2022-23 Regular Season, Game 14: Hurricanes v. Edmonton Oilers

Last night didn't leave a good taste in anyone's mouth as the Canes were outclassed by the Florida Panthers 3-0 on the road. If not for the superb performance from Antti Raanta, the Canes likely would've been run out of the building. It just didn't feel like anyone was clicking outside of the fourth line. Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour said that a lot of guys were "not a factor" in the game, which is not something you want to hear from the man in charge of the bench. Raanta did a great job of making the game feel close after Florida scored in the first period, but a power-play goal in the third period helped to seal the deal. The beauty of it is that it's still November and the two losses in a row aren't too big of a deal. Not scoring a goal in over 111 minutes of gameplay isn't great, but we've seen the Canes turn it on in the past. That's exactly what they're going to need tonight against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. Being back at home should help get the troops back together, especially with the ability to control the matchups. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Andrei Svechnikov-Sebastian Aho-Teuvo Teravainen

Seth Jarvis-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Paul Stastny-Jack Drury-Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield

Pyotr Kochetkov

Antti Raanta

Extras- Derek Stepan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Frederik Andersen (lower-body injury)

He is back and he's about to do it again. Pyotr Kochetkov is getting the start between the pipes for the Hurricanes, making the fourth regular-season appearance of his career, and his first at PNC Arena. He's recorded wins in his first three appearances, all taking place in late-April last season. We do have a little bit of a shake-up in the top six Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov are switching lines to start tonight. Elsewhere, Paul Stastny and Calvin de Haan will draw back into the lineup tonight for Derek Stepan and Dylan Coghlan, respectively. Jack Drury, who Rod Brind'Amour spoke highly of during his postgame comments, will stay in for the second night in a row. 

Tonight's Opponent: Edmonton Oilers (8-6-0, 14 points, 4th in the Pacific Division)

You know what you're getting when you face the Edmonton Oilers. It's almost guaranteed that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are going to factor in with a bit of side help from their friends. They are going to be major forces at all times when they are on the ice. They're first and second in league scoring (McDavid 29, Draisaitl 26). McDavid leads the league in goals (14). Draisaitl leads the league in assists (17) and McDavid is just two behind him tied for third. They are first and second in power-play goals (McDavid 7, Draisaitl 6). McDavid is the only player with two hat tricks this season. No matter how hard you prepare to face them, they always seem to surprise you. This season, they seem to be getting more secondary help than in years past. While still far behind their teammates, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman have 16 points each. They are getting decent help from their defense. They are a juggernaut offensively. It was a bit more of a defensive struggle in their last outing against the Lightning on Tuesday night. The key to the night was special teams. Warren Foegele scored a short-handed goal to get things started and after Tampa Bay tied it, both McDavid and Draisaitl scored on the power play in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. The Oilers would win the game 3-2, but not before a scary moment. After taking a skate to his wrist, Evander Kane had to be rushed off the ice and to a hospital. A procedure was done to help stop the bleeding and he is now expected to miss 3-4 months after being placed on LTIR. It puts into perspective the danger these players are in every night. Hopefully, he recovers quickly and we get to see him back on the ice at some point this season. This will be a huge loss for the Oilers offensively. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- There were plenty of goals to go around when these two teams met in Edmonton on October 20th, just three weeks ago. After Hyman scored the lone goal of the first period on the power play, it was an offensive explosion in the final 40 minutes. Andrei Svechnikov scored his first of the night on a quick shot from inside the blue line, but Edmonton responded with two goals in 121 seconds to take a 3-1 lead. Svechnikov would sneak another one through, ringing it off the far post, to cut the lead in half before the end of the second period. Each side would trade goals in the third period, beginning with a quick tally from Nugent-Hopkins after Frederik Andersen left the net wide open. Svechnikov completed his hat trick a few minutes later on the power play. After being left all alone in front of the net, Draisaitl would make it 5-3 with a tally on the power play. Martin Necas, amidst a scorching start, would get one on the power play as well. McDavid, completing a four-point night, put the icing on the cake with an empty-net goal in the final ten seconds to finish a crazy game with a 6-4 win for the Oilers. Along with McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins finished with four points also, while Draisaitl and Hyman had two each. For the Hurricanes, accompanying Svechnikov's hat trick was a trio of assists from Sebastian Aho and two points each for Necas and Brent Burns. 

