2022-23 Regular Season, Game 19: Hurricanes (10-5-3) at Winnipeg Jets

Things need to change quickly for the Hurricanes after two disappointing results. Though they've earned points in three straight games, the last two have been overtime losses in games the Canes played well enough to win in regulation against Colorado and Minnesota. While the Colorado game was complete dominance that ended in heartbreak, Saturday's loss to Minnesota was due in large part to their inability to finish the game the way they started. The Canes controlled most of the first 30 minutes, scoring the lone goal of the first two periods on a 2-on-1 finished by Sebastian Aho. The tides started to turn in the second period and on into the third period before Sam Steel finally beat Pyotr Kochtekov through traffic to tie the game with under three minutes left. In overtime, Alex Goligoski won a race to the net to bury his first of the season and send the Minnesota crowd into a frenzy. It was an unsatisfying result to the game for the Canes. Now, they look to recover as they begin a very busy holiday week. It's the first of four games in the next six days that concludes with a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. A win tonight sets things in the right direction as the Canes try to make up ground in the division. 

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

Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield

Pyotr Kochetkov

Antti Raanta

Healthy Scratches- Dylan Coghlan

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

The Hurricanes will make no changes to their lineup at all from the Minnesota game. Pyotr Kochetkov will be making consecutive starts for the first time this season and his fourth start overall. The lines and defensive pairings remain unchanged. 

Tonight's Opponent: Winnipeg Jets (10-5-1, 21 points, 3rd in the Central Division)

After the disappointment of missing the playoffs last season, the Jets are back to their winning ways with a strong start to this season. Under new coach Rick Bowness, Winnipeg occupies a playoff spot behind the strong starts of Josh Morrissey (team-leading 15 assists and 16 points) and Mark Scheifele (team-high 10 goals) as well as the return to form of former Vezina-winner Connor Hellebuyck. After losing two of their first five games, they've gone 8-2-1 since. In their last outing, the Jets were shut out by the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second half of a back-to-back. The game was scoreless through two periods before Jason Zucker broke the tie 53 seconds into the third period. It would remain that way until Bryan Rust made it 2-0 and Jake Guentzel added one into the empty net to hand the Jets a 3-0 loss at home. This impressive stretch has been done without a bunch of regulars in the lineup. Morgan Barron and Mason Appleton have been absent upfront, while Logan Stanley and Dylan DeMelo have been out on defense. The newest addition to this list would be Nikolaj Ehlers, out after getting surgery on a sports hernia. It leaves them a bit thin among their forward group, but they still have plenty of talent with the likes of Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Kyle Connor. 

Last Season v. Carolina- The Hurricanes won both meetings last season by identical 4-2 scores. The first meeting in early December in Winnipeg saw the Canes waste no time as Jaccob Slavin scored 30 seconds into the game for the only goal of the first period. Sebastian Aho expanded the lead in the second period, but Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois tied things up for the Jets later in the period. With 20 seconds left, Martin Necas scored on the power play to regain the lead before the second intermission, and Vincent Trocheck added another goal on the power play in the third period to put the game away. The two met again in April in Raleigh and the Jets got off to a fast start this time around as Connor and Dubois staked Winnipeg to a 2-0 lead through one period. Once again, the Canes found something late in the second period as Teuvo Teravainen scored on the power play with 30 seconds left to find some life. In the third period, Slavin scored again to tie the game, then Seth Jarvis broke the tie before Jordan Staal found the empty net to complete the comeback and secure another win.

Winnipeg's Starting Goalie: David Rittich (2-1-0, .890 SV%, 2.73 GAA)- Rittich signed with the Jets in the offseason after serving as the backup to Juuse Saros in Nashville last season. His numbers weren't great then, but he's found something decent to start the season in just three starts. He's won his last two starts with just two goals allowed in each, last beating Seattle eight days ago. He's 2-2-0 in four career starts against the Canes, but he hasn't faced them since December 2019 when he allowed three goals in a 4-0 loss as a part of the Flames. 

Winnipeg Player to Watch: Pierre-Luc Dubois- Since being traded to the Jets from Columbus, Dubois has returned to the force he was in his early years. He's second on the team in goals with seven and is fourth in points with 13. He scored in both meetings last season and always seems to be in the middle of things when he plays against the Canes. He has eight points in 13 career meetings and he'll be even more important with Ehlers out of the lineup for the time being.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(WPG) 18:34- Pierre-Luc Dubois (8) (assisted by Blake Wheeler (7) & Cole Perfetti (6))

2nd Period

(WPG) 6:44- Michael Eyssimont (1) (assisted by David Gustafsson (3) & Jansen Harkins (1))

3rd Period

(WPG) 3:56- Josh Morrissey (2) (assisted by Blake Wheeler (8) & Pierre-Luc Dubois (7))

(CAR) 15:12- Jaccob Slavin (1) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (7) & Sebastian Aho (11))

(CAR) 16:52- Andrei Svechnikov (13) (assisted by Brent Burns (10) & Sebastian Aho (12))

(CAR) 19:21- Martin Necas (9) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (13) & Seth Jarvis (4))

