2022-23 Regular Season, Game 26: Hurricanes (14-6-5) at Anaheim Ducks
The Canes have hit a hot streak on this road trip. They followed up their win in Raleigh over Calgary with wins in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and, most recently, Los Angeles. They've scored three or more in all four wins after struggling to do so in their most recent losses. The win in Los Angeles on Saturday night was one of the better efforts of the season as the team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho scored some highlight-reel goals, Martin Necas unleashed a wicked snipe on the power play, Andrei Svechnikov got some puck luck to score his 15th of the season, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 31 saves to expand the win streak. Though they'd allow two goals in the third period, the outcome never felt in doubt. Most importantly than all of it, the Canes got Teuvo Teravainen back in the lineup. While he didn't record a point in the win, it was just good to see him back on the ice after missing a lot of time. The team continues to get closer to full strength and this was a welcome return. Tonight, the team ventures to Anaheim to conclude the western portion of their trip.
Projected Lines/Pairs
Seth Jarvis-Sebastian Aho-Martin Necas
Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Teuvo Teravainen
Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast
Jack Drury-Paul Stastny-Stefan Noesen
Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns
Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield
Pyotr Kochetkov
Antti Raanta
Healthy Scratches- Dylan Coghlan, Derek Stepan
IR- Ondrej Kase (upper-body injury), Frederik Andersen (lower-body injury)
There are no changes to the Canes' lineup tonight as Pyotr Kochtekov will once again start for the Canes between the pipes.
Tonight's Opponent: Anaheim Ducks (6-17-3, 15 points, 8th in the Pacific Division)
Anaheim currently sits at the very bottom of the league and while that would normally be very bad, it puts them at the top of the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes. It has been a very bad season for the Ducks through 26 games. They've endured long losing streaks, losing seven straight after their Opening Night victory, and they're currently in the midst of a six-game losing spell, losing their last outing to Winnipeg, 5-2. They've only won one game in regulation. They've allowed the most goals in the league and have by far the worst goal differential in the league (-46). Their defense allows the most shots per game in the league, making John Gibson one of the most overworked goalies in the league. For as bad as their defense has been, they haven't been able to make up for it on offense, scoring the fifth-fewest goals in the league. It doesn't help that they have a bunch of guys hurt, headlined by John Klingberg. It hasn't been all bad for the Ducks. Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras have been the lone shining stars of this team. Terry is the only player with at least ten goals and leads the team with 26 points. Zegras is not far behind in both categories, scoring nine goals and 22 points. There is a sizeable gap between Zegras and the rest of the team when it comes to scoring, but there is still plenty of time left in the season for them to get going.
Last Season v. Carolina- The Canes won both meetings against the Ducks last season. The meeting in Anaheim was very tight with Ethan Bear and Troy Terry trading goals in the first period. After being stopped on a penalty shot in the third period, Seth Jarvis would score the eventual game-winner as Frederik Andersen stopped 31 shots in a 2-1 victory. It would be almost five months before they'd meet again in Raleigh. The first period was a wild one as the two sides combined for five goals with the Canes holding a 3-2 edge. After a scoreless second period, the game became all about Jordan Staal as he added two goals in the third period to record a hat trick in a 5-2 win for the Canes.
Anaheim's Starting Goalie: John Gibson (4-12-3, .896 SV%, 3.98 GAA)- It's been a bad season for Gibson so far, though the team in front of him has been very little help. He leads the league in losses (12) and goals allowed (70) while facing the most shots in the league by almost 80 shots. This will be the ninth game against the Canes in his career. He's 4-4-0 lifetime against them, while he went 0-2-0 last season and allowed six goals.
