2022-23 Regular Season, Game 16: Hurricanes (9-5-1) at Chicago Blackhawks

It's been a bit of a rough patch for the Hurricanes. Outside of their dominant 7-2 win over Edmonton last Thursday night, the Canes have lost three of their last four games in regulation, scoring just two goals in those three losses. Their last time out, the Colorado Avalanche capitalized on some fortunate bounces in the first period and got some goals late to win 4-1. Antti Raanta was excellent again, he just didn't get any help from most of the guys in front of him. Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, and Jesper Fast were the strongest line of the night, scoring the only goal of the game for the Canes in the second period to cut into Colorado's lead. In the end, they couldn't overcome two goals from Cale Makar and four points from Mikko Rantanen. Now, the team heads to Chicago to take on the once-mighty Blackhawks. There are some guys that really need to get going while the special teams units need to step up in a game that should be seen as very winnable. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Stefan Noesen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Jack Drury-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Maxime Lajoie-Jalen Chatfield

Pyotr Kochetkov

Antti Raanta

Healthy Scratches- Dylan Coghlan, Calvin de Haan

IR- Ondrej Kase (upper-body injury), Teuvo Teravainen (upper-body injury), Frederik Andersen (lower-body injury)

Among the 18 skaters, the only change is the season debut of Maxime Lajoie after he was called up from AHL Chicago yesterday. He'll slot into the third defensive pair with Jalen Chatfield in Calvin de Haan's space. I'm unsure if this is because de Haan is still slightly banged up after the hit he took on Saturday night. Pyotr Kochetkov will make his second start of the season after a masterful performance against the Oilers on Thursday. 

Tonight's Opponent: Chicago Blackhawks (6-5-3, 15 points, 5th in the Central Division)

After being one of the league's most powerful dynasties in the early-to-mid 2010s, Chicago has fallen upon hard times. They've only qualified for the postseason once in the last five years and have only won one series since winning their third Stanley Cup in six years in 2015. They've spent the last few years rebuilding with really only two mainstays remaining, captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Both guys are off to strong starts this season. Kane, despite just two goals, leads the team with ten assists and 12 points. Toews has a team-leading seven goals and is tied for second on the team with former Hurricane Max Domi for ten points. Domi has been a welcome surprise to the team after signing a one-year deal in the offseason. The Blackhawks have lost six of their last eight games (2-3-3) but are coming off a 3-2 win over the Ducks in Anaheim. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Blackhawks scored three unanswered goals to win the game, propelled by two goals from Jarred Tinordi, the first-career goal of Filip Roos, and 39 saves from Arvid Soderblom. Chicago is having to deal with their fair share of injuries. Tyler Johnson and Seth Jones headline the group of guys out for the Blackhawks tonight. 

Last Season v. Carolina- Both meetings last season took place over six days last season in late October and early November. The first game took place in Raleigh and was a slugfest out of the gate. The teams combined for six goals in the first period with the Hurricanes leading 4-2. They'd score twice in the second period to expand the lead and the Canes would go on to win the game 6-3. Six different Hurricanes scored in the game as Antti Raanta stopped 23 shots to win. Six days later, Chicago dominated the early stage of the game. Alex DeBrincat's two goals and another from Patrick Kane helped put the Blackhawks ahead 3-1 with less than half of the game left. The catalyst for the comeback would come in the form of rookie Seth Jarvis as he scored on a breakaway against Marc-Andre Fleury for his first-career goal to pull the Canes within one after two periods. Jesper Fast scored 17 seconds into the third period to tie things and Martin Necas scored three minutes later to grab the lead. The score would sit tight at 4-3 to help the Canes sweep the season series.  

Chicago's Starting Goalie: Petr Mrazek- After leaving Carolina, things haven't gone well for Mrazek. Injuries were a significant part of his struggles in Toronto last season and he's already missed time this season with an injury. He's made just four starts this season, going 1-1-1 and allowing 12 goals on 114 shots. He faced the Canes once last season with the Maple Leafs, making 28 saves in a 4-3 overtime win for Toronto. 

Chicago Player to Watch: Andreas Athanasiou- I had a hard time picking between Domi and Athanasiou, but I've landed here because of just how good he has been historically against the Canes. In his time with Los Angeles, Detroit, and Edmonton, he scored four goals and ten points in 11 career meetings. He's scored three goals and three assists in 14 games this season but has gone scoreless in his last three. He's a fast man that seems to move around the ice with the greatest of ease, which could cause some problems for the defense tonight. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 9:45- Jordan Martinook (4) (assisted by Brent Burns (8) & Jordan Staal (3))

(CAR) 16:49- Jordan Staal (4) (assisted by Brent Burns (9) & Jordan Martinook (5))

2nd Period

(CAR) 14:09- Andrei Svechnikov (12) (assisted by Jesper Fast (4))

