2022-23 Regular Season, Game 2: Hurricanes at San Jose Sharks

The season opened exactly how we all hoped it would. The Hurricanes won their opening contest in front of a raucous crowd over the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-1, on Wednesday night. The victory came on the backs of a three-point game for Martin Necas and a 31-save performance from Frederik Andersen. It was largely a team effort with everyone having their moments to shine at various points of the night. Once they got their legs under them after the first period, it looked more like the Hurricanes' team we've grown accustomed to seeing. Tonight, they embark on the first game of a five-game road trip that will keep them on the road for a week and a half while the NC State Fair is in town. This means we're about to get five nights of #CanesAfterDark as the puck is set to drop at 10:30p. 

Projected Lines/Pairings

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Paul Stastny-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Jordan Martinook-Derek Stepan-Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield

Antti Raanta

Frederik Andersen

Extras: Ondrej Kase (concussion protocol), Ethan Bear (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy)

Immediately you'll notice the obvious change. Antti Raanta is going to get his first start of the season tonight against the Sharks. This will likely serve two big purposes. First, and most importantly, it'll get him some regular season action to get going. He had to wait until the end of the month last season before getting his first action with Frederik Andersen starting so hot. This gets him into the equation early after a strong preseason. Second, it allows your starter to rest on a trip that includes big games with Calgary and Edmonton, two of the best in the Pacific Division. You want your best guy going against those offenses. Nothing changes defensively as we wait to see Bear and Coghlan get their first looks, though I am certain we'll see them during this trip. Up front, the only big change is a bit of late development. Ondrej Kase returned to Raleigh today and is being evaluated for a concussion. Kase has a long history of concussions and they must've seen something either last night or this morning that warranted such a quick response. I hate this for Kase because of what this could mean long-term for his health and playing career. I was excited to see that we signed him and he made it clear he wanted to be here. In his place, Stefan Noesen will get some looks for the first time this season. This is his third game with the team, joining the Hurricanes in mid-December when half the team had COVID and they were very undermanned. He didn't record any points in those two games. He scored 48 goals and 85 points as part of the Calder Trophy-winning Chicago Wolves in the AHL last season. 

Tonight's Opponent: San Jose Sharks (0-2-0 in 2022-23, 6th in the Pacific in 2021-22)

The Sharks haven't played since their two-game trip to Prague, Czechia last Friday and Saturday when they dropped both contests to the Nashville Predators. The trip was huge for Tomas Hertl as he returned to his home country and scored the team's first and only goal in their 4-1 loss on Friday afternoon. They played a tight first period, but the Predators took control of the game and pulled away from the Sharks in the first game of the year. The two teams met again the following day and it was a little bit closer. Luke Kunin scored on the power play to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead after the first period. There was a lot of offense in the second period and back by two goals from Nino Niederreiter, the Predators would take a 3-2 lead and would hold onto that lead and win by the same score to sweep the Global Series trip. While not a great trip from a results standpoint, there were still some positives to take from the trip and now they get to return home and play in front of their home crowd for the first time this season. The real concern will be the long layoff since they haven't played in almost a week. 

Last Season v. Carolina- The teams split their two meetings last season, each team winning on their home ice. The Sharks won 2-1 in overtime in late November thanks to the winner in extra time by Alexander Barabanov. It was a very clean game, but it was ultimately a penalty at the end of the third period that cost the Canes. Brett Pesce took a penalty that carried into overtime and though the Canes killed it, the Sharks took advantage of him getting back on the ice and scored with a slight advantage still. The Canes got the better of the Sharks in Raleigh in late January thanks to a late goal in the third period from Andrei Svechnikov. The young winger for the Canes had gotten into it with Jeffrey Viel earlier in the game and needed this goal to reverse his fortune as the Canes held on for a 2-1 win of their own. 

San Jose's Starting Goalie- The Sharks will turn to former Hurricane James Reimer to try and get the team in the win column for the first time this season. Reimer started both games for the Sharks last season against Carolina, stopping 49 of 52 shots he faced in the two contests. He started the opening game of the season against Nashville, allowing three goals on 31 shots. While he doesn't have a great record against the Canes in his career (6-7-3), his underlying numbers (.926 SV%, 2.30 GAA) are very good. After two strong performances against the Canes last season, this could be a true goaltending duel.

San Jose Player to Watch: Steven Lorentz- This might be partly about him being a former Hurricane, but Lorentz picked up his first point as a Shark with an assist in their second game. Lorentz was a fan favorite for the Hurricanes and when he was traded to the Sharks, it felt like a small piece of our happiness had gone with it. While I think it was better for the team at the end of the day, there is no denying Lorentz had some great moments with the team. Now he's in a new place and will be playing at home in the regular season for the first time.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(SJ) 17:48- Evgeny Svechnikov (1) (assisted by Jaycob Megna (1) & Erik Karlsson (1))

2nd Period

(CAR) 19:37- Martin Necas (2) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (1))

3rd Period

(CAR) 18:02- Sebastian Aho (1) (assisted by Brett Pesce (1) & Teuvo Teravainen (1))

Let's Talk About the Game

I'm not sure what it is about playing James Reimer since he joined the Sharks but he has played very well against the Canes since being one of them. The momentum in the first period seemed to be very back and forth. Paul Stastny took a penalty 27 seconds into the game and the kill came through with little fanfare. San Jose held most of the control from the jump, but the Canes swung things back in their direction with some very good chances, especially from Stefan Noesen. The Sharks would take back control until they took their first penalty of the game, though they'd kill it. The Canes kept trying to push but Reimer wasn't breaking. Toward the end of the period, the Canes would fall behind thanks to Evgeny Svechnikov surprising Antti Raanta with a shot that beat him clean to the short side. It was a soft goal and he likely should've had it. It was not the way the Canes wanted to end the period.