Anaheim Player to Watch: Frank Vatrano- After signing a three-year deal in the offseason, it's been a rough start to the season for Vatrano. He has just four goals and nine points in 26 games thus far, 7th on the team in scoring. He hasn't scored a goal in over a month. Despite his lack of production overall, he has points in three of his last five games and in each of the Ducks' last two games. He was very noticeable during his games against the Canes last season, scoring four points in five games during the regular season and three more in seven games during the Rangers' series win over the Canes. He could find his touch once again tonight against a familiar foe.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
(ANA) 3:59- Adam Henrique (8) (assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk (8) & Troy Terry (16))
(CAR) 5:38- Brady Skjei (4) (assisted by Jack Drury (1) & Paul Stastny (6))
(ANA) 11:13- Maxime Comtois (5) (assisted by Jakob Silfverberg (2))
2nd Period
(CAR) 10:16- Sebastian Aho (11) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (8) & Jaccob Slavin (6))
(ANA) 10:59- Brett Leason (3) (assisted by Mason McTavish (10) & Max Jones (3))
(CAR) 15:49- Jordan Staal (6) (assisted by Brent Burns (15) & Jesper Fast (6))
3rd Period
None
Overtime
(ANA) 3:04- Ryan Strome (7) (assisted by Cam Fowler (11) & Frank Vatrano (6))
Let's Talk About the Game
After a long road trip that involved a lot of travel, this is about what I expected from the Hurricanes, even against the league's worst team. I'm not in the slightest bit surprised that they lost this game. They played one decent period and never held the puck in overtime. That's not a normal recipe for success. The Canes played from behind for most of the game, never leading at any point. It started with a weird goal by Adam Henrique after Brett Pesce went down holding his throat. Henrique slid the puck past Pyotr Kochetkov less than four minutes into the game. Brady Skjei was quick to answer for his defensive partner with a wicked shot that beat John Gibson on the glove side to tie things up. Just past the midway point of the period, a loose play from the Canes behind their net led to Maxime Comtois scoring in his return from injury, giving Kochetkov no help and no chance as the Ducks held a 2-1 lead. I really felt the Canes came out sluggish in the first period. They were loose with the puck the entire period, the power play failed to connect twice, and found themselves on the bad end of the period.
The second period was better for the Canes. They looked very good on the penalty kill in the first few minutes of the period. The puck spent most of its time in front of Gibson and it led to some excellent chances. Despite all of the zone time, they couldn't seem to find that tying goal. That's until Sebastian Aho picked up a rebound from between the dots and ripped one into the net to tie it and give the Canes some momentum. It would be short-lived, however, as Mason McTavish found Brett Leason to finish a 2-on-1 just 43 seconds later. It was a huge blow to the team after such a big goal from Aho. The Canes would get the next one courtesy of the captain, whose line really stepped up in the second. Brent Burns threw a shot at the net and Jordan Staal deflected it over Gibson's shoulder to give the Canes their third tying goal of the night. The teams would enter the third period tied and the Canes employed a bold strategy for the period. The Canes decided that they'd wait until there were five minutes left in the period to get their first shot on Gibson. To their credit, they played well defensively in the period and had some great looks in the final five minutes, but they were bound for their tenth overtime game of the season. Extra time was pretty easy to break down because the Ducks won the draw, held onto the puck for almost two minutes, capitalized on a bad line change, and Ryan Strome buried the game-winner. It was a rough two minutes and it put an end to a tough game for the Canes. On the bright side, the Canes earned seven of a possible eight points during this trip and they keep their point streak rolling.
Canes' Three Stars of the Game
Third Star- Jaccob Slavin (Assist, 3 Blocks)
It was another good night for the Burns/Slavin pair on both ends of the ice. While both picked up assists in the game, I picked Slavin for this spot for his willingness to put his body on the line, while also working to get the puck to the net. He finished tied for the team-high with three blocks and he set the Aho goal in motion with his shot from the point.
Second Star- Jack Drury (Assist)
The rookie has been playing well in the last few games and he was rewarded tonight for making a smart decision on the opening goal for the Canes. He made a smart pass to Skjei and notched the first assist of his NHL and his first point of the season. He played so well that the coach decided to move him up to the second line late in the game.
First Star- Sebastian Aho (Goal)
I've often preached about how you need your best players to step up when you're trailing and Aho was in the right place to bury a puck in the second period. His six shots were the most for any player in the game and he had more than a few good chances tonight. He also laid four hits, blocked two shots, and won 75% of his face-offs in the game.
What's Next
The team gets to come home for a few days to relax from the road trip before heading back out to finish things. They won't play again until Saturday when they travel to Long Island to try and avenge a rough loss to the Islanders at home. Saturday's game will be the second half of a back-to-back for New York after they play the Devils on Friday night. The road trip will officially end next Tuesday in Detroit before the Canes kick off a long homestand for the first time this season. This game against the Islanders is going to be a big one as the two jockey for position in the Metropolitan Division.
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