2022-23 Regular Season, Game 50: Hurricanes (32-9-8) v. Los Angeles Kings

The Canes are rolling into the final week before the break after a massive 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday night. They've won five in a row and have points in their last eight games, their second-longest streak in each respect this season. The battle on Sunday felt like Goliath was heading to battle to face Goliath as the top two teams in the league met at PNC Arena. By the end of the game, it felt like the Canes had just dominated Boston. Sebastian Aho continued to light the lamp with his seventh goal in four games to open the scoring in the first period. Paul Stastny kept the ball rolling with a power-play goal in the second period. Seth Jarvis broke his goalless drought with a beautiful breakaway goal early in the third period and after Boston broke the shutout, Jordan Staal put the game away by carrying David Pastrnak down the ice and depositing it into the empty net to seal the deal for the Canes. Frederik Andersen wasn't tested much but he was very good, stopping 24 shots to defeat the early favorite for the Vezina Trophy. The penalty kill was a perfect 6-for-6 as they never allowed Boston to set anything up. Now, they need to refocus their attention on the Kings as they play their penultimate game before taking a nice siesta. 

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

Frederik Andersen

Antti Raanta

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

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

The lines and pairs look the same for tonight's battle with Los Angeles. Jaccob Slavin remains the extra with his lower-body injury and I'd be willing to be we won't see him until after the break. Frederik Andersen makes his seventh start since returning from injury, looking to expand on his win streak. 

Tonight's Opponent: Los Angeles Kings (28-18-6, 62 Points, 3rd in the Pacific Division)

Los Angeles is currently in a dogfight in the Pacific Division with four teams separated by just three points. After losing three straight about two weeks ago, the Kings rebounded with three straight wins over three struggling teams to get back into the groove. This groove was broken when they visited Tampa Bay on Saturday night. Jonathan Quick allowed three goals in the first period with Jaret Anderson-Dolan scoring the lone goal for the Kings as they trailed 3-1. Ross Colton and Phillip Danault traded goals in the second period and Victor Hedman scored the lone goal of the third as Tampa Bay snapped the Kings' streak with a 5-2 victory. Quick stopped 20 shots in the loss. The game didn't end without some fireworks and Danault and Erik Cernak were each given misconduct penalties in the final minutes. Despite their strong record, they enter the night with a -9 goal differential, the only team currently in a playoff spot with a negative differential. A large part of that problem has been their defense, currently sitting in the bottom ten in the league. Tonight will wrap up the "first half" for the Kings as they get ready for their break with the final stop on their six-game road trip. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- The Canes and Kings met in Los Angeles in early December and despite a 4-2 final, the Canes felt like they were in control. They struck twice in the first period with Brady Skjei scoring early and Martin Necas scoring late on the power play. Sebastian Aho provided the lone goal in the second as the Canes took a 3-0 lead. Arthur Kaliyev broke the shutout with a goal on the power play but Andrei Svechnikov responded less than three minutes later to restore the three-goal lead. Samuel Fagemo scored his first NHL late in the game but it was already over by then as the Canes came away with the win. Pyotr Kochetkov made 31 saves in the win. 

Los Angeles' Starting Goalie: Pheonix Copley (15-3-0, 2.82, .901 SV%)- As we've learned many times, it doesn't matter how pretty your wins are, just as long as you get the job done. That's a good way to look at Copley's career, especially this season. In 50 career appearances, Copley has 31 wins. In 19 appearances this season, he has 15 wins. He's won his last three starts, stopping 91 shots, including 45 of 48 in a win over the Panthers in his last outing. Copley has never faced the Hurricanes in his career. 

Los Angeles Player to Watch: Quinton Byfield- The former second-overall pick has had a rough start to his career, going back and forth between Los Angeles and Ontario quite a bit. The offensive production hasn't come to fruition yet, though he seems to be trending in the right direction. He's recorded points in three of his last five games, bringing his total to nine for the season. I'm not saying he's due to score or that he'll stand out tonight. This is more just to see how he does and whether he can make an impact. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 13:27- Brent Burns (9) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (21))

2nd Period

(LAK) 1:51- Adrian Kempe (21) (assisted by Anze Kopitar (26))

(LAK) 11:34- Kevin Fiala (18) (assisted by Blake Lizotte (16))

(LAK) 14:21- Adrian Kempe (22) (assisted by Drew Doughty (29) & Anze Kopitar (27))

(LAK) 15:21- Anze Kopitar (16) PP (assisted by Jaret Anderson-Dolan (4) & Drew Doughty (30))

3rd Period

(CAR) 3:27- Paul Stastny (5) (assisted by Derek Stepan (3) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (11))

(CAR) 9:54- Jordan Staal (14) (assisted by Brett Pesce (17) & Jesper Fast (13))

