2022-23 Regular Season, Game 31: Hurricanes (18-6-6) v. Pittsburgh Penguins

Two of the hottest teams in the Metropolitan Division are on a collision course tonight in Raleigh. It's a quick turnaround for the Canes after an emotional and hard-fought 5-4 overtime victory last night over the Dallas Stars. Antti Raanta made his return to the lineup and despite allowing four goals, I didn't think he played terribly. The power play scored twice in the first two periods and moved the puck very well. Five different Hurricanes scored a goal on Scott Wedgewood and four players finished with multi-point nights. The atmosphere inside of PNC Arena was amazing for over 60 minutes and helped will the team to victory. The win gives the Canes four in a row with points in each of their last ten games. The team has returned from the road and put together two very solid performances. This is going to be a huge test, especially with how tight the last meeting was. It'll be a dogfight and I'm very interested to see if the team looks tired at the beginning of the game. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Andrei Svechnikov-Paul Stastny-Martin Necas

Teuvo Teravainen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Seth Jarvis

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Derek Stepan-Jack Drury-Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield

Pyotr Kochetkov

Antti Raanta

Injuries/Scratches- Sebastian Aho (lower-body injury)

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

The Canes will roll the same lines as last night with Sebastian Aho remaining out of the lineup for the fifth game. Pyotr Kochetkov will be back in the net after getting the night off against the Stars. He was in the net for the Canes' victory over the Penguins in November, stopping 30 shots.

Tonight's Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins (18-8-4, 40 Points, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division)

While the Canes' four-game win streak is cool, Pittsburgh is just a tad bit hotter. The longest win streak in the league belongs to the Penguins who have won seven in a row. They've yet to lose in December and it's due in large part to how well they're playing defensively. The Penguins have allowed two or fewer goals in five of their last seven games and they've scored four or more goals in the same number of games. The big guns have come out to play this month for the Penguins, led by the usual suspects. Evgeni Malkin has 11 points during the streak with Jake Guentzel right behind him with ten. Sidney Crosby has five goals in seven games. Tristan Jarry has won all six of his starts and is allowed just two goals per game with Casey DeSmith stopping 37 shots in the only other game. They've had a light schedule of late, playing just twice in the last six games. Their last game was on Thursday night in Florida where their special teams earned them the win. They scored twice on the power play and added a short-handed goal with Jarry stopping 32 shots. Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, and Kris Letang all scored two points in the victory. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- Funny enough, the last time the Penguins lost was to the Hurricanes on November 29. Crosby scored the lone goal of the first period before Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov gave the Canes the lead in the second. The Penguins scored in the final minute on a tip from Guentzel to force overtime. The ending was the source of some controversy as Seth Jarvis shoved Bryand Rust off of the puck, leading a 2-on-0 for Svechnikov and Brett Pesce. The winner would come off of the stick of Pesce as the Canes earned a huge 3-2 overtime victory in Pittsburgh. 

Pittsburgh's Starting Goalie: Casey DeSmith (4-5-1, 2.80 GAA, .916 SV%)- It's a surprising game off for Jarry as the team turns to their backup for this one. DeSmith has played well in limited action and much better than his record might indicate. His last start was last Saturday when he stopped 37 shots against the Buffalo Sabres. DeSmith is 1-0-1 in two career starts against the Canes. He's allowed just four goals on 77 shots. The overtime loss came last season in a 3-2 loss in Raleigh.  

Pittsburgh Player to Watch: Kasperi Kapanen- Since joining the Penguins a few seasons ago from Toronto, things haven't been easy for Kapanen. His point production hasn't quite returned to the level it was while he was a Maple Leaf, failing to score more than 11 goals as a Penguin. He hasn't scored since his hat trick against the Blues on December 2 and he only has two points in his last five games. I see this as a chance for him to get back in the goal column. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

(CAR) 3:25- Derek Stepan (2) (assisted by Stefan Noesen (10))

(PIT) 12:20- Rickard Rakell (13) PP (assisted by Evgeni Malkin (22) & Kris Letang (13))

3rd Period

(PIT) 5:03- Brock McGinn (9) (assisted by Kasperi Kapanen (8))

(CAR) 8:17- Brady Skjei (6) (assisted by Derek Stepan (2) & Jordan Staal (4))

(CAR) 13:33- Jordan Staal (8) (assisted by Jesper Fast (7) & Brady Skjei (8))

Let's Talk About the Game

The start of this game was just about what I expected from both sides. With the Canes having just played the night before, I felt the Penguins were going to come out on fire and throw everything they could at the defense and Pyotr Kochetkov. Clearly, Pittsburgh didn't get the memo when it comes to just how well Kochetkov has been playing because he was up for the challenge. He made some huge stops on the first penalty kill of the game, a nice pad stop on Ryan Poehling on a 2-on-1, fought off some shots from charging Penguins, and anticipated a deflection from Sidney Crosby perfectly. On the other end of the ice, Casey DeSmith didn't have much to do in the first period. The only real dangerous chance was Martin Necas' between-the-legs shot that he barely got his left pad on. Otherwise, it was a pretty uneventful period as the Canes killed two penalties. 

