jarvis completes the comeback to earn Kochetkov his first win (4/23)

Coming into this game, the Canes were tied with the Rangers for first in the division going into a back-to-back on the road. In the net, they were going with a 22-year-old rookie goalie that has only been playing in North America for a few months in the absence of their Vezina-caliber starter. It was a nerve-wracking situation that came at a less-than-ideal time. Things were going decently through most of the game. Pyotr Kochetkov hadn't faced many shots until the Devils capitalized on the power play to put the first puck past Kochetkov in the NHL. Nico Hischier scored midway through the second period to make it 2-0 in a game that the Canes came into needing two wins. The offense was not generating anything at all. Kochetkov made a huge save on Jesper Boqvist on a breakaway to keep it from becoming 3-0 and then the Canes' fortunes changed. Brady Skjei got a friendly bounce and Nino Niederreiter placed a rebound into the net in the final five minutes of the third period to force overtime. After the Devils controlled the puck to begin overtime, the Canes forced a turnover right onto the stick of Tony DeAngelo. He set up Seth Jarvis on a 3-on-1 for an easy goal and the Canes kept their lead in the division intact. I've never seen a goalie so happy after a win until I saw Kochetkov's reaction. The comeback was phenomenal, earned the team a huge two points, and was ultimately one of the biggest wins en route to the division crown

Honorable Mention- Jordan Staal earns his first hat trick as a Hurricane (4/10)

Game of the Month- 4-2 W at New York (R) (4/12)

I had a few options for this spot, but it came down to the New Jersey comeback and the first visit to MSG this month. Since I've talked about the win over the Devils win to death, let me talk about the first game against the Rangers in April. The Canes were two points up entering the game in mid-April and this was seen as a huge measuring stick game since they'd been shut out by Alexander Georgiev in the Rangers' second trip to Raleigh in March. We finally got the Andersen v. Shesterkin matchup in the net that we'd been deprived of to this point in the season. The teams traded goals in the second period to enter the third tied 1-1. I want to focus more on the third period from the Canes because this has typically been their best period. Seth Jarvis showed some silky mitts by beating Shesterkin high on the backhand. Jordan Staal then added to the lead with another goal for him, following up his hat trick performance two days earlier. With a 3-1 lead, I felt very good about how the Canes had been playing and felt they'd be able to finish this easily and that's pretty much what happened. Chris Kreider did score his 50th to make it 3-2, but Sebastian Aho picked up his third point with an empty-net goal in the final seconds to win 4-2. Andersen, to me, asserted himself as an easy finalist for the Vezina with this win as he beat another top-tier goalie. This win put the Canes four points ahead and though they'd lose their next two, they'd beat the Rangers again to clinch the division in the penultimate game at MSG as well. 

Three Stars of the Month

Third Star- Seth Jarvis (4 Goals, 8 Assists, 12 Points in 14 Games)

The rookie finished his first regular season with arguably his best month. He continued his good play from March into April, where he finished tied for second in points with 12 and second in assists with 8. He eclipsed the 40-point mark and will head into the postseason on a seven-game point streak. Jarvis recorded points in ten of his 14 games, including a three-game goal streak. He and Aho have been clicking on that top line. 

Second Star- Brady Skjei (1 Goal, 9 Assists, 10 Points in 14 Games)

Very few defensemen have been as effective at 5-on-5 as Skjei since the start of 2020. He led the team's defense in points this month and led the entire team in assists. He wasn't quite able to set a new career-high in points but will be tied with his rookie season total at 39 and his nine goals are a new high. Skjei recorded points in six of the team's final seven games, but none were more important than his goal against New Jersey. He and Jesper Fast will be the only two plays to play every game this season. 

First Star- Jordan Staal (9 Goals, 3 Assists, 12 Points in 12 Games)

The captain's numbers heading into the month and his March were both pretty underwhelming. He hadn't been finding the back of the net much, which felt like a running theme for him this season. Once the calendar hit April, we saw a different side of Jordan Staal. He recorded back-to-back multi-point games against Buffalo, including a two-goal game on 4/7, but the highlight for him was his hat trick performance against Anaheim on 4/10. It was his first as a Hurricane and first in the regular season since 2008, making him the record-holder for most games between hat tricks. In a seven-game stretch between 4/5 and 4/16, he recorded seven goals and ten points, with three multi-goal games. He's hot right now and the postseason is his time to shine.

1st Round Postseason Preview

The first test of the postseason will be a familiar foe. The Hurricanes have had problems with the Boston Bruins since they began their postseason streak back in 2018-19. The regular season series between these two teams was not even close. The Canes swept the Bruins in their three meetings, outscoring them 16-1 and shutting them out at even strength. Here's a quick recap of their three meetings:

10/28 in Raleigh- Frederik Andersen recorded his first shutout as a Carolina Hurricane, stopping all 33 shots he faced and adding an assist in the game. Tony DeAngelo scored his first goal with the team, while Nino Niederreiter and Andrei Svechnikov rounded out the scoring in a 3-0 win for the Canes. 

1/18 in Boston- After Boston honors Willie O'Ree by retiring his jersey, the Canes scored five goals in the first period on Tuukka Rask and would add two more in the third period to win 7-1. Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored twice, and Jaccob Slavin and Tony DeAngelo recorded three-point nights. Patrice Bergeron scored the lone goal for the Bruins on the power play. 

