2022-23 Regular Season, Game 13: Hurricanes at Florida Panthers

The Canes are back at it tonight, ironically enough with a hurricane bearing down on Florida. The team has been off for a few days now after their 3-1 loss to Toronto in Raleigh on Sunday. The Hurricanes dominated much of the game and started early with Stefan Noesen scoring in the first period on the power play to give the edge. From there, they were peppering Erik Kallgren with shots, but couldn't break through again. Meanwhile, Toronto tied things late in the second period before scoring twice in the third period to put the game away. It was just their third regulation loss of the season and their second at home. The Canes will be back on the road tonight for the front of a back-to-back with things beginning in Sunrise. They have been comfortable on the road this season, starting 5-1-1 this season. The task will be tough against a good Panthers team.

Projected Lines/Pairs

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Stefan Noesen-Jack Drury-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Dylan Coghlan-Jalen Chatfield

Antti Raanta

Pyotr Kochetkov

Extras- Paul Stastny (healthy), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Frederik Andersen (undisclosed injury)

There are quite a few changes in the lineup tonight for the Hurricanes. The most notable will likely be in the net. Antti Raanta getting the start isn't that surprising, but he'll be backed up tonight by Pyotr Kochetkov after Frederik Andersen left practice injured on Tuesday. Kochetkov was called up on an emergency basis as Andersen stayed in Raleigh. Jack Drury is also back with the team after a short two-game stint last season. Drury, who has three points in eight games in AHL Chicago, will draw into the lineup in Paul Stastny's spot on the fourth line. The only other notable change will be Dylan Coghlan back in the lineup in Calvin de Haan's spot. 

Tonight's Opponent: Florida Panthers (7-5-1, 15 points, 5th in the Atlantic Division)

After a record-breaking season for the Panthers last season, featuring a President's Trophy, the Panthers have been up and down to start the season. They started the season 4-1-1 in their first six games, but have gone just 3-4-0 since then. Part of their problem has been goaltending, something that was great for them last season. Sergei Bobrovsky had a rebound season in 2021-22, but he has struggled to start the year. Their offense seems to be pretty locked in as of late. It was evident in their 5-3 victory over the Ducks on Sunday night. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Anaheim scored twice in 27 seconds to tie the game in the second period. Aided by two goals from Sam Reinhart, his first two of the season, the Panthers scored three times in the final 20 minutes and held off the Ducks. Brandon Montour recorded four points in the win. Matthew Tkachuk hasn't had any problems getting used to the new system after being traded to Florida in the offseason. He leads the team in assists with 12, in points with 17, and is second on the team with five goals, three behind Carter Verhaeghe's team-best eight. The problem is Tkachuk will be unavailable after being assessed a two-game suspension for an incident involving Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick on Saturday. Tonight will be the second game of his suspension. Along with Tkachuk, there are a few Panthers out with injuries. Anthony Duclair is still recovering from an Achilles injury, Patric Hornqvist is still day-to-day with an upper-body concern, and Aaron Ekblad is recovering from a groin injury. In good news, tonight will be the 1,300th game for Eric Staal and just the fourth time that three of the Staal brothers will be playing in a game together. 

Last Season v. Carolina- The Panthers won all three meetings against the Canes last season. While their final two meetings went to overtime, Florida manhandled the Hurricanes in the first game in Sunrise, handing them their first loss of the season after a 9-0-0 start. The Panthers scored four times in the first period, including three times on the power play. The Canes cut the lead in half with two goals in the second period, but the Panthers scored once in the third to win 5-2 behind two goals and four points from Duclair. In the first meeting in Raleigh, Florida jumped out to another early lead, leading 3-1 just 35 seconds into the second period. Aided by a goal from Brady Skjei in the second period and a game-tying goal from Seth Jarvis in the third period, the Canes forced overtime and secured a point. Duclair continued his reign against the Canes as he scored the game-winner to win 4-3. The Canes played their best game against Florida in the final meeting. They looked to be on their way to beating the Panthers for the first time until a last-minute goal from Reinhart forced another overtime. Just 16 seconds into overtime, Ekblad scored to win for the third time and sweep the season series. 

Florida's Starting Goalie: Spencer Knight- In his short career, Knight has done nothing but win. In 41 appearances, Knight has won 27 times. It hasn't always been in the most conventional way with a .908 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average. He's 4-1-0 to start this season and hasn't allowed more than three goals in any of his starts. Knight was the starter for the Panthers' 5-2 win last season over the Canes, his only career start against them. 