The second period was much more eventful. The fourth line of the Canes got the ball rolling as Derek Stepan scored his second of the season and of the homestand after collecting a loose puck and beating DeSmith cleanly. The Canes were unable to capitalize on their first power play of the night and while they killed off Necas' hooking penalty, Pittsburgh made the Canes pay the fourth time around as Rickard Rakell redirected a pass from Evgeni Malkin past Kochetkov to tie the game after Jaccob Slavin was called for airmailing the puck out of play. The Canes got two more chances on the power play that were unsuccessful, including a very brief 5-on-3 that was eventually negated by a Noesen penalty. The third period began with a shooting display from Calvin de Haan. It felt like every time he touched the puck he was firing it toward DeSmith, albeit unsuccessfully. Brock McGinn would eventually come back to bite his former team with the go-ahead goal early in the period. The play began with a very ill-timed drop pass from Seth Jarvis that led to a 2-on-1 with McGinn and Kasperi Kapanen. McGinn's shot would deflect off of Slavin's stick and over the shoulder of Kochetkov to give Pittsburgh the lead. A little over three minutes later, Brady Skjei showed why 2022 is still his year. With some excellent traffic by Noesen, Skjei blasted a shot past DeSmith from the point that I highly doubt DeSmith could track. Pittsburgh had their chances to break the tie, but it would be the captain that would come through for the Canes. It felt more like a broken play after Skjei flubbed the shot, but Jesper Fast found the puck and placed it perfectly on Jordan Staal's stick as he deposited it into a gaping net. Pittsburgh would fight until the very end but the defense of the Canes held strong to ice the game away and secure arguably their biggest win to this point in the season. 

On a night when none of the team's top scorers found the scoresheet, it was the third and fourth lines that got the job done. Stepan finished with two points. Staal had two huge points. Skjei came up big in the third period. Noesen only had the assist on Stepan's goal but he provided a huge screen on the Skjei goal. They didn't need the top guys to get the job done. That being said, the top guys played well too. Necas and Svechnikov almost had a goal-of-the-year candidate. Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin played phenomenal defense all night. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was solid, especially in the second period. Kochetkov made timely saves when needed. It was a total team effort that helped to elevate the team into a tie with New Jersey for the lead in the Metropolitan Division. It gave them some much-needed separation from the Penguins and equally as hot Rangers. This is a far cry from the team we were worried might never win another game after losing five straight. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Pyotr Kochetkov (24 Saves on 26 Shots)

The best player on the ice for the first 20 minutes was the Canes' netminder. Kochetkov made 11 saves in the first period to set the tone for the team and I can't fault him on either of the goals that Pittsburgh scored. After allowing the goal to McGinn, he dug in and made some even bigger stops to keep it a one-goal game before his offense earned him the win. 

Second Star- Brady Skjei (Goal, Assist)

Since January 1 this year, only three players have scored more goals (12) and points (44) at even strength than Skjei has. This has truly been his year and there is still more of it to go. He seems to have a clutch factor about him that comes out in the third period. On top of the goal, it was a bit of luck that he managed to help set up Staal for the winner as his stick broke. 

First Star- Jordan Staal (Goal, Assist)

The captain seems to be a reliable scoring option whenever he plays against the Penguins. It feels like he finds a way to score against them in almost every game against the team he won a Stanley Cup with as a rookie. He, like Skjei, had two points in the third period and none was more important than the eventual game-winner. He helped make sure the Canes closed out the back-to-back in a good way. 

What's Next

In what might be the most highly anticipated game of the season to this point, control of the Metropolitan Division is on the line on Tuesday night. Two teams trending in very different directions will clash at PNC Arena as the Hurricanes host the New Jersey Devils. The playoff history between these two is very well documented, but this is a new age. The Devils started the season on fire thanks in large part to a 13-game win streak. Since that streak was snapped, New Jersey has been left reeling. So much so that the Canes have managed to tie them at the top of the division. The Hurricanes will put their 11-game point streak on the line in the first of three games this week. After Tuesday night's game ends the current homestand, the Canes will hit the road for the front end of another back-to-back as they face the Penguins again on Thursday night before returning home on Friday night for a game against the Flyers. It's a big week with division implications for the Canes.