2022-23 Regular Season, Game 47: Hurricanes (29-9-8) at Dallas Stars

Despite the rough patch the Canes hit after their win and point streaks were snapped, they've turned it around by winning four of their last five games and securing nine of a possible ten points. They've won each of their last two games by a final score of 5-2, most recently doing it against the New York Islanders on Saturday night. Before the game, Jaccob Slavin was announced to have a lower-body concern and would miss the game. Jordan Staal got the Canes on the board early twice with a goal 44 seconds in and then set up Jesper Fast just under four minutes in. After the Islanders scored twice at the end of the first period, Sebastian Aho took over. He broke the 2-2 tie late in the second period before finishing the natural hat trick with two more goals in the third to secure the 5-2 victory. Teuvo Teravainen finished the game with two assists and Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots for his fourth straight win since returning from his injury. The Canes' offense has gotten a lot of flack for not producing much at times. Over their last 18 games, they have scored at least three goals 17 times and the one time they didn't, they still beat Pittsburgh 2-1. Their 69 goals over this 18-game stretch are tied for the most in the league. Tonight they'll look to do it again against one of the better defensive teams in the league. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Paul Stastny-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Stefan Noesen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Derek Stepan

Jalen Chatfield-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Dylan Coghlan-Calvin de Haan

Frederik Andersen

Antti Raanta

Injuries/Scratches- Jaccob Slavin (lower-body injury)

IR- Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (LTIR- concussion)

The Hurricanes will send out the same lineup they did in their win over the Islanders on Saturday night. Jaccob Slavin didn't participate in the morning skate today, meaning he'll miss his second straight game. Frederik Andersen will get the start once again for the Canes, looking to extend his winning streak to five games. 

Tonight's Opponent: Dallas Stars (28-13-8, 64 Points, 1st in the Central Division)

After an excellent December for the Stars, things haven't been easy for the leaders of the Central Division lately. With their 10-3-2 record, they built a solid lead in the division but that lead is slowly starting to slip away. In January, the Stars are 5-4-2 and their lead has shrunk with the recent surge by the Winnipeg Jets. Still, they have a +9 goal differential in large part to the spectacular play of goaltender Jake Oettinger. In their last game against Buffalo, the Stars got off to an early start with a goal on the power play from Jamie Benn. Buffalo responded in the first period with Rasmus Dahlin scoring to tie the game. After Oettinger and Craig Anderson kept everything out of the net in the second period, Victor Olofsson and Jason Robertson scored in the first six minutes of the third period to send the game to overtime. It took just 55 seconds for the Sabres to grab the victory as Owen Power scored his first goal of the season to finish the game and earn Buffalo the second point. Joe Pavelski assisted on both goals for Dallas and Oettinger stopped 22 shots in the loss. Even with a slight decline in their recent play, both of their special teams' units rank in the top five in the league and they're the second-best defensive team. The Stars are amid an eight-game homestand that will continue after the break with the Hurricanes being the third team to visit.

Last Meeting v. Carolina- These two teams gave us a very entertaining game in Raleigh in mid-December. Each team scored twice on the power play in the first two periods. Dallas overcame two two-goal leads in the game, including two goals in 1:42 in the third period to force overtime. Martin Necas earned the win in overtime for the Canes' fourth straight win in what would eventually become their 11-game win streak and their tenth straight game with a point. Necas and Svechnikov were part of a quartet of Hurricanes to finish with multiple points while Jason Roberson (3A) and Miro Heiskanen (2A) both had multi-assist nights. Antti Raanta made 26 saves while Scott Wedgewood stopped 33 shots.

Dallas's Starting Goalie: Jake Oettinger (21-7-5, 2.22 GAA, .925 SV%)- Though he was snubbed for an All-Star selection, Oettinger has asserted himself as one of the best goalies in the league. He's been called upon often by the Stars to carry the load and he's delivered. He's pitched two shutouts in his last four starts. This will be his sixth appearance against the Hurricanes in his career. He's 2-1-1 in five games and is allowing less than two goals per meeting. 