Florida Player to Watch: Anton Lundell- There hasn't been too much of a sophomore slump for Lundell as he's on a relatively similar pace to his rookie season. He sits fourth on the team in assists (7) and tied for fifth with eight points. While he wasn't very productive against the Canes last season (one goal in three games), he's recorded multiple assists in two of his last three games. With the recent injuries and suspensions, he'll be called upon to have an elevated role. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(FLA) 9:21- Nick Cousins (1) (assisted by Brandon Montour (9) & Sam Bennett (5))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

(FLA) 10:20- Aleksander Barkov (3) PP (assisted by Carter Verhaeghe (6) & Brandon Montour (10))

(FLA) 19:54- Sam Bennett (3) (assisted by Anton Lundell (8) & Brandon Montour (11))

Let's Talk About the Game

Credit needs to be given to Spencer Knight and the Panthers. They played an excellent game tonight and kept the Canes at bay for the better part of 60 minutes. I will say, Antti Raanta deserved way better from the team in front of him tonight. He had no chance of stopping either goal that will go against him tonight. It didn't help that his team didn't start playing well until their backs were against the wall on the penalty kill in the second period. At 5-on-5, the Canes didn't get to their game until the third period and it resulted in nothing getting past Knight. Florida's first goal resulted from a lost battle to the front of the net from Dylan Coghlan, allowing Nick Cousins to beat Raanta's last-ditch effort with his padel. Right after the goal, Jack Drury completely missed a wide-open net that would've tied the game. The fourth line was easily the team's best line in the first period. 

After allowing the first goal, Raanta got into a zone. After a bad defensive breakdown, Raanta bailed the team out with a huge save with his pad on Sam Reinhart. He made a huge save on Carter Verhaeghe on the power play to open the second period as he stretched to get a glove on it. He was making stop after stop for the Canes. Meanwhile, the offense went dry. They were held without a shot for almost seven minutes in the second period. The Canes did put the puck into the net at one point, but it was called off because Andrei Svechnikov pushed a Panther into Knight. The penalty kill went a perfect three-for-three in the second period, thanks to some more great stops by Raanta, before drawing their first power play in the final minute of the second period. Svechnikov had an excellent chance right off of the draw that was deflected high. A majority of the advantage was played in the third period, but nothing happened. Almost immediately after, the Canes drew another opportunity after Sam Bennett pushed Jordan Martinook into Raanta, knocking him down for a few seconds. This power play looked much better, but nothing got past Knight. It was clear that the Hurricanes were starting to make this competitive and pushing back well. That momentum came to a screeching halt when Drury took a tripping penalty and the man he trip, Aleksander Barkov, buried a beautiful give-and-go pass from Verhaeghe to take a 2-0 lead midway through the period. A third failed power play and an empty-net goal from Bennett would put this one to bed as the Canes drop back-to-back games in regulation for the first time this season. 

It was just not a great effort from the Canes for most of the game. They were getting chances, but Knight was up to the task. Brandon Montour followed up an excellent game against Anaheim by recording assists on all three Florida goals. Barkov continued to torture the Hurricanes. It felt like everyone was getting into the game for the Panthers. Meanwhile, it felt like the Canes weren't as engaged and it showed early. I can oversell just how great Raanta was tonight. This could've been so much worse if he wasn't on his game, especially after Florida made it 1-0. It was just one of those nights for the Canes. It's a good thing that it's so early in the season. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Brent Burns (2 Shots, 24:59 TOI)

I thought tonight was a good night on both ends of the ice for Burns. He made some key defensive plays and really started to try and get things through the Panthers from the point. As has been the case on most nights, he was on the ice the most of any Hurricanes tonight, playing a lot on both the kill and the man advantage. 

Second Star- Stefan Noesen (6 Shots, 3 Hits, 14:03 TOI)

The fourth line was the Canes' best line for most of the night and was the only line to not get put into a blender in the second period. Noesen had his second good night in a row as one of the most engaged players. He was tied for the game-high with six shots with some decent looks on the power play. He almost had a beautiful assist in the first period, but the shot was put wide. 

First Star- Antti Raanta (34 Saves on 36 Shots)

I honestly think that Raanta was the better goalie tonight, but Knight stopped everything and Raanta didn't. This game really could've gotten bad if Raanta doesn't make some of the huge saves he does tonight. I don't fault him for either goal. He really has been on a different level to begin the season as tonight was just his first regulation loss in five starts. 

What's Next

The Canes will return home to start a stretch of games against Western Conference opponents. The good news is that the Canes went 24-6-2 last season against teams from the Central and Pacific divisions. They're 3-1-1 against the West after their early trip in October. They'll get a chance at revenge against the only team during that trip that they lost to in regulation as they host the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night to complete the back-to-back. The Oilers are on a road trip of their own and their visit to Raleigh will be the third of four stops for them. They lost in Washington Monday night before beating Tampa Bay 3-2 last night. All three of their goals were scored during special teams situations with a short-handed goal from Warren Foegele and goals on the power play from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Oilers. Despite the win, they suffered a huge loss as Evander Kane exited that game after taking a skate to his wrist. He's expected to be out for 3-4 months after the scary incident. It's going to be a huge game for the Canes. They'll be able to play the matchups however they want. I expect to see Jordan Staal shadowing McDavid all night. The interesting decision will be surrounding who starts in the net for the Canes. Do you give Raanta this one after a great performance tonight? Do you let Pyotr Kochetkov get his first action of the season? Is Andersen's injury minor enough for him to play? I think that's going to be the story to watch as we get ready for the final meeting of the season between the Oilers and the Hurricanes.