2022-23 Regular Season, Game 48: Hurricanes (30-9-8) v. San Jose Sharks

It was a hard-fought victory for the Canes on Wednesday night as they extended their win and point streaks to three and six games, respectively. The Canes got the job done with a 3-2 victory in overtime over the Stars in Dallas, needing a strong relief appearance from Antti Raanta and the late-game heroics of Martin Necas. Sebastian Aho scored his 200th career goal while the Canes were short-handed in the first period but Dallas responded with two of their own to hold a 2-1 lead through the first period. Coming out for the second period, Frederik Andersen, who'd started the game, was announced to have sustained an upper-body injury and Raanta took his place. Brent Burns knotted the game at two with a blast from the point that went bar-down less than five minutes into the period and we'd stay that way after 60 minutes and sending the two sides to overtime for the second time this season. As was the case in Raleigh, Necas played the hero again as he snapped a shot over the glove of Jake Oettinger to finish the game and send the Canes home with another two points. The win keeps the Canes at the top of the division as they move closer to the All-Star break. Tonight, the Canes return to Raleigh for the first of three straight at home.

Projected Lines/Pairs

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Stefan Noesen-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jalen Chatfield-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Dylan Coghlan-Calvin de Haan

Antti Raanta

Frederik Andersen

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

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

The Canes will roll the same team out tonight that we saw in the last two periods on Wednesday night. That means Jesperi Kotkaniemi will jump up to the second line in Paul Stastny's spot. Jaccob Slavin participated in the morning skate today but doesn't seem to be quite ready to return to the lineup, meaning the defense will remain the same for the third straight game. Antti Raanta will get the start after playing perfectly in relief of Frederik Andersen against the Stars. Andersen was also on the ice this morning, so that's a good sign that the injury he sustained wasn't major. 

Tonight's Opponent: San Jose Sharks (14-25-10, 38 Points, 7th in the Pacific Division)

To classify this season as bad for the Sharks would be an understatement. Only twice this season have they strung together two or more wins in a row while they've lost at least three in a row eight times. They are near the bottom of the league in goals per game and they allowed the fourth-most goals per game. The only saving grace is that some of their stars have shown up in major ways this season. Erik Karlsson has returned to his Norris-level performance by entering the night tied for the league lead in assists (49) and leading all defensemen in points (64). Timo Meier is operating at a point-per-game pace with a team-leading 28 goals to go along with 20 assists, making him a very popular candidate to be traded at the deadline. Tomas Hertl isn't far behind him with 43 points. The Sharks' losing streak sits at three games entering tonight after they dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. The two sides traded goals in the second period with each team scoring twice. In overtime, Andrew Copp needed just 25 seconds to get the win for the Red Wings to take the second point. James Reimer made 32 saves in the overtime loss with Meier and Logan Couture providing the offense for the Sharks.  

Last Meeting v. Carolina- The Canes and Sharks met all the way back in October in San Jose for the Canes' second game and the Sharks' first game in North America after returning from Czechia. Evgeny Svechnikov opened the scoring late in the first period by sneaking a shot through Antti Raanta. After Reimer held a shutout to the end of the second period, Martin Necas broke through with 23 seconds left in the period to tie it. Both sides battled through the third period and after Jalen Chatfield got into a fight with Noah Gregor, Sebastian Aho deflected a shot from Brett Pesce past Reimer with less than two minutes left as the Canes held on for the win. 

San Jose's Starting Goalie: James Reimer (8-14-5, 3.25 GAA, .896 SV%)- It has been rough sledding for the former Hurricane between the pipes for the Sharks. Reimer has allowed three or more goals in his last eight starts dating back to late December, going 1-5-2 during the stretch. However, since he joined the Sharks, he's played very well against the Hurricanes, allowing just five goals in three starts. He was in the net for the first meeting this season, stopping 33 shots in a loss. 