Edmonton's Starting Goalie: Jack Campbell- It hasn't been quite the start to his Oilers tenure that Campbell would've wanted. Among goalies with at least seven starts, Campbell has the fourth-worst GAA (3.93) and save percentage (.884). Despite this, he's 6-3-0, tied for fifth in the league in wins. He's also 1-0-0 against the Hurricanes, serving as their starter in the win three weeks ago. 

Edmonton Player to Watch: Ryan McLeod- This isn't the flashiest name on the team, but he burnt the Hurricanes with a short-handed goal when they met in Edmonton that really was the turning point of the game. After scoring three goals in Edmonton's first six games, he's been unable to find the back of the net. He broke a scoreless stretch with an assist in their win over Tampa Bay the other night. The third and fourth lines have found a way to get going against the Canes recently, so don't be surprised if he plays well while between two former Hurricanes, Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 19:40- Andrei Svechnikov (9) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (6) & Sebastian Aho (9))

2nd Period

(CAR) 5:58- Brent Burns (3) PP (assisted by Martin Necas (11) & Teuvo Teravainen (7))

(EDM) 7:35- Zach Hyman (7) PP (assisted by Leon Draisaitl (18) & Connor McDavid (16))

(CAR) 10:24- Andrei Svechnikov (10) (assisted by Martin Necas (12))

(CAR) 19:59- Jordan Staal (2) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (3) & Jaccob Slavin (3))

3rd Period

(EDM) 7:26- Connor McDavid (15) (assisted by Tyson Barrie (9) & Brett Kulak (3))

(CAR) 14:27- Jordan Martinook (3) (assisted by Brady Skjei (5) & Jesper Fast (2))

(CAR) 15:49- Andrei Svechnikov (11) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (10) & Calvin de Haan (1))

(CAR) 17:42- Jesper Fast (2) (unassisted)

Let's Talk About the Game

Remember when the Hurricanes couldn't score a goal? Me either. It was only a matter of time before the Canes broke through and they chose the perfect night to do it. They were likely going to need a lot of goals with the stars they were facing on the other side of the ice. Despite what the final score might indicate, the first period was a goalie battle. Pyotr Kochetkov had to be sharp early. He made a huge save on a short-handed breakaway by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and a penalty shot from Dylan Holloway, his two biggest saves of the first period. Jack Campbell was just as good on the other end, stopping Andrei Svechnikov on a breakaway and several other quality chances. The big sequence came in the final minutes of the first period as Connor McDavid had a huge chance that Brett Pesce helped aid to the goalpost and keep the game scoreless. On the other end of the ice, the Canes got a little bit of puck luck to help break the shutout streak. Svechnikov was looking to hit Aho at the side of the net. Instead, it hit the stick of Tyson Barrie, hit the post, and trickled across the goal line with 20 seconds left in the period to take a lead into the break. 

Just like three weeks ago, the game exploded in the second period. The Canes had to kill an early penalty from Brent Burns and then were rewarded with a 5-on-3 shortly after. While Edmonton did kill the first penalty, Martin Necas set up Burns with a beautiful cross-seam pass for a one-timer to make it 2-0 early in the second period. Edmonton didn't miss on their second power play as Zach Hyman had one deflect past Kochetkov off of his skate to break the shutout. The Canes' response was quick as Svechnikov, almost identical to his first goal in Edmonton, wired a shot from just inside of the blue line that Campbell got a piece of but not quite enough. The home team continued to buzz after re-gaining their two-goal lead, but things almost went south with Hyman getting a breakaway attempt. What Hyman wasn't expecting was a flying poke check from Kochetkov as he sprawled out and poked the puck away. Even more impressive was that he didn't take a penalty in the process, making sure his stick didn't trip Hyman. Just like in the first period, the Canes would get one late in the period, this time from the captain. Jordan Martinook laid a sweet pass to Jordan Staal that he backhanded off the far post with one second left in the period to make it 4-1. It was clear that Carolina had the momentum at this point. 