After a fairly even first period, the second was all Carolina and the numbers seem to support that. The Canes outshot the Sharks 17-4 in the period, throwing everything including the kitchen sink at Reimer. The problem was that the Sharks' goalie wasn't budging. The Canes got some excellent looks too. This was the point in the game when the Svechnikov/Kotkaniemi/Necas line started to take control. It seemed like every shift they had resulted in a few scoring chances. Martin Necas had a wrap-around chance that was deflected high. Andrei Svechnikov was stopped in tight. They were all over the ice. They just couldn't get a goal. On the other end, the defense was doing everything they could to prevent the Sharks from getting anything consistent to make Raanta's job easier. When the team did take a penalty, it felt like they spent more time on their offensive end than defending. The Canes' kill probably had more chances than the Sharks did during their man advantage. It seemed like we were heading for another scoreless period until the second line said enough was enough. As the Sharks entered the neutral zone, Svechnikov picked the pocket of Kevin Labanc, finding Necas as they brought it back the other way. Necas went backhand to forehand and tucked the puck between the legs of Reimer to tie the game with 22.7 left in the period. This was huge because I was growing less optimistic that the Canes were going to find an answer to Reimer in the second period.

There was a lot more fight from the Sharks in the third period. The Canes took another early penalty but again the kill was big and had more chances than the Sharks. San Jose was so close to breaking the tie after Jaccob Slavin was beaten by a beautiful move and though Raanta made a great save, the net was left wide open for Nico Sturm. Instead of hitting the yawning cage, Sturm forced his shot wide with some helping from Brent Burns and it remained tied. The Canes earned a power play and then lost it with 40 seconds left to end it prematurely. After the Canes killed their fifth penalty of the night, we got a scrap between Jalen Chatfield and Noah Gregor that was very short and not memorable at all. I'm not sure a single punch landed and it ended with Chatfield one-hand throwing Gregor to the ground. The skirmish was followed by some chances for each team before we finally got another goal. The top line jumped into action and though Teuvo Teravainen looked like he was trying to find Seth Jarvis at the front of the net, his pass missed and ended up at the point with Brett Pesce. The defender took him time and as Sebastian Aho beat Erik Karlsson to the front of the net, he fired a low shot that hit Aho's skate and redirected past Reimer, who looked completely dejected after allowing the goal. The Sharks would call their timeout to try and draw something up but the Canes' defense, aided by a spectacular glove save in the dying seconds, would hold on to win the game 2-1, the third straight meeting between these two to end by that score. 

This wasn't nearly as complete an effort as the Opening Night win over Columbus, with the Sharks giving the Canes a tough fight in their first road game. After a strong first period, the fourth line was seldom used as was the third defensive pair. The Staal line had its moments, but it felt like most of their chances missed the net. The power play was shut out again, with many wanting Dylan Coghlan to jump into the lineup to help with the second unit. At the end of the day, this game was the type that the Canes have been winning a lot. The penalty kill bails them out five times in the game, getting some good scoring chances, while the goaltending and defense carry the team to victory. To Raanta's credit, outside of the bad goal allowed, Raanta was very good. He made some timely saves and his rebound management was good for most of the game. Burns, in his return to San Jose, wasn't as effective offensively but played a strong game on defense with Slavin. The early story of this season has been the play of the young second line for the Canes, especially Necas. This was a hard-fought win and a good way to start the road trip.

Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Sebastian Aho (Game-winning Goal)

After a quiet game on the score sheet to open the season, I was curious how long it'd be before Aho broke into the goal column. Fortunately for all of us, we didn't have to wait very long. I'm sure this wasn't how he drew up his first goal of the season, but it counts all the same. A well-placed skate at just the right angle helped secure a victory for the Canes.

Second Star- Andrei Svechnikov (Assist)

The goal scorer will usually get a lot of credit when it comes to any play that results in a goal, but Svechnikov is the one that kicked the play in motion as the Canes tied the game. It was a strong play to steal the puck back and some finesse on his pass to Necas which were the most impressive parts of the sequence. He's had an excellent start to the year, only overshadowed by the man on his opposite wing.

First Star- Martin Necas (Game-tying Goal)

I'm not sure any of us expected this type of start from Necas. After his three-point performance on Wednesday night, he scored another goal tonight to ruin Reimer's shutout and stay hot. He just looks faster in these first two games and his confidence seems to be sky-high. His line has been the team's best through two games and he's the driving force of it all. 

What's Next

The next stop on the road trip will be a visit to Seattle for the second time against the league's newest franchise. Seattle has revamped in year two, adding a ton of depth along its wings and it has seemed to help thus far. The Kraken will host Vegas on Saturday night before welcoming the Canes. They've split their first two games to this point, blowing two two-goal leads and losing 5-4 in overtime in their opener against the Ducks, then rebounding with a 4-1 win over Los Angeles the next night. The added depth has been beneficial for the Kraken thus far and they featured two exciting rookies that looked destined to have great careers in the NHL. This is a much-improved team, so the Canes could have their hands full on the second stop of their trip.