2022-23 Regular Season, Game 3: Hurricanes at Seattle Kraken

The Canes have found two different ways to win their first two games. Their victory over the Sharks on Friday night was a bit of a struggle at times but great vision by Brett Pesce and a well-placed skate by Sebastian Aho helped to secure two more points for the Canes in San Jose. Antti Raanta was strong after allowing a soft goal in the first period and Martin Necas stayed hot, recording his second goal and fourth point of the season in the victory. The road trip continues for the Canes, this time heading to Seattle for their second-ever meeting inside Climate Pledge Arena. It's the second stop on the trip for the Canes and their last in the United States before a three-city tour of Western Canada. It's another 10 pm puck drop, which means it's more #CanesAfterDark and another short night of sleep. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

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

Brett Pesce-Brady Skjei

Dylan Coghlan-Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Antti Raanta

Extras: Ondrej Kase (concussion protocol), Calvin De Haan (healthy), Ethan Bear (healthy)

The big change tonight is on the final pair of the defense as Dylan Coghlan will make his Hurricanes debut, paired with Jalen Chatfield. I've been excited to see him get some real action and he'll get that chance tonight. This also likely means that he'll be the quarterback on the second power play. I'm hoping this will provide the spark that has been missing from the man advantage through two games. Frederik Andersen will get his second start of the season after an excellent showing in the season opener against Columbus on Wednesday. Otherwise, it's business as usual for the Hurricanes. The forward groups will remain the same as they try to stay hot and go for their third win of the season.

Tonight's Opponent: Seattle Kraken (1-1-1, 3 points, 3rd in the Pacific Division)

After a rough inaugural season, Seattle is back with a revamped forward group that is much improved. They brought in some solid options like Andre Burakovsky and Oliver Bjorkstrand and have rookies Matty Beniers and Shane Wright to help carry some of the load in their first full seasons. Thus far, there have been some positive results just three games in. Beniers and Burakovsky both lead the way with four points (G, 3A each), while boasting a solid power play. The problem last season was largely their defense and it has reared its ugly head at times this season as well. In their opener, they blew two two-goal leads to the Ducks and fell in overtime. They were solid the next night against the Kings, as Martin Jones stopped 26 shots in a 4-1 win. Their most recent outing was on Saturday night against Vegas. They were never really in the game, trailing 5-0 after two periods and falling 5-2, losing for the first time in regulation. They've played three very different games, showing that they're still going through some growing pains as a young franchise. They have all the right blocks in place. They just need to find some consistency in their defense and goalies. 

Last Season v. Carolina- In their first two meetings ever, the Canes and Kraken split with each team winning on home ice. The first game came in late November when the Canes traveled to Seattle for the first time as Seattle scored a late third-period goal to break a 1-1 tie and win the game 2-1. This game also featured a fight between Andrei Svechnikov and Vince Dunn in the third period. Carolina returned the favor when the Kraken visited PNC Arena for the first time. It was another tight affair as the two sides traded goals in the second period before Martin Necas scored the game-winner midway through the third period for a 3-2 win for the Canes.

Seattle's Starting Goalie: Philipp Grubauer- After being nominated as a finalist for the Vezina in 2020-21, Grubauer took his talents to Seattle in free agency. In his first season in Seattle, things really couldn't have gone worse. While he played in the most games he ever has in the NHL, he also posted the worst numbers of his career since becoming a full-time player. Last season, he started both games for the Kraken against the Canes and had two very strong performances. He was excellent in their win in Seattle, stopping 35 of 36 shots, and played well despite taking the loss when they visited Raleigh. He started the season opener against Anaheim, allowing five goals, and relieved Martin Jones perfectly in their loss to Vegas. 

Seattle Player to Watch: Shane Wright- Take your pick with this team as to who we should be watching because there are some interesting names. He played in the team's opener against Anaheim but has been a healthy scratch for the last two contests. He played a touch over six minutes in his NHL debut and failed to register a shot or a point. Head coach Dave Hakstol has confirmed that he'll be in the lineup tonight for the first time at home and he'll be on the hunt for that first point. When he fell to Seattle on draft night, I knew this was going to be an interesting fit for him. I don't get the sense as to whether he'll be on the roster full-time this season or if they'll wait to use the first year of his rookie deal. I just know that it's going to be interesting to watch him tonight for the first time against the Canes. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 3:35- Seth Jarvis (2) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (1) & Brady Skjei (1))

2nd Period

(CAR) 12:11- Sebastian Aho (2) PP (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (2) & Brent Burns (1))

(SEA) 13:06- Andre Burakovsky (2) PP (assisted by Jordan Eberle (2) & Jared McCann (1))

(CAR) 13:24- Andrei Svechnikov (2) PP (assisted by Sebastian Aho (2) & Stefan Noesen (1))

(CAR) 14:34- Andrei Svechnikov (3) (assisted by Martin Necas (3) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2))

3rd Period

(CAR) 14:41- Jordan Martinook (1) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (1) & Stefan Noesen (2))

Let's Talk About the Game

I want to start by saying that it was wonderful to be playing from ahead tonight, unlike against Columbus and San Jose. Seth Jarvis found the smallest of holes between the goalpost and Philipp Grubauer's arm to put the Canes up early, where they would stay all night. With the primary assist on the goal, Sebastian Aho tied Pat Verbeek for 7th in Hurricanes' history with 403 points, though he wouldn't be there for long. From the jump, it was clear that Aho was moving well. He was all over the ice making plays and trying to set up his teammates in any way he could. The first period was largely about the goalies. Grubauer and Frederik Andersen played like brick walls. There was one chance in particular for Seattle that Andersen had to do a full split to get his pad out to deny a tap-in that was memorable. Even when Andersen was slightly out of position with the net open, he got help from his defense, like when Brady Skjei used his leg to force a shot high. There were three power plays in the period, two for Seattle and one for Carolina, but none of them were successful as we went to the break up 1-0.

