2022-23 Regular Season, Game 34: Hurricanes (21-6-6) v. Philadelphia Flyers

There is a lot on the line tonight, yet there is nothing on the line at the same time. After a thrilling victory in overtime last night over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Hurricanes have tied the franchise record with points in 13 straight games. No team in franchise history has made it to 14 straight. The 2016-17 team lost 3-0 to the Dallas Stars in their chance at 14. The 2020-21 team lost 3-1 to the Nashville Predators in their attempt. This team has already eclipsed those teams in one respect. Their win last night made them 11-0-2 during this historic stretch, which is more points (24) than the other two runs (22). The Canes really had to gut out their win over the Penguins. They fell behind late in the first period but responded 15 seconds after Pittsburgh scored with goals from Martin Necas and Jalen Chatfield in 17 seconds to take a 2-1 lead. That lead would last for most of the second period before Pittsburgh scored while short-handed late in the period to tie it. Though the Penguins would eventually take a late lead, Jordan Staal came up clutch again to force overtime and extend the streak. Just 23 seconds into overtime, Jaccob Slavin was on the receiving end of a tic-tac-toe play that would end the game and give the Canes their seventh-straight victory. Tonight, the team looks to make history as they head into their Christmas break by returning home for another divisional game. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Andrei Svechnikov-Sebastian Aho-Martin Necas

Teuvo Teravainen-Paul Stastny-Seth Jarvis

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Derek Stepan-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield

Antti Raanta

Pyotr Kochetkov

Injuries/Scratches- Jack Drury, Dylan Coghlan

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

After seven games with an injury, Sebastian Aho is back in the lineup. While the team has won all seven of the games he missed, it's no doubt that his return to the team is going to be a huge addition. Brady Skjei will also be back in the lineup after missing last night's game in Pittsburgh. With their return, Jack Drury and Dylan Coghlan will both be in the press box as the healthy extras. In a bit of a shock, Antti Raanta will be back in the net for the second straight night. It sounds like Kochetkov still isn't 100%, so he'll get another night before the break. 

Tonight's Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers (11-16-7, 29 Points, 7th in the Metropolitan Division)

Since we last saw the Flyers, things haven't exactly gone well for them. They started 3-0-0 and were 5-2-0 when the Canes visited in late October. They've only won six times in their last 26 games and have had some apparent issues amongst the coaching staff and the players. For as tight as the division is right now, they're one of two teams not currently in the race for the postseason, along with the Blue Jackets. Philadelphia endured a ten-game losing streak through most of November and while they've won some games in December, they're still well behind the pack. They, like the Hurricanes, played yesterday in a weird 2pm start in Toronto for the Maple Leafs' Next Gen Game. Things got off to a good start for the Flyers as Tony DeAngelo scored on the power play in the first five minutes of the game and Carter Hart stopped 11 shots to hold a 1-0 lead through the first period. That lead stood for most of the second until Toronto scored twice in the final 3:10 of the period and allowed two more goals to put themselves in a 4-1 hole. Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee scored 1:23 apart to pull within one, but it wouldn't be enough as they dropped the game 4-3. DeAngelo and Travis Konecny finished with two points each and Carter Hart stopped 30 shots in the loss. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- It was a tough game for both teams and a physical one at that. It was clear that there was no love lost between the two sides with 11 minor penalties through two periods. The Staal line got the game going in the first period with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook scoring to give the Canes a 2-0 lead after one. The Flyers took over the game for the better part of the next two periods, scoring three goals to lead 3-2 with time winding down. Martin Necas kept his hot start going by scoring with 3:05 left in the game to tie it and force overtime. The Canes would take the win in overtime with Brent Burns scoring his second in as many games with the help of Necas and Sebastian Aho to get the job done. Antti Raanta made 26 saves, outdueling Hart (34 saves). 