Dallas Player to Watch: Wyatt Johnston- At just 19 years old, I feel Johnston has flown under the radar this season thanks to rookies like Beniers and the strong young goalies. He's currently second among all rookies in goals (12) and is top ten in points with 20. Johnston has had a slow start to 2023 with just three points in 11 games but he has points in two of his last three. He broke a ten-game goal streak with a goal on Saturday against Arizona. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 8:46- Sebastian Aho (18) SH (assisted by Brett Pesce (15))

(DAL) 10:59- Wyatt Johnston (13) (unassisted)

(DAL) 15:17- Jason Robertson (33) (unassisted)

2nd Period

(CAR) 4:55- Brent Burns (8) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (13) & Jordan Staal (10))

3rd Period

None

Overtime

(CAR) 2:34- Martin Necas (19) (assisted by Brett Pesce (16))

Let's Talk About the Game

I swear, these two teams just need to play a seven-game series even if it isn't for the Stanley Cup. For a game between two very good cross-conference teams, they just play an exciting 60+ minutes of hockey every time. Does it help that the Canes won? It certainly doesn't hurt. The action comes early and often for two teams that are very well-matched in every major facet of the game. It was very clear early on that the physicality tonight was going to be off the charts. The Canes controlled the early portion of the game but a penalty from Seth Jarvis would give Dallas the first great opportunity of the night. As we've seen in January, it isn't all that bad, especially when Sebastian Aho is on the ice. After a natural hat trick on Long Island, Aho found himself on a breakaway and he slid the puck between the pads of Jake Oettinger to give the Canes an early lead. It was a big goal for Aho both personally and for the franchise history books. The goal is Aho's 200th of his career, making him the third player of his draft class to hit the mark. He passed Eric Staal with his 22nd point short-handed and tied Staal with his 16th short-handed goal. The Canes' puck luck would seemingly disappear for the remainder of the period. Off of a face-off, Dylan Coghlan was unable to get a puck away from the front of the net. It ended up right on the stick of Wyatt Johnston and he made no mistake from in tight. He beat Frederik Andersen with a quick shot to tie the game. Less than five minutes later, Andersen nearly gave up a second goal to Tyler Seguin, having to clear the puck from the goalline. Unfortunately, he cleared it right to Jason Robertson. Though he tried to squeeze the post, Robertson banked the puck off of the back of Andersen from below the line to give Dallas the lead. It was a very weird sequence and it went in Dallas' favor. 

Coming out of the break, Andersen was no longer in the Canes' net. Instead, Antti Raanta occupied the crease. It was announced on the broadcast that Andersen would miss the rest of the game with an upper-body concern. It felt like a huge blow considering the work he did to get back after two months on the shelf. Nevertheless, the Canes had a game to play. Raanta eased himself into the game making a few routine saves in the early stages of the second. Just like Dallas did in the first period, the Canes were able to capitalize on a face-off play. Jordan Staal won the puck back to Jordan Martinook, who played it back to Brent Burns at the point. With nothing but space in front of him, Burns stepped up and uncorked a bullet over the glove of Oettinger to even things up. The Canes wouldn't convert on their first power play attempt of the night, failing to record a shot on Oettinger. The puck would fly up and down the ice for a few minutes before the real fireworks began. After a Dallas player went flying into the boards, Luke Glendening decided to step up and pick a fight with Brett Pesce. While there is some obvious bias on my part, Pesce won this fight. He laid a picture-perfect left hook to the side of Glendening's head before the two were separated. Upon further review, I have a few notes. First, Glendening looks like an idiot because he absolutely misidentified the cause of the initial play. It was Paul Stastny, not Pesce. Then, he lost the fight. Second, Glendening should've been given a penalty for instigating the fight because he initiated the fight by attacking Pesce before he could drop his gloves. How the referees got together and didn't come to the same conclusion is baffling. At the end of the day, both had to sit for five minutes and after both sides failed to convert on power plays at the end of the period, we entered the locker room tied at two. 

