Regular Season, Game 76: Hurricanes at Colorado Avalanche

It's time for the Canes to recover from a very rough loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at the hands of Alex Nedeljkovic and the Detroit Red Wings. The Canes were held scoreless by their former goaltender 3-0 despite the Canes playing an excellent first 40 minutes. It was another perfect example of the offense getting goalied for what feels like the fifth or sixth time this season. They head to the west for two straight, starting tonight with the best team in the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche. These two met just over a month ago in Raleigh and the Canes were the team doing the goalie-ing. Antti Raanta dueled with Darcy Kuemper for 60 minutes and held one of the best offenses in the league scoreless. The Canes got on the board courtesy of a fluky goal from Ethan Bear that deflected in off Nazem Kadri. Sebastian Aho added the empty-net goal to give the Canes a 2-0 win. The lineup is going to look the same as it did on Thursday night with Frederik Andersen in the net and the same 18 skaters. My hope is that all the work they did on the power play yesterday is going to pay tonight because it's looked really bad this month. 

The Avalanche have a chance to clinch both the Central Division and the Western Conference tonight with a win and some other results. There is no team hotter in the league than the Avs. They've won eight straight games, nine of their last ten (9-0-1), and 13 of their last 15 (13-1-1). They possess some of the best talent in the league in all three aspects of the game. This is their third game in four days after beating Los Angeles 9-3 on Wednesday and New Jersey 3-1 on Thursday. Colorado scored all three of their goals in the second period, with Logan O'Connor, Andre Burakovsky, and Artturi Lehkonen providing the offense. Pavel Francouz would allow a goal in the third, but he'd finish the night with 26 saves to earn the two points. They've been on this run without some of their better players too. Both Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri have missed some time lately, but there's always someone that steps up to get the job done. Remarkably, this team features four 80-point scorers. Mikko Rantanen leads the way with 88 points, while Kadri (83), Nathan MacKinnon (82), and Cale Makar (82) follow closely behind. While the numbers fall off after those four, they're still high for the depth players on the roster. Darcy Kuemper starts for the Avalanche tonight and he's another in a long list of players having career seasons. Tonight is going to be a mountain of a test for the Canes. They'd played a couple good games before Detroit and with New York winning today to tie the Canes with 104 points, the Canes need to find a way to get a point or two tonight. 

1st Period

Scoring

(COL) 6:58- JT Compher (15) PP (assisted by Alex Newhook (18) & Andre Burakovsky (35))

(COL) 10:48- Nathan MacKinnon (30) (assisted by Valeri Nichushkin (24) & Mikko Rantanen (54))

Thoughts

I'm tired of reading this story over and over again. The Canes started really well, getting the first five shots of the period. The Avalanche then scored on their first shot late in their first power play, then scored again less than four minutes later and suddenly the Canes forgot how to play hockey. They took a couple of undisciplined penalties while on the power play and will have to start the period by killing their third already. When the Canes got chances, they were good ones, but Kuemper stopped them. Andersen didn't look terrible and there wasn't much he could do on either goal, the defense just didn't look good on either occasion. I'm not sure what needs to change for them to score goals, but they need to do it now. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(COL) 1:56- JT Compher (16) PP (assisted by Andre Burakovsky (36) & Devon Toews (43))

(COL) 2:21- Ben Meyers (1) (assisted by Logan O'Connor (16))

(CAR) 3:02- Jordan Staal (15) (assisted by Brady Skjei (25) & Brett Pesce (19))

(CAR) 8:44- Jordan Staal (16) (assisted by Nino Niederreiter (18) & Jaccob Slavin (36))

(COL) 11:17- Alex Newhook (13) (assisted by Nicolas Aube-Kubel (10))

(CAR) 13:33- Sebastian Aho (35) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (8) & Seth Jarvis (20))