Philadelphia's Starting Goalie: Samuel Ersson (NHL Debut)- With no Felix Sandstrom and Hart playing yesterday, the door is open for Samuel Ersson to make his first appearance in the NHL. He played very well this preseason and was solid for AHL Lehigh Valley before getting the call-up to serve as the backup. The 23-year-old from Sweden was a fifth-round pick in the 2018 Entry Draft. 

Philadelphia Player to Watch: Morgan Frost- Despite their recent struggles, Frost is playing some of his best hockey. He has goals in his last three games and isn't far removed from a four-point night against Arizona on December 11. He's fourth on the team in goals (7) and tied for sixth in points (13). He's been playing some heavy minutes for the Flyers and has become a central part of the offense. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 3:47- Jesper Fast (3) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (9) & Jordan Staal (5))

(PHI) 11:03- Travis Sanheim (4) (assisted by Morgan Frost (7) & Tony DeAngelo (12))

(CAR) 14:32- Stefan Noesen (7) PP (assisted by Martin Necas (18) & Andrei Svechnikov (14))

(CAR) 19:05- Jesper Fast (4) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (10) & Jordan Staal (6))

2nd Period

(PHI) 1:01- Tony DeAngelo (6) (assisted by Joel Farabee (12))

(CAR) 5:57- Andrei Svechnikov (18) (assisted by Martin Necas (19) & Paul Stastny (7))

(CAR) 7:58- Jordan Martinook (8) (assisted by Brett Pesce (7) & Jordan Staal (7))

(CAR) 17:52- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (5) PP (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (10) & Brett Pesce (8))

3rd Period

(PHI) 6:59- Nick Seeler (3) (assisted by Rasmus Ristolainen (1) & Noah Cates (9))

(PHI) 7:41- Scott Laughton (7) SH (assisted by Travis Konecny (17)) 

(PHI) 12:24- Travis Konecny (15) SH (assisted by Scott Laughton (8) & Cameron York (4))

Let's Talk About the Game

No one remembers how you got there, just as long as you make it to your final destination. I don't think that's quite how the quote is supposed to go, but that's how I'm choosing to remember it for this game. By the end of the game, the Hurricanes made it to eight straight wins and 14 straight games with at least a point, the latter of which is a new franchise record. It's true they did have a 6-2 lead after 40 minutes and could've made it easier for those of us in attendance to witness history, but then there wouldn't have been any suspense in the final seven minutes of the game. This game had a little bit of everything. I really liked the start of the game for the Canes. Jesper Fast scored on their first shot of the game, putting Samuel Ersson in a tough spot in his first game. I'd like to point out that I watched Ersson closely during warm-ups and noticed that many of his teammates were beating him high on the blocker side. Fast's first goal of the game when over the blocker. Coincidence, I think not. Travis Sanheim got the goal back after a terrible read from Brent Burns allowing him to walk right to the net untouched as he beat Antti Raanta cleanly. The Canes responded well though, scoring on a Stefan Noesen deflection on the power play and another goal from Fast in the final minute of the period. It was clear the Staal line was on a different level to start this game, picking up two points each in the first 20 minutes. 

The second period didn't start well, especially for Sebastian Aho in his return. He mishandled the puck twice and the second time eventually led to a 3-on-1 that quickly turned into a 4-on-2. Joel Farabee found Tony DeAngelo jumping into the play and he beat Raanta on his glove side to make it 3-2. It was all Carolina from there in the second period. Andrei Svechnikov wired a puck off the post and in to regain a two-goal lead before Jordan Martinook redirected a Brett Pesce shot past Ersson two minutes later to chase him from the game in his NHL debut. This brought Carter Hart out after playing the night before and though his night started fine, he didn't last very long. With the Canes on the power play late in the period, Seth Jarvis was pushed into Hart by another Flyer. Meanwhile, Teuvo Teravainen made a beautiful pass to find Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who buried the puck with Hart falling backward, to make it 6-2. The referee instantly said that it was a good goal because contact was caused by the Flyers and it knocked Hart out of the game in just under ten minutes. Ersson was forced back into action with his team seemingly out of it. All the Canes had to do was hold on to a four-goal lead. Apparently, that was easier said than done. Much like they had done against the Maple Leafs the day before, the Flyers started crawling back into this one. Nick Seeler picked one up after Raanta got into a collision outside of the crease to make it 6-3. With the Canes on the power play, Scott Laughton buried a breakaway 42 seconds later to make it 6-4. Just under five minutes later, Travis Konecny scored another short-handed breakaway to cut the lead to 6-5. The arena went silent after the Konecny goal because it just felt like something bad was about to happen. Fortunately for us, that sixth goal never came for the Flyers. The Canes withstood over two minutes of 6-on-5 with Ersson on the bench to hold on and get the win and make history in the process. 