Edmonton tried to find a little bit of life in the third period. The Staal line was strong at the beginning of the period in the offensive zone, but the game started to move into the Canes' end for a good chunk of the period. It did lead to a second Edmonton goal as McDavid did what he always does and beat Kochetkov clean on the backhand with a shot that I'm not sure any goalie in the history of the NHL would've been able to stop. Edmonton continued to press, but the Canes stood strong. Once the game left the Edmonton end, the wheels fell off of Campbell. Martinook scored a highlight reel goal from his side by playing the puck to himself and then batting it out of midair as it fluttered over Campbell to make it 5-2. Just under 90 seconds later, Svechnikov wouldn't be denied his second hat trick of the season as he roofed a third goal to make it 6-2, his 100th goal in the NHL. A little under two minutes later, Campbell tried to make a stretch pass that ended up in the midsection of Jesper Fast and he slapped it home while falling to the ice to kick the extra point with the 7th of the night for the Canes. The fans would count it down as the home team dominated the final 40 minutes to halt their losing skid and get back in the win column. 

Even if they weren't on the scoresheet, I'm not sure there wasn't a player that a non-factor tonight, unlike last night. Everyone could've been a star tonight. 11 different players recorded a point tonight, including multi-point nights from Svechnikov (3 goals), Martinook (goal, assist), Fast, (goal, assist), and two assists each from Necas, Aho, and Teuvo Teravainen. All but two players recorded at least one shot. The Canes were disciplined tonight, which meant most of the game was either played at 5-on-5 or with them on the power play. Kochetkov came in and remained undefeated in the regular season with a strong performance against a team that put six goals on the Canes 21 days ago. McDavid had two points, but they did such an excellent job of taking everyone else out of the game that even he became an afterthought. The focus now turns to Teravainen, who left the game in the second period with an upper-body concern. Rod Brind'Amour didn't give too much of an indication as to the severity of the injury and whether it would affect his availability on Saturday. This was a remarkable turnaround for the Hurricanes after two tough performances against Toronto and Florida. This will serve as a good building block game moving forward. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Pyotr Kochetkov (20 Saves on 22 Shots)

I'm confident in saying that the future between the pipes for the Hurricanes is looking pretty good. I must admit that he made me a little nervous in the first period with how frantic he was at times, but I love how he settled into this game. The swagger and poise he plays with is a brand of hockey for the franchise that we've never really seen before. There is no lack of confidence in his abilities. 

Second Star- Jordan Martinook (Goal, Assist)

I again insist that everyone that spoke poorly of him at the beginning of the season needs to apologize right this instant. Martinook has played a string of games that have continued to be more and more impressive and tonight he was rewarded with a two-point game, including a beautiful goal while on his backside. His pass to Staal for their late-period goal was also very pretty. 

First Star- Andrei Svechnikov (Hat Trick)

For a team that has been allergic to scoring hat tricks in recent years, they have three in 14 games and this guy has two of them against the same team. Getting the first goal tonight was important, even if it went off an Oilers' stick. The second goal was purely skill while the final goal was about hard work and persistence. He has unlocked a game that is far superior to anything we've seen from him in his career. 

What's Next

After a convincing win in their first of seven straight against the Western Conference, the Canes will take a short two-game road trip beginning in Denver on Saturday night against the defending champions. At the time of writing this, the Avalanche look to be on their way to a win over Nashville, holding a 4-1 lead in the second period behind two goals from both Mikko Rantanen and Logan O'Connor. Much like with Edmonton, you know what to expect from Colorado when you prepare for them. They feature some of the most skilled players in the league, led by Nathan MacKinnon and reigning Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar. They underwent some changes in the offseason, especially in the net. After they visit Colorado, they'll make their way to the Windy City to play the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago is firmly in a rebuild after an offseason where they traded most of their talent and brought in veterans on short-term deals. Still, with Patrick Kane in the lineup, they have plenty of skill left. This is a winnable trip for the Canes if we see a similar effort to the one tonight. I'm really looking forward to Saturday's clash with Colorado. These two always play entertaining games.