Regular Season, Game 82: Hurricanes v. New Jersey Devils

There are absolutely no major standings implications that can go into tonight's regular season finale. The Hurricanes wrapped up the Metropolitan Division on Tuesday night with a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. They don't know who they'll be playing yet, but they know they'll be in Raleigh when it begins. The Canes are coming off an incredible three-game stretch in four days against, tonight's opponent, the Devils, the Islanders, and the aforementioned Rangers. All three wins are credited to rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, playing in his first three NHL games. He was spectacular in all three games on the trip. His game against the Rangers was especially impressive. It was easily his most important game during the trip and he acted like he'd been doing this for years in the NHL. Kochetkov and Igor Shesterkin went save-for-save in the first period before the flood gates opened in the second. Vincent Trocheck and Jordan Martinook scored to open up a 2-0 lead before Chris Kreider scored his 52nd goal to cut it to a 2-1 game. Teuvo Teravainen responded quickly to restore the 3-1 lead and the Canes looked to be in the driver's seat going into the third period. They added to the lead just 32 seconds into the third thanks to Sebastian Aho's team-leading 37th goal and it was all but over. The Rangers had plenty of fight left in them and scored twice to pull within one, but the Canes held strong and finished the job.

Three days earlier, the Canes were in New Jersey for a game against the Devils that was extremely important at the time. It had been about two months since the teams played and it was the first time Dougie Hamilton would get to face his former team. It also marked the NHL debut of Pyotr Kochetkov, who was only up because of the injury to Frederik Andersen. With it being the front-end of a back-to-back, fans were certain they'd see him at some point, but everyone expected it to be this game in New Jersey. Kochetkov didn't face much work through the first period and a half, but the Devils' power play broke through thanks to a deflected goal from Yegor Sherangovich. Nico Hischier added to the lead on a shot that went off the post and in to double the lead. The Canes hadn't mounted much offense and it was looking like Jon Gillies was going to get the best of them. With just under five minutes left, Brady Skjei intercepted a pass, skated up the boards, and threw a puck towards the net. The puck deflected off a Devils' defenseman and through the legs of Gillies to get the Canes on the board late. With that little bit of life, the Canes continued to push. Right as Kochetkov was making it to the bench, Nino Niederreiter banged home a rebound to tie things up with just under two minutes left to force overtime and earn a huge point. One point wasn't going to be enough though. Early in overtime, Sebastian Aho forced a turnover behind the net that went straight to Tony DeAngelo. He outwaited the defense, fed Seth Jarvis, and he found the back of the net to complete the comeback. The team went nuts for both rookies as they picked up two huge points. The lineup tonight is going to look very different. Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin, and Andrei Svechnikov will all be out tonight as the Canes try to ensure they're healthy heading into the postseason. Jesperi Kotkaniemi will play tonight in his return from injury. Antti Raanta will start the final game of the season after leaving the Islanders' game early on Sunday. 

The Devils are playing their second-to-last game tonight before wrapping things up for the year tomorrow night. They've played twice since the loss to Carolina, losing those two games as well. Their loss to Ottawa on Tuesday was a back-and-forth affair between two teams towards the bottom of their divisions. The Senators owned 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2 leads in the game, but goals in the third period from Pavel Zacha and Yegor Sharangovich tied things up and Mackenzie Blackwood helped guide the team to overtime. They'd ultimately lose in overtime on a goal from Drake Batherson. Tim Stutzle recorded four points and Brady Tkachuk had three assists. For the Devils, Nolan Foote scored twice and Pavel Zacha added a goal and an assist. For a team that was playing short-handed on Saturday, they'll be even more depleted tonight. Hischier and Tatar are both out with an illness. Andrew Hammond will start tonight for the Devils between the pipes. The goal for the Canes tonight is to come out of this game in one piece without any injuries. If they win their sixth in a row tonight, that'd be great. If Seth Jarvis extends his points streak to seven games, they'd be great. The goal is to finish the game tonight with the same number of players they started with. Anything else good that happens would be extra. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 4:44- Ethan Bear (5) (assisted by Brendan Smith (4) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (16))

(CAR) 5:33- Martin Necas (14) (assisted by Ian Cole (17) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (17))

(CAR) 12:53- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (12) (assisted by Martin Necas (26))

(NJD) 13:55- Fabian Zetterlund (2) (assisted by Pavel Zacha (20) & Damon Severson (35))