2/10 in Boston- The Canes returned to Boston and handed the Bruins another lopsided loss, 6-0, as Frederik Andersen recorded another shutout against the Bruins. Sebastian Aho scored twice while Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov finished with three points each. 

This will be the fifth time these two face off in the postseason and it's the third time in four years. Boston owns a 3-1 edge in the previous four meetings, including the last two. Here's a recap of the last four series:

1998-99- Playoff hockey came to North Carolina for the first time as the Southeast Division champs hosted the Bruins. After Boston won Game 1, the Canes secured their first win in Game 2 as Ray Sheppard scored the overtime winner to even the series. Carolina added to their momentum in Game 3 as Sheppard tied the game on the power play in the second and Ray Kron scored the winner early in the third period. From there, Boston took over the series, winning Game 4 in Boston, Anson Carter scoring in 2OT to win Game 5, and Byron Dafoe shutting out the Canes in Game 6 to win the series four games to two. The series featured Joe Thornton in his rookie campaign (5 points), Ray Bourque towards the end of his career (6 points), and future Hurricanes Anson Carter (3 goals, 6 points) and Sergei Samsonov (2 goals) for the Bruins. Sheppard accounted for half the team's goals in the series (five of ten). Boston lost to Buffalo in the second round in six games. 

2008-09- The second meeting between the two franchises in 2009 has to be considered one of the best playoff series in Hurricanes' history. It's not because the Canes blew the Bruins away, but for how tight it was and how intense the series was. Boston, the top-seed in the Eastern Conference coming off a sweep in the first round, throttled the Canes 4-1 in Game 1, sending a clear message to their opponents. The Canes responded by rattling off three wins in a row, a shutout in Game 2 from Cam Ward, an overtime win in Game 3 from Jussi Jokinen, and a two-goal game in a 4-1 win in Game 4. Boston, now down 3-1, responded right back with a shutout of their own from Tim Thomas in Game 5 and pure dominance in Game 6 in Raleigh to even the series and force Game 7 back in Beantown. This Game 7 is one of the most remembered games in Carolina history. They fought back and forth to play in another overtime game and the hero of the night was Scott Walker. After knocking Aaron Ward's lights out in Game 5 in a very scary way, Walker tipped a rebound over Thomas' shoulder to give the Canes the win in seven games. Eric Staal (4 goals) and Jussi Jokinen (3 goals) led the Canes with six points each and Sergei Samsonov, now on the Canes, finished with four goals. Marc Savard led Boston with four goals and eight points on a Bruins team with young guys like Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron. Carolina would go on to be swept in the Eastern Conference Final by Pittsburgh. 

2018-19- The Canes, in their first playoff run since 2008-09, executed two huge upsets en route to the Eastern Conference Final, including a sweep of the Islanders in the second round. Their opponent would be a Bruins team coming off a seven-game thriller with the Leafs and a tough six-game set with the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was at this point in the run that the Canes' inexperience was their downfall. The Bruins exploited every issue with the Canes in a quick series. The Canes led 2-1 going into the third period of Game 1, but Boston scored four times in the final 20 minutes to win 5-2. The Bruins beat the brakes off the Canes in Game 2, leading 6-0 before the Canes scored twice at the end of the third period. The series then shifted to Raleigh and tightened up a but for Game 3. The game got extremely physical in the first period before Boston scored twice early in the second. The Canes got one back before the end of the period, but Tuukka Rask shut the door and led Boston to a 3-0 series lead, looking to finish things off. Patrice Bergeron scored twice and Rask stopped all 24 shots he saw to complete the sweep of the Canes. The Canes managed just five goals on Rask. Sebastian Aho (3 points) and Justin Faulk (2 points) were the only two players to finish with multiple points for Carolina. The Bruins got contributions from the entire lineup and no one was bigger than Rask in the net (.956 save percentage). Boston would lose in seven games to the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final. 

2019-20- In a postseason unlike any other, the Canes and Bruins ran it back, this time in the bubble in Toronto. The Canes were fresh off a three-game sweep of the Rangers in the Qualifying Series, while Boston lost all three games in the round robin to determine the top four seeds. Every game would be played in Toronto, eliminating any home-ice advantage. Boston set the tone with a big 2OT win in Game 1 off the stick of Patrice Bergeron. The Canes evened the series in Game 2 with a 3-2 win on a goal from Dougie Hamilton midway through the third. After Game 2, Tuukka Rask, who'd started the first two games, opted to leave the bubble to the surprise of many, including some angry Bruins fans. Jaroslav Halak took the net for Boston for the rest of the series and played phenomenally. Boston would go on to win the next three games, 3-1, 4-3, and 2-1 to finish the series in five games and send the Canes home from Toronto. David Krejci (8 points) and Brad Marchand (7 points) decimated the defense of the Canes, while Sebastian Aho (4 points) led the Canes. Only Teuvo Teravainen and Haydn Fleury scored twice in the series for Carolina. Boston lost in the second round in five games to Tampa Bay. 

These two teams have great offenses and great defenses, so the difference is going to be the goaltending. Should Frederik Andersen not be ready for Monday night, Antti Raanta is going to likely get the start. Raanta only has appeared in five postseason games and only has one decision in his career. Pyotr Kochetkov only has three games of NHL experience in the final week of the season. For Boston, the tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have zero combined starts in the postseason. The experience of the skaters in front of them is going to be huge. I think the team that gets the best goaltending will win and I expect that to be the Hurricanes in the first round.