The second period was a tale of two halves. About midway through the period, I had barely anything to say because nothing was happening. There were some decent chances, but nothing that would come to fruition. Then, the floodgates opened up and the path to the penalty box became worn. Jordan Eberle took two penalties in just over two minutes and while the first of his penalties were killed, the Canes would double their lead on the second one. We've seen this play a few times from the Canes on the power play as Aho sniped a pass from Andrei Svechnikov over the shoulder of Grubauer, giving the Canes their first goal on the power play and giving him sole possession of 7th place in franchise history. It would also be the first point as a Hurricane for Brent Burns, picking up the secondary assist. 48 seconds later, the Hurricanes would take a penalty and Andre Burakovsky buried the Kraken's first goal of the night just seven seconds into the power play. Eight seconds after Seattle scored, they took a penalty. Ten seconds into the power play, Svechnikov buried a beautiful pass from Aho to re-gained the two-goal lead. With the secondary assist from Stefan Noesen, he'd get his first point as a Hurricane as well. Before the period ended, there was one more red-hot Hurricane that needed to get on the scoresheet. Martin Necas found himself with tons of time after corralling a puck between the circles. He wristed a shot toward Grubauer that hit Svechnikov in the arm and deflected into the net, giving him his fifth point of the season and Svechnikov his third point of the night. With four goals between the two sides in 2:23, the Canes closed the period up 4-1 and it was now about whether they could hold the lead. 

On this night, four goals were going to be more than enough for Carolina. Give credit to Seattle because they didn't stop playing. The third period was probably their best period of the night. The Kraken finished with more shots in the third than they did in the first two periods combined. The only problem was that Andersen refused to let anything past him. He withstood the early push in the period to break into the Canes' lead and was on cruise control for the rest of the night. To make it even better for the Canes, the fourth line added a fifth goal, courtesy of Jordan Martinook. The final horn would sound without much fanfare as the Hurricanes, serenades by boos from the Seattle faithful, surrounded Andersen as they moved to 3-0-0 on the young season.

To let you in on how my process works, I take notes about how things are going for each period, noting good chances, penalties, goals, and more. When looking back at my notes, I think I mentioned something good or noteworthy about 17 of the 19 skaters for the Canes tonight, excluding only Paul Stastny and Derek Stepan, and that's not to say that they didn't have good nights either. It felt like everyone had their moment tonight to make a mark on this game, which is exactly how it needs to be. There was so much to love about this game. From players getting their first points with the team to the power play finally coming to life, this was a great night. What I loved most was that the stars came to play. I didn't think Dylan Coghlan had the best game ever, but it was good to see him on the ice. He and Chatfield worked well together as two guys that can play both sides of the puck. The defense continues to impress. They've allowed three goals in three games, making it look easy. When they do have lapses, Andersen and Raanta have been there to clean it up. I'm not sure you could ask for a better start. 

Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Stefan Noesen (2 Assists)

The guys on the fourth line don't get enough love sometimes. I hate that he had to earn this spot because of the injury to Ondrej Kase, but Noesen has stepped up. I thought he played well against San Jose and he was on another level tonight. He got his first point with the team on the power play and added a second assist on the Martinook goal at the end of the game to complement a solid night on both ends.

Second Star- Andrei Svechnikov (2 Goals, Assist)

The Kotkaniemi line continues its hot start to the season as Svechnikov puts together a three-point night, highlighted by two goals in the second period 70 seconds apart. In San Jose, he got the job done by playing solid defense, and tonight he did it by being the natural scorer and hard worker that he is. He led all skaters with six shots and came very close to his first hat trick in the regular season.

First Star- Sebastian Aho (PP Goal, 2 Assists)

While he scored the game-winner in San Jose, Aho had been pretty quiet on the scoresheet through two games. He was destined to have a game like this tonight and he delivered in a big way. He was jumping from the drop of the puck tonight. It's fitting that he'd be the first guy to score on the power play. This is a great building block for his season as he faces off with McDavid on Thursday night.

What's Next

With a victory on the second leg of the trip, it's time to take the action north of the border for the first time this season. A three-city swing will begin on Thursday night against the best player in the world and the Edmonton Oilers. With each team's star being among the best players in the loaded 2015 Entry Draft, these battles always come down to Connor McDavid v. Sebastian Aho. Last season, the Carolina forward had the advantage, but it's a new year. McDavid is already doing special things this season and it's barely a week old. The Oilers will host Buffalo on Thursday night before welcoming the Canes into town on Thursday. You know what you're getting with the Oilers' top two lines, but it's the rest of their team that remains a mystery. Regardless, we're going to see some fast-paced action on Thursday night.