Overtime

(WPG) 2:10- Josh Morrissey (3) (assisted by Pierre-Luc Dubois (8))

Let's Talk About the Game

Let's just start with the obvious point right off the bat, the Canes did lose this game in overtime. It's the third game in a row they've been unable to capture the second point. The difference between this game and the previous two is that the Canes didn't deserve a point in the first place. With about 7 minutes left and the Canes down 3-0, I started writing my recap and opened with how this game reminded me a lot of the Florida loss a few weeks ago. The Canes didn't play well in front of Antti Raanta in that game and lost 3-0. I was prepared to write about another shutout loss, but then the most incredible thing happened. I'll circle back around to the comeback because I want to talk about the first 55 minutes. The Canes looked extremely uninterested in scoring for the majority of this game. I thought they looked fine for most of the first period. They spent plenty of time in the offensive zone to begin the period and even during their kill midway through the period, Sebastian Aho had the best chance that was stopped on a 2-on-1. Still, at the end of the period, Pierre-Luc Dubois found himself on a breakaway after a turnover in the offensive zone from Andrei Svechnikov, and the Canes entered the locker room down a goal. The same thing happened on the second Winnipeg goal. Svechnikov turned it over in the offensive zone to spark a breakaway and while Pyotr Kochetkov stopped the first shot, Michael Eyssimont got to the rebound for his first NHL goal. The Canes would then shoot themselves in the foot as Aho negated a power play and then Jordan Staal took a penalty to give Winnipeg a lot of time on a 5-on-3. The Canes' kill found its magic from last season and killed it, but were unable to find any magic for the rest of the period as they trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes. 

Even after Rod Brind'Amour juggled the lines, the Jets outplayed the Canes to begin the third period and it led to Josh Morrissey extending the lead to 3-0. The Canes, at risk of being shut out again, tried to dig in, but the Jets weren't allowing them to do anything. Down three goals, Brind'Amour opted to pull Kochetkov with under six minutes left. Last season, it felt like the Canes couldn't buy a goal with the extra skater on the ice. Tonight, something incredible happened. Jaccob Slavin unleashed a quiet shot that rang the iron and found the back of the net. All of a sudden, the Canes had life with 4:48 left. Shortly thereafter, Kochetkov was back on the bench and just like the first time, the Canes scored. Svechnikov, trying to atone for his earlier mistakes, deflected a shot from Brent Burns into the net to cut the deficit to one. Once again, the Canes pulled Kochetkov for the extra attacker. Once again, they scored. Martin Necas got another to beat David Rittich from the point with under 40 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game and force overtime for the third game in a row. Alas, the comeback would fall short as Morrissey scored on a breakaway after a poor line change from the Canes to give the Jets the win they likely should've gotten during regulation. 

I've well established myself as the "glass half full" guy when it comes to the Hurricanes. They earned a point in five minutes that they didn't deserve based on the first 55 minutes. Kochetkov was left out to dry four times tonight. When you look at all four Winnipeg goals, they scored twice on breakaways, once on a play that started with a breakaway, and a 3-on-2. The first Morrissey goal on the 3-on-2 is probably the only one that could be seen as a bit leaky, but that is pushing it a little bit. He made some big stops on Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele at various points tonight. The three goals at the end had two consistent factors. First, all three goals began at the point with shots from distance. Twice they went in clear and the other was a redirection. The second was Sebastian Aho. He recorded three assists in the final 4:48 and was the catalyst for the comeback. Every point is valuable and the Canes made something out of nothing tonight. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Jaccob Slavin (Goal)

We all know how good he is defensively, but I truly expected his offensive game to take off this season playing with Burns. It hasn't been the case to this point, but he finally scored tonight at an important point in the game. As always, he was very good on defense too. He broke up some good chances tonight for Winnipeg.

Second Star- Brent Burns (Assist)

He'll finish the game with just one point, but Burns played a phenomenal game all night. He was active on both ends the entire game, leading the team with five shots and he had a critical assist on the second goal. He put his shot in a perfect spot for Svechnikov to redirect it to the top corner of the net. He, like Slavin, also made some solid defense plays, knocking pucks off sticks all night. 

First Star- Sebastian Aho (3 Assists)

Aho extended his point streak to three games with his helpers on all three goals during the comeback. He led the forwards in ice time tonight and was the best player on the ice for the Canes tonight. His first two assists were both secondary, but he was crucial on both. He then set up the Necas chance with a smart pass to get the puck out of trouble and it led to the tying tally. 

What's Next

The Canes still have three games left this week as they return home for a game against the Arizona Coyotes. After a strong start to the season, the Coyotes have fallen back to where we expected they would. They were in action tonight also, earning a point in a shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. Nick Bjustad scored twice, including the game-tying goal while short-handed in the third period, assisted on the other Arizona goal, and scored in the shootout to complete a great night. Connor Ingram also played very well in a losing effort against his former team. They've been on the losing side of things in their last four games after winning four of the five before the losing streak. The Canes really need to get on the good side of the score, so hopefully, the three quick goals will bring some of the magic back.