2022-23 Regular Season, Game 6: Hurricanes at Vancouver Canucks

The trip to Alberta didn't go well for the Canes. After losing 6-4 to Edmonton, the Canes squandered an early two-goal lead and while they would pick up a point, they lost in overtime to Calgary, 3-2. Sebastian Aho and Calvin de Haan provided the scoring for the Canes and if not for an overturned goal in the second period, they could've escaped with the win. A lot of attention was placed on the power play after the loss, with many fans particularly frustrated with the lack of conversion on a double-minor in the final minutes of the third period. Antti Raanta played well in the loss, but the focus for him was the bad goal he allowed to tie the game in the second period. That leaf has been turned and now the Canes must focus on the task at hand. They'll conclude their five-game trip in Vancouver tonight against a struggling Canucks team. This game has all the classic signs of a trap game for the Canes. Vancouver is the last team in the league without a win, they're without many star players due to injuries, and the fanbase has already turned on them. This could either be very good or very bad for the Canes tonight.

Projected Lines/Pairs

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Stefan Noesen-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Dylan Coghlan-Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Antti Raanta

Extras- Ondrej Kase (concussion protocol), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Ethan Bear (healthy)

The only major change amongst the skaters is that Dylan Coghlan will draw back into the lineup tonight, paired with Jalen Chatfield. Calvin de Haan didn't do anything to warrant exiting the lineup, especially after scoring a goal against Calgary, but it's also hard to take Chatfield out of the lineup too. Speaking of Chatfield, this will be his first game back in Vancouver since he briefly was on the team a few years ago. The forward groups will remain the same as Paul Stastny remains on the fourth line after an excellent game for the entire group. Frederik Andersen will get the start between the pipes tonight, his fourth of the season. Andersen has historically good numbers against the Canucks and will look to rebound from a tough start against Edmonton.

Tonight's Opponent: Vancouver Canucks (0-4-2, 2 points, 8th in Pacific)

There are plenty of adjectives that could describe the start of the season for Vancouver but I think the most appropriate would be disappointing. After pushing for a playoff spot and being one of the hottest teams in the league to finish the season, the Canucks are winless and have managed just two points despite leading in all but one of their games. The Canucks are one of the league's best first-period teams, tying Vegas with nine goals in the first period through six games. Their problem is that they've allowed 13 goals in the third period, second in the league while scoring just once. They haven't been able to finish games, which is crazy considering the talent on their team. Their star skaters have been great. Elias Pettersson has three goals and a team-leading six points. Bo Horvat has four goals in his last four games. Quinn Hughes has five points. They are getting good play from their team offensively. They just haven't put it together defensively and it reflects poorly on their goalies. Thatcher Demko has allowed the most goals in the league (21) through five starts and is in the bottom ten in the league in goals-against average and save percentage. Tonight, the hill becomes even steeper because they'll be without Hughes again, Brock Boeser, Riley Stillman, Tucker Poolman, and Travis Dermott with various injuries. It will be a gargantuan task for the Canucks, but don't count them out.

Last Season v. Carolina- In two meetings last season, the teams split decisions, with the home team defending home ice in each game. Boeser and Pettersson provided all the offense needed as the Canuck beat the Canes 2-1 in Vancouver last December. A little over a month later, the Canes got two-point nights from Martin Necas, Andrei Svechnikov, and Vincent Trocheck as they won 4-1 in Raleigh.

Vancouver's Starting Goalie: Thatcher Demko- It's been a rocky start for the Canucks' goalie. He started both games for the Canucks last season against the Canes, allowing five goals in two games. His only other start prior to last season against the Canes was a 4-3 SOL in February 2020, where he stopped just one of three shots in the shootout.  

Vancouver Player to Watch: Ilya Mikheyev- After coming over from Toronto during free agency this past offseason, Mikheyev missed the first three games this season with an injury he sustained during a preseason game. He recorded his first point with Vancouver on Saturday with an assist on their only goal and has been playing some big minutes for them. He'll be on a lethal line tonight with Horvat and Miller, so he could be looking for that first goal with the Canucks. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 6:06- Andrei Svechnikov (7) PP (assisted by Martin Necas (5) & Brent Burns (4))

(VAN) 12:30- JT Miller (3) PP (assisted by Bo Horvat (2) & Elias Pettersson (4))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

(CAR) 0:50- Sebastian Aho (4) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (1) & Teuvo Teravainen (3))

(CAR) 1:27- Jesper Fast (1) (assisted by Jordan Staal (1) & Brady Skjei (2))

(VAN) 10:40- JT Miller (4) (assisted by Tyler Myers (1) & Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4))

Let's Talk About the Game (and the Road Trip)