This was my third game of the season at PNC Arena and I've now witnessed three very different games. Their win over Buffalo where Sebastian Aho scored his hat trick felt like a blowout despite the 5-3 score indicating otherwise. The win over Dallas last Saturday night saw the Canes blow a two-goal lead, but Dallas is a very good team and they got the job done in overtime. This was easily the most stressful of the three games. It wasn't just because they were going for 14 straight games, it was who they were playing and how far back in the standings they were. I equated it to the game where the Oakland Athletics were going for their American League record 20th straight win back in 2002. For those that aren't aware, or haven't seen Moneyball, Oakland jumped out to an 11-0 lead after three innings and looked well on their way to the record. However, Kansas City, who was one of the worst teams in the AL Central in 2002, slowly clawed their way back, scoring five runs in the fourth and eighth innings before tying it in the top of the ninth. Oakland would win in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off home run by Scott Hatteberg, but it didn't need to be that close. It's not a perfect example but it's the first thing that came to mind while I was sitting in the car on the ride home with my brother. There were way more positives from this game than negatives. The Canes looked excellent for most of the first 40 minutes. The Staal line dominated all night, combining for eight points. The power play converted twice before allowing two goals in the third. Even Raanta played well despite allowing five goals. I can't give him too much grief since three goals were breakaways, one was an odd-man rush, and he was knocked down on another. Sure, you'd like a stop on one or two of the breakaways, but he wasn't given much to work with. At the end of the night, the Canes won again, extending their lead in the division to four points with New Jersey's loss, and are the second team to hit 50 points this season. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Jesper Fast (2 Goals)

Though he isn't known much for his scoring touch, he surely did find it tonight. It's his first two-goal game since February and just the second time he's done it as a Hurricane. He helped set the pace in the first period with a wicked shot to open the scoring, then got a nice bounce to make it 3-1 before the end of the period. He had a few chances to notch the hat trick that didn't quite connect. 

Second Star- Jordan Staal (3 Assists)

It's crazy to think that a three-point game could be considered quiet but that is really the only way I can describe it. All three were secondary assists but it was his hard work that helped to get the play started. He disrupted a pass to help get Fast's first goal and was just strong from there. He also finished with three hits and won some crucial battles along the boards.

First Star- Jordan Martinook (Goal, 2 Assists)

Rounding out the impressive trio of forwards, Martinook was rolling in the first two periods. His stick was active and he was knocking down pucks left and right. His incredible hand-eye coordination led to Fast's first goal. His strength on the puck and beautiful passing skills led to Fast's second goal. His ability to tip pucks secured him another goal as he looks to be on pace to set a new career-high in points.

What's Next

Once they return from their Christmas break, the Canes will only have two games remaining in 2022, both at PNC Arena. They'll welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to town for the second and final meeting of the season on Tuesday night as they look to tie the franchise record with their ninth straight win. Chicago currently leads the race for the best odds at drafting Connor Bedard with just eight wins and 20 points through 32 games. They'll end the year on Friday night with the Florida Panthers on New Year's Eve Eve. After winning the President's Trophy last season, the Panthers are currently on the outside of a playoff picture that is currently being hogged by the Metropolitan Division.