Dallas played their best period of the night in the third as they did everything they could to earn the win in regulation. At every turn, they were met by Raanta, who calmly denied every chance. On the other end of the ice, Oettinger was doing the same thing to the Hurricanes. Raanta got some help from the post as Johnston was denied his second of the game by the far iron. Oettinger had a string of excellent stops, denying Brady Skjei from between the dots, then flashing the leather on Andrei Svechnikov. In the dying minutes of regulation, Raanta made three huge saves to keep the game tied. First, he got his pad on a chance from Mason Marchment that he batted out of midair. In the final minute, he stopped stuff chances at both posts from Johnston, denying him with the pads. For 20 minutes, the two teams hit the snot out of each other, both goalies stood on their heads, and both earned a point for their troubles. Overtime was largely dominated by the Hurricanes. Though Dallas won the opening face-off, the Canes made two great plays defensively to steal the puck and set up their attack. Svechnikov was denied as powered to the front of the net. With three Dallas defenders stuck on the ice for a long time, Martin Necas decided it was time for everyone to go home. After holding on to the puck for a long time, he worked the puck to the middle of the offensive zone before unleashing a wicked wrist shot that surprised Oettinger and beat him over his glove to help Necas become the hero for the second time this season against the Stars. 

The first concern is the health of Andersen because I would hate for him to miss time after only playing five games. He's been so good and while he didn't have the best luck tonight, it would be a shame for him to miss more time. If there's a silver lining to it all, the injury is to his upper body which means it isn't the same injury that kept him on the shelf for over two months. The severity of the injury is a separate concern. Other than that, tonight was a good night for the Hurricanes. While the final numbers will land more in Dallas' favor, I thought the Canes responded well to the physicality of the Stars by laying some big hits of their own. The Staal line was phenomenal and while they'll only get credit for the Burns goal on the scoresheet, their impact was far greater. The penalty kill continues to improve their numbers while scoring their eighth short-handed goal of the season, second-most in the league. Raanta was outstanding in relief of Andersen. We got to see a fight. The Canes won and picked up two huge points. It doesn't get much better than that. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Antti Raanta (15 Saves)

Coming into a game that you didn't start has to be tough. Raanta certainly didn't make it seem that way tonight. It felt like a reversal of what happened to him against St. Louis last month. He faced 15 shots and he stopped all 15 of them, coming up big late in the third period. I love his ability to get the team to a win, even if his numbers don't accurately reflect just how good he is. Tonight, he was perfect. 

Second Star- Martin Necas (Goal)

With his goal tonight, Necas has a new career-high in points with 42, accomplishing the feat in just 47 games. While he should be heading to the All-Star Game in Sunrise, I'll gladly take watching him score goals that matter any day. He terrorized Dallas for the second-straight overtime. He was good before scoring the goal, leading the team with five shots and laying two hits. 

First Star- Brett Pesce (2 Assists)

This might be one of the quietest two-point nights I've ever seen because we aren't talking about the fact he had two assists. We're hyper-focused on the fact that he dropped the gloves after a play that he had no part in other than being in the general vicinity. He is the only Hurricane to have a multi-point night, recording primary assists on the first and last goals of the night. 

What's Next

The Canes have four games left before the break and the next three will emanate from PNC Arena, beginning on Friday night with the San Jose Sharks coming to town. The Sharks played on Tuesday night in Detroit, losing 3-2 in overtime. They'll be fresher with an extra day in between games. Everyone else is going to care more about the game on Sunday night with the Boston Bruins making their return to Raleigh. The league's best team will play twice before their meeting, playing twice in Florida. They'll be in Tampa Bay tomorrow night to face the Lightning before playing in Sunrise on Saturday night against the Panthers. This means they'll be on the second half of a back-to-back, though that hasn't seemed to matter with the Bruins.