This was a decent way to end the road trip. The score was close, but it felt like the Canes got the better of play for most of the night. It was just a couple of moments where the Canucks controlled things and it led to their goals. The first power play in the first period got things moving in just a few seconds as Andrei Svechnikov scored another goal, his seventh as he re-tied the league lead. I genuinely think the score should've been 2-0 after the first period but once again, Derek Stepan was screwed out of another goal-scoring play. It would've been Paul Stastny's goal, but Stepan got the puck on the net and it deflected in off of Stastny's skate. The problem was that Stastny was in the crease and it was called "no goal" on the ice for goalie interference. Rod Brind'Amour challenged the play, but the situation room in Toronto confirmed the call on the ice, putting the Hurricanes on the kill. Obviously, my view on most things will skew in favor of the Canes. I think Stastny was in the crease with the help of Curtis Lazar and his impact on the play for Thatcher Demko was minimal. Clearly, Toronto didn't see it that way and on the ensuing power play, JT Miller scored his first of the night with a tap-in. It was a bit of a momentum killer after a first period that was pretty good. 

The second period was a mess for both teams. Nothing particularly bad happened, it was just really sloppy. Both teams got chances to take the lead on the power play. The Canucks got the first chance and it was stopped with ease. The Canes had two chances and both looked more like they did in the third period on Saturday. Frederik Andersen did have to make a couple of big saves to keep it tied and Demko was doing his job on the other end. The third period was dominated early by the Canes and they finally broke through Demko again in quick succession. It started with a chance from Jarvis that Demko stopped but as he turns to look for the puck, the puck comes loose and Sebastian Aho wins a race to the net, tapping in the puck to give the Canes a 2-1 lead 50 seconds into the period. Shortly after, the third line finally found its way onto the scoresheet as Jesper Fast redirected a pass from Jordan Staal off of his skate and into the net. Vancouver couldn't challenge and Toronto didn't have any problems with it either, so the Canes had a two-goal lead with plenty of time left. The Canes continued to control the period but about halfway through the period, Miller jumped on a loose puck that hit Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the head and he clapped it over Andersen's shoulder to bring them back within one goal. The Canucks would continue to push in the final minutes with Demko on the bench, but the Canes survived, outshooting Vancouver 15-3 in the third period, and finishing the road trip on a good note. 

An optimist will look at this trip and think getting seven of ten points during a road trip is very good, especially with as much travel as they had to do during the week and a half they were gone. A pessimist will say that the Canes lost both games to playoff-caliber teams, barely beat two bad teams, and dominated against another bad team. I choose to be an optimist because there were a lot of great things about this trip, primarily on offense. They were led by their usual stars and got contributions from everyone. My favorite stat from this trip was that they used 19 different skaters in five games and 16 of them recorded at least one point. Aho led the way with nine points (4-5-9) and Andrei Svechnikov, aided by a hat trick in Edmonton, scored six goals. While getting on the scoresheet is good, there is still a slight concern about spreading the wealth when it comes to goals. The Canes scored 16 goals on the trip with seven different goal scorers, but Svechnikov and Aho scored over half of them (10 of 16). It would be nice to see more people putting the puck in the net. Defensively, I thought the Canes looked fine. They only allowed five goals at 5-on-5 during the trip. It's the special teams that seemed to be lacking at times. The penalty kill allowed goals in four of the five games, only holding San Jose off the board. The power play was extremely hot and cole. Though they scored in three games on this trip, the Canes either scored immediately or were chasing the puck for two minutes, or four in the case of the Calgary game. I don’t expect them to look perfect every time. I’d just like a little more consistency from both sides of the special teams. Overall, this was a good result for a tough trip to start the season. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Sebastian Aho (Goal)

Easily the best player for the Canes during this trip, Aho got the ball moving in the third period by following up Jarvis. This was a big trip after being held scoreless on Opening Night. He caught a bit of a break with Demko losing the puck, but you make your own luck when trying to win a game. It was a huge goal at the time from their superstar.

Second Star- Jesper Fast (Goal)

While I won’t say it was a flawless game for the third line, it was really nice to see them rewarded with a goal. It turned out to be the game-winner and he didn’t even need to use his stick. This could be a joint placement with Staal as they both find their first points of the season.

First Star- Seth Jarvis (Assist)

It felt like Jarvis was being targeted a lot tonight by the Canucks. He took a couple of hits along the boards and was being bullied quite a bit. It makes it even more satisfying when he gets a huge point. He almost had the goal that gave the Canes the lead, but he’ll stick with the assist in one of his best games on the trip.

What's Next

It’s time to go home, which means no more late games for the time being. I personally am not to sad about that. They’ll get three days off before hitting the ice on Friday night for their first of three games in four days against division opponents and the front end of a back-to-back with travel. It all gets started with the Islanders rolling into town for just the second home game of the season. It has not been an easy start on the island, as they sit in last place in the division right now. They’ll play on Wednesday night against the Rangers before making the trip. The Canes will then travel to Philadelphia for a Saturday night tiny with the Flyers before returning home to play Washington on Monday. It’s all coming fast and furious now as the Canes will look to build on their solid road trip.