Thoughts

Welcome back to the lineup, Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Just under 13 minutes into this game, Kotkaniemi recorded his first-career three-point game by assisting on the first two goals and scoring the team's third of the period. The goals from Ethan Bear and Martin Necas were both deflected past Hammond and took their sweet time finding the net. Bear's shot deflected in off a Devils player and Necas deflected a point shot from Ian Cole to give the Canes a 2-0 lead 5:33 into the period. Kotkaniemi's goal was thanks to a turnover from the Devils right onto the stick of Necas, who found the eventual goal-scorer in front for a tap-in. Necas' two points put him at 40 for the season. New Jersey would get one back shortly after the third goal that rang the post and took a tour around the net. For a team playing without several regulars, guys towards the bottom of the lineup need to get hot before the postseason. All three goals came from the fourth line, so I'd say they're looking good. It's a good start for the team. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 17:27- Teuvo Teravainen (22) (assisted by Vincent Trocheck (30))

Thoughts

The Devils showed some serious signs of life throughout the period, but Antti Raanta was up for the task. He got some post luck a couple times, with both Zetterlund and Vesey ringing the iron in the period. Both teams came up empty on their power play attempts in the period. Both goalies have some huge saves in the period. Hammond had a great sequence against both Pesce and Skjei jumping into the play. Raanta got over a made an amazing pad save on Sharangovich. To add insult to injury, Teuvo Teravainen scored off a face-off late in the period to open it up to three goals heading into the third period. It wasn't a great period for the Canes, but I don't care. They're up by three goals in a nothing game. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 3:14- Steven Lorentz (8) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (23) & Sebastian Aho (44)

(CAR) 7:32- Jordan Martinook (6) (assisted by Brady Skjei (30) & Derek Stepan (10))

(NJD) 14:17- Jesper Bratt (26) (assisted by Nolan Foote (1) & Pavel Zacha (21))

(NJD) 15:44- Jimmy Vesey (8) (assisted by Nathan Bastian (6))

Thoughts

The Canes picked up two early goals to put the game away for good and chase Andrew Hammond from the game. New Jersey didn't quit and picked up two late goals to make it 6-3, but that doesn't mean much. Seth Jarvis single-handily made the Steven Lorentz goal happen by dangling through the Devils' defense and setting up Lorentz for the fifth goal. The sixth goal came on a very unassuming shot from Skjei that Jordan Martinook deflected past Hammond to make it 6-1. There wasn't much Raanta could do on the two late goals, but the team got it home with a 6-3 win to add to their franchise records. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Ethan Bear (Goal)

The blueline contributed a lot tonight. Skjei and Pesce were both +3 tonight, but I'm giving this to Bear for having one of the most eventful nights among the defense. Bear led the team in ice time tonight (22:57), scored the opening goal, blocked three shots, took three shots, and laid a couple hits. He's going to be an important part of the team heading into the first round, so it's nice to see him step up.

Second Star- Martin Necas (Goal, Assist)

The fourth line was on the ice for four Canes goals tonight and they were led by my first two stars. Necas, who many have been very vocal about this season at times, played a phenomenal first period with two points and he continued to play hard all night. He led the forwards in ice time (19:29) and finished with six shots. 

First Star- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Goal, 2 Assists)

Having missed most of the month due to the injury he sustained in Washington, Kotkaniemi being in the lineup for the finale was a good sign. The way he played tonight was even more encouraging. He factored on all three goals in the first period, scoring the third. He finished the night with three hits as the entire fourth line played well tonight. I wouldn't mind seeing them together for Game 1.

Final Thoughts

They came into tonight without a bunch of guys in the lineup and put up six goals. It doesn't mean much, but it still feels pretty good. You can't make too much of tonight's performances since neither team had too much incentive. With tonight's performance, Raanta wrapped up the Jennings Award with Frederik Andersen for allowing the fewest number of goals in the league as a goalie duo. Seth Jarvis heads into the postseason with a seven-game point streak. There's a lot to look forward to with this team heading into the postseason. We still don't know the opponent with Boston winning and Tampa Bay losing tonight. Tomorrow night we'll know more, so for now, we sit and wait. Most importantly, the team didn't appear to lose anyone tonight, so that's a major win. The writes the book on a great regular season. Time to gear up for the postseason and a run for the Stanley Cup.