San Jose Player to Watch: Kevin Labanc- While he's gone scoreless in his last three contests, Labanc has seven points in his last 11, including three multi-point games. He sits sixth on the team in goals (10) and points (26) as one of the few players that are producing a fair amount. Against the Canes, Labanc has seven points in ten games, including a game-winner. While there are plenty of stars to watch, he could fly under the radar tonight. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(SJ) 15:10- Oskar Lindblom (5) (assisted by Evgeny Svechnikov (5) & Steven Lorentz (4))

(CAR) 17:33- Calvin de Haan (2) (assisted by Dylan Coghlan (3) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (10))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

(CAR) 0:17- Sebastian Aho (19) PP (assisted by Stefan Noesen (15))

(SJ) 6:50- Nick Bonino (9) (assisted by Michael Eyssimont (7))

(SJ) 11:15- Michael Eyssimont (2) (assisted by Nico Sturm (6) & Mario Ferraro (5))

(SJ) 18:08- Mario Ferraro (3) EN (assisted by Michael Eyssimont (8))

(CAR) 18:23- Sebastian Aho (20) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (18) & Jalen Chatfield (4))

(CAR) 19:48- Martin Necas (20) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (19) & Sebastian Aho (24))

Overtime

(CAR) 0:55- Martin Necas (21) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (20))

Let's Talk About the Game

Some of the things this team does never ceases to amaze me. We've seen them come back from deficits before, just look at the Winnipeg game earlier this season. Just like in that game, it was the stars of this team that took over to claw them back to earn a point. The main difference between that night and tonight, other than the venue, is that the Canes were actually able to finish the job in this one. This was by no stretch of the imagination a good game from the Hurricanes. I thought they didn't look good for the majority of this game. The Sharks ran the show for most of the first period, outshooting the Canes by a pretty wide marge for a while. Antti Raanta stood tall and denied them at every chance but it felt like it was only a matter of time before something would get through. Leave it to Evgeny Svechnikov to help get the scoring started against his brother's team. His shot deflected off of Oskar Lindblom and past Raanta, who really had no chance of stopping the chance. It felt like the Canes were going to head into the intermission down a goal before Calvin de Haan magically beat James Reimer with a shot that probably gets stopped 99 times out of 100. It got some help from the stick of a Sharks' defender but it should've been stopped. Instead, the Canes made it to the locker room with the game tied. The second period gave the impression that this was going to turn into a goalie duel. Raanta and Reimer matched each other save-for-save for 20 minutes keeping each side at bay. San Jose controlled the puck quite a bit until they took a penalty and while the Canes didn't convert, they looked very good. Reimer made a huge save on Stefan Noesen to keep the game tied before the Sharks took their second penalty of the night in the final 30 seconds that would set the Canes up beautifully in the third period. 

What looked like a goalie duel turned into a scorer's paradise and it all started on the Canes' power play. Sebastian Aho continued his hot streak by tipping home a pass from Noesen just 17 seconds into the third period to give the Canes the momentum to build a period. To their credit that's what they did. Aho would get a breakaway chance that Reimer stopped. Martin Necas took a deep shot that rang the iron. Aho was denied again shortly after that. With every save that Reimer made, the feeling that San Jose was going to find an answer and the period quickly became about the Sharks and Michael Eyssimont. After a failed dump-in attempt from Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Eyssimont took the puck the other way, finding Nick Bonino to do the rest as he beat Raanta over his glove to tie the game. The Canes would successfully kill the Sharks' second power play of the night but San Jose kept the puck in the zone for a long time. Almost out of thin air, Eyssimont threw a shot at the net that Raanta didn't see and it was suddenly a 3-2 lead for the Sharks. In hindsight, the biggest play of the night would come shortly after San Jose's go-ahead goal as Raanta committed highway robbery on Bonino on a 2-on-1, sprawling and getting a glove on the shot before laying back to cover it. The Canes kept pushing to no avail before they pulled Raanta with just about two minutes left. With the net vacated, Mario Ferraro fired a shot almost 200 feet into the center of the net as Eyssimont, credited with the only assist, picked up his third point of the night. 