3rd Period

None

Let's Talk About the Game

This was an overall masterclass in how to play a hockey game from the Hurricanes. They did take a few too many penalties, but the penalty kill was perfect tonight. The only area of their game that they struggled with was the power play, yet that was inconsequential to the outcome of the game. The Canes started by killing a penalty early in the game and then were unsuccessful on a power play of their own. Shortly after the failed man advantage, Jordan Martinook won a battle behind the net, finding Brent Burns at the point. Burns would fire the puck on the net and Martinook got his stick on the shot, tipping it past Petr Mrazek to open the scoring just about halfway through the period. Jack Drury was also in the vicinity. I'm a little surprised the league didn't take a look at this one a little longer since Martinook's stick did get up there, but subsequent viewings show his stick was clearly low enough. The penalty kill would make another stop a little after the opening goal and in the latter stages of the period, it was the Staal line again breaking through. Martinook won another battle behind the net, sent it to Burns at the point and instead of shooting it, he handed it to Jordan Staal. Staal, the known sniper that he is, beat Mrazek clean over the glove as he was drifting to make it 2-0 as they went into the intermission. 

The second and third periods were very similar for the Canes. It was all about defending a lead and making sure they didn't give Chicago a chance to get anything going. They didn't get off to the best start by taking an early penalty for too many men, but they remained perfect after Kochetkov made a huge save on Max Domi at the beginning of the kill. The Canes would get a chance of their own a few minutes later. Give credit to Mrazek because he tried to keep Chicago in the game in the second period. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do everything, especially when it came to the third goal. Jesper Fast deflected a pass from behind the net by Caleb Jones and it ended up right on the stick of Andrei Svechnikov. The Canes' leader in goals added one more to the bank as he beat Mrazek with a shot along the ice to make it 3-0 with under six minutes left in the second period. The Canes took their fourth penalty of the night preventing a chance for Andreas Athanasiou and after Domi rang the post with a slap shot, the kill would kill this one as well, finishing their night a perfect 4-for-4. Chicago's kill was also perfect in the game, killing a penalty that would carry into the third period to go 3-for-3. The third period was a very low-excitement period. There were a couple of posts hit by both teams, most notably from Martin Necas as Mrazek was drifting the wrong way once again only to be bailed out by the iron. Kochetkov made arguably his best save of the night on a late attempt from Boris Katchouk that he got with his skate as he went into a split to force it high. The time would wind down as the puck stayed down on Mrazek's end of the ice and with the clock hitting all zeros, Kochetkov celebrated as he pitched his first shutout in the NHL and the Canes' first of the season. 

While I won't say this was their best effort of the season, the Canes truly outclassed the Blackhawks. The most important part of this game was that they made sure Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were non-factors. Kane finished with just one shot and was a (-2) and though Toews had five shots, it never felt like they were high-danger chances. Domi was Chicago's most impactful player tonight, especially when they were on the power play. None of that mattered because the Staal line continued to play like one of the best in the league while Kochetkov put in the best effort of his short career. Staal scored for the third straight game and was on the ice for all three goals. Martinook and Fast each have points in their last three as well. Almost everyone on the team was noticeable at times tonight. Necas had a few chances, as did Stefan Noesen. Seth Jarvis was diving all over the ice all night trying to make sure the puck got where it needed to go. Sebastian Aho was trying to set up plays for everyone else. The defense was suffocating in the defensive zone, while Burns picked up assists on both goals in the first period. It was a great turnaround from a tough loss in Colorado as the Canes won a game they really needed to. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Andrei Svechnikov (Goal)

While he scored his 12th of the season to remain among the league's best to start the season, I was more impressed with his playmaking tonight. He made an excellent behind-the-back pass to set up a chance for Jarvis in the second period that was extremely smooth. He had a team-high four shots and his goal was the nail in the coffin the team needed to put the Blackhawks away. 

Second Star- Jordan Staal (Goal, Assist)

It has been a very good stretch of games for the Staal line as they contribute to the scoresheet for the third-straight game, headlined by the effort of the captain. His assist was a secondary helper on the Martinook goal and his goal was an absolute missile. He's found different ways to score in each of the last three and this one might have been the best. 

First Star- Pyotr Kochetkov (27-Save Shutout)

I mentioned after his performance against Edmonton that he has a frantic nature about him that tends to make me anxious. While there was still some of that tonight, this effort from him tonight was easily more controlled as his rebound control was better. He bailed the team out of some tough spots and did his best work while helping the team kill penalties. I'm not sure there is a happier man on the planet than he is right now. 

What's Next

The Canes will have two days before their next game where they will look to repay Colorado for the whopping they gave them on Saturday night. The Avalanche will have the same two-day break after losing tonight to the Blues at the conclusion of their homestand. The league's top star this week, Mikko Rantanen continued his excellent stretch of games as he factored on both goals for the Avalanche tonight, scoring the game's opener and setting up Artturi Lehkonen on the power play to bring them within one early in the third period. Going back to their win over Nashville, Rantanen has now recorded a point on Colorado's last eight goals. Alexander Georgiev made 36 saves in the losing effort. I think both sides have tough decisions when it comes to who to start in the net. Both of Carolina's goalies have played well recently, but Kochetkov is the hot glove right now. Pavel Francouz was very good against the Canes, but Georgiev will have plenty of rest if they opt to go with him. The Canes will enjoy this win for Kochetkov before it gets back to business as usual before Thursday night's tilt.