Thoughts

I don't know what to make of this period. It started off terrible, giving up two goals in 35 seconds to trail 4-0. Then the captain decides that enough is enough and he scores not one, but two goals in a row to make it a 4-2 game. Then the defense allows another one to make it 5-2 and I got the feeling it was all over, but Sebastian Aho scores on a rebound after Kuemper makes an unreal, no-look save on Martinook to bring it back within two. The Canes shouldn't be in this game based on how they played for most of it, but they're in a far more manageable situation than they were just under 2:30 into the period. I've hated the way the team has looked in front of Andersen tonight, but being down just two has to feel like a minor silver lining right now. The captain is on "hat trick watch", as is JT Compher of the Avalanche. I'd love to see another hat trick from Staal tonight, but they have some digging they need to do first. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(COL) 4:08- Mikko Rantanen (36) (assisted by Valeri Nichushkin (25))

(CAR) 6:28- Andrei Svechnikov (30) PP (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (41) & Tony DeAngelo (38))

(COL) 11:43- Nathan MacKinnon (31) (assisted by Mikko Rantanen (55) & Devon Toews (44))

Thoughts

The Canes didn't play a third period that would allow them to win this game. That's not going to be the most important thing we remember about this game. Jordan Staal left this game midway through the period after taking a hit from Makar, so that's potentially a concussion. Frederik Andersen left with just under minutes left after what looked like a knee injury. As good as the two of them have played, especially Staal lately, that's not good for the Canes. The offense hasn't been clicking as well as it has at other points this season. The Staal line has been the only consistent line and now the centerpiece is potentially out. It's all pure speculation, but that's a scary thought. The power play scored for the first time in April, Svechnikov scored his 30th of the season, and Andersen made a great save before getting hurt, but those were about the only good things about the third period. The Canes weren't the better team and Colorado made them pay. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Brady Skjei (Assist)

2022 continues to be the year of Brady Skjei as he adds another point at even strength, piling onto his lead. On a night that was bad overall for the defense, Skjei made some good plays on both ends. He set up the first Staal goal, rang the post, and helped to prevent a chance from MacKinnon in the second period among some other plays. He's been one of the more consistent pieces for the Canes blueline. 

Second Star- Nino Niederreiter (Assist)

The ten-minute misconduct notwithstanding, Niederreiter had a decent game. He also had a primary assist, shooting the puck from the point that Staal deflected home for his second goal. While he missed half of the third period, I don't think that makes too much of a difference. He's found a home with that third line and has been thriving in that role.

First Star- Jordan Staal (2 Goals)

This might be one of Staal's best months in recent memory. With the team down 4-0, he found a way to deflect two shots home and make it feel like the Canes had a chance to come back. He almost added a third right before the end of the third that could've made it a one-goal game. Seeing him get laid out like that and leave the game worries me a lot because he's been the most consistent source of offense for this team the last two weeks. 

Final Thoughts

This was not a good night for the Canes. The defense looked terrible for most of the game and they didn't help Frederik Andersen out at all. Andersen definitely had an off night and seeing him get hurt only made it worse. I'm obviously not sure how long serious either injury is and we likely won't know until tomorrow. If they are both out for the rest of the regular season, I think the fix at forward is a lot simpler than in the net. With Stepan serving as one of the extras, I'd think he's slot in and someone on the fourth line would move up. In the net. Raanta will need to see more time, but who would back him up is the big question. Based on the recent movement in Chicago, Alex Lyon, the Wolves' starter is hurt, so the next best option would be Pyotr Kochetkov. Since coming over to North America, he's 13-1-1 for Chicago and allowed two or fewer goals in ten of his 15 appearances. Maybe it's too early for him to come up, but I'm not sure who the next best option is. Maybe I'm reading too much into something that might not be that serious, but it's fun to speculate. The margin for error for the Canes the rest of the way remains thin, especially between now and when they face the Rangers in the penultimate game. They sit tied in the standing and hold the first two tiebreakers based on regulation wins (42 to 4 1) and combined regulation and overtime wins (47 to 45). Step one is making sure Staal and Andersen aren't seriously hurt. If they are, it's time for someone to step up.