Down 4-2 with 1:52 left in the game is not exactly where you want to be against a team near the bottom of the league standings. The Sharks would win the ensuing face-off and got the puck deep in the Hurricanes' zone. Jalen Chatfield's pass made it all the way to Teuvo Teravainen at the opposite blue line and he found Aho in full stride. Aho didn't make any mistakes on this one as he beat Reimer between his pads just 15 seconds after the empty-net goal to bring the Canes back within one. Raanta immediately found himself back on the bench as the Canes tried to desperately find the answer to force overtime. Necas had a one-timer that was denied. Svechnikov had a chance that Reimer caught. It felt like they were throwing everything at the Sharks and they just wouldn't break. Rod Brind'Amour took a timeout with 21.6 seconds left and the team that wouldn't bend finally snapped. Off of a face-off, Brent Burns fired a shot that Reimer kicked away. Aho got to the rebound and tapped it to Svechnikov, who just threw it at the net. Reimer got his pads to the shot and redirected away but he put it right on the tape of Necas. With no hesitation, Necas fired a rising bullet over the shoulder of Reimer with 11.5 seconds left to tie the game, sending PNC Arena into a frenzy, and ensuring the Canes would earn at least a point. In their league-leading 17th overtime game, there wasn't a dull moment. After the Canes failed to connect on a 2-on-1, San Jose turned it around for a 3-on-1. Brady Skjei made an excellent play to break up the pass and it led to him getting a breakaway. Reimer denied his chance to the five-hole and kept the play moving. Logan Couture took a very ill-advised shot that Raanta got the blocker to and it allowed the Canes to once again move up the ice on an odd-man rush. Svechnikov carried it up the ice, put a beautiful saucer pass on the stick of Necas, and he made no mistakes as he ended the game 55 seconds into overtime to complete the comeback. 

How can you not love this team? They have been providing magic like this for a few years now and it never gets old. Sure, I'd have preferred a blowout win in the lead-up to a big game on Sunday. At the end of the day, it's two points in the standings and it helps to provide a little bit of a cushion over the Devils and Rangers. When it came down to it, the Canes' stars had to step up and they did. Aho has six goals in three games with his pair tonight. Necas hit 20 goals for the first time in his career and has three goals in two games. Svechnikov hasn't scored a goal in 2023 but he has five assists in his last five games. Teravainen has seven points in his last eight games. The team is firing on all cylinders as they pick up their fourth win in a row and become the second team in the league to reach 70 points. As I said earlier, tonight was not a good game for the Canes. I won't say they were already looking ahead to Sunday but this was far from their best effort. If this team shows up against the Bruins, it'll make for an interesting night. For now, we'll enjoy the two points and continue to point out that Necas should've made the All-Star team. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Andrei Svechnikov (2 Assists)

From the drop of the puck tonight, Svechnikov felt like he was a man on a mission. He laid a nice hit on MacDonald during his first shift and had another big hit in the same corner later in the period. He's going to find his scoring touch but I'm liking playmaker Svechnikov just as much, earning the primary assist on both of Necas' goals tonight to go with five shots and three hits. 

Second Star- Martin Necas (2 Goals)

This man has a clutch factor about him that seems to be kicking in this week, scoring two overtime winners in a row. He needed to add the game-tying goal in the dying seconds to allow himself to do it again. He now leads the team in goals with 21 and is tied with Aho for the team lead in points with 44 as he continues the season of his life. 

First Star- Sebastian Aho (2 Goals, Assist)

Big players step up when their team needs it the most and since returning from his injury, Aho has been unstoppable. Entering 2023, Aho had 11 goals in 29 games. In the new year, he has nine goals in 12 games. He's scored six goals and seven points since last Saturday. The team doesn't get back into this game without his goal after the Sharks found the empty net and he probably could've scored two or three more times. 

What's Next

Goliath will face Goliath on Sunday at PNC Arena as the two best teams in the league, based on points, will do battle. The league's only 80-point team will battle the only other team with 70 points in Raleigh for the first time since the Canes knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs in Game 7 last May. The Bruins will be in action tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers, so whichever goalie doesn't play between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman will be leading Boston out on Sunday. I'd imagine Frederik Andersen will get the call for the Canes since he was well enough to back up Raanta tonight. After this, the Canes will play a back-to-back before the break, hosting the Kings on Tuesday and traveling to Buffalo for a game on Wednesday.