(CAR) 12:31- Teuvo Teravainen (5) PP (assisted by Brady Skjei (13) & Andrei Svechnikov (22))

Overtime

(CAR) 4:06 - Sebastian Aho (22) PP (assisted by Brent Burns (27) & Martin Necas (25))

Let's Talk About the Game

There are going to be those nights when your team just doesn't have their usual magic but their opponent does. Coming off an emotional victory on Sunday against the Bruins, the Canes were emotionally and physically drained. That's not to discredit the effort of the Kings because they just didn't feel like they could miss, especially during the second period. They got all of the bounces and it led to a lopsided number on the scoreboard through two periods. From the jump, the Kings felt like they had the edge and a lot of that can be contributed to the Canes' inability to manage the puck. They committed far too many turnovers in all three zones. Frederik Andersen had to make some timely saves, his biggest two coming in quick succession on Alex Iafallo. For all of the Kings' pressure, it was the Canes that would get the first goal. Andrei Svechnikov laid a drop pass for Brent Burns and he unleashed a silent snipe over the blocker of Pheonix Copley. The Canes put some more chances on Copley before the end of the period to head into the intermission up by a goal. 

The second period was 20 minutes of dominance from Los Angeles. It felt like every time they touched the puck it was going to end up in the back of the net. The Kings got one early as Adrian Kempe found a soft spot on the backdoor for an easy tap-in during a delayed penalty sequence. Quinton Byfield almost snuck one through Andersen but he was able to hold the post to make an extremely awkward save. The Canes' penalty kill would be called into action and just like they did against the Bruins, Then, the floodgates opened up. First, Brady Skjei makes a very bad pass in the offensive zone that would lead to a 2-on-1 for the Kings. Los Angeles' All-Star Kevin Fiala would carry the puck down the ice, toe drag around the defense, and snipe the puck to the top corner to give the Kings the lead. Next, just under three minutes later, Drew Doughty made a hard dump down the ice that would've been icing if not for Kempe handing out at the blue line. He wasted no time clapping a puck past an unprepared Andersen for his second of the night to make it 3-1. Exactly one minute later with the Kings on the power play, they needed just six seconds to execute a perfect passing play that ended with Anze Kopitar scoring a very easy goal to push the lead to three goals. It was a surgical dismantling of the Canes by the Kings and it had most fans, including myself, just waiting for the third period to end. 

What happened next can only be described as magical because the Canes team that had shown up for the first 40 minutes disappeared and a brand-new team showed up for the third period. In some ways, I mean that literally because Rod Brind'Amour decided to shake up three of the four lines. By all accounts, it worked. It took just 3:27 for the Canes to get another one as Paul Stastny scored his second in as many games on a rebound that Copley shouldn't have allowed. The initial shot from Derek Stepan was an easy one but it found its way right onto Stastny's stick to tilt the momentum a little bit. As the period continued, it was clear the Canes were in control. They kept the puck in the offensive zone and after some excellent shifts, the Staal line was finally rewarded. Brett Pesce threw the puck toward the net and though it was going wide, Jordan Staal got his stick on it and redirected the puck past Copley to put the Canes down by a goal with half of the period left. The Canes wouldn't need that long. After grinding the Kings down a little bit more, Quinton Byfield throws the puck over the glass simply because he was tired and it gave the Canes their first power play of the night. Just like the power play the Kings scored on, the Canes got the job done quickly as Teuvo Teravainen blasted a one-timer past Copley to tie the game and erase the three-goal deficit with 7:29 left. While there were a few scares for both sides, neither team would find the goal to break the time, meaning the two teams with the most trips to overtime would make the journey once again. Overtime was the Canes' playground because they controlled the puck for a long time. They came close to winning it on a few occasions. Svechnikov had a good chance that was stopped. Sebastian Aho almost danced around the defense and came inches away from scoring a highlight-reel goal if not for the outstretched pad of Copley. The coffin started to come out for the Kings after Svechnikov was tripped by Doughty as he tried to get into the zone, giving the Canes the rare overtime power play. The final nail in the comeback would come from Aho. While he wasn't able to finish his first chance, Aho didn't miss this opportunity as he fired a one-timer that would find the back of the net to complete the comeback and drop the jaw of yours truly. 

We're only four days removed from one of the most incredible comebacks we'd seen from the Canes. This one might top it. They looked dead and buried through 40 minutes but they are never out of any game. The key was getting the early goal from Stastny. A three-goal deficit feels nearly impossible to come back from. A two-goal deficit seems far more manageable with plenty of time left. It's hard to say one goal was more important than the other because each one had equal significance. Stastny's got the ball rolling. Staal's made it feel like they could really do it. Teravainen's kept the power play rolling and would eventually give them the confidence to go out in overtime to find the game-winner from Aho. At the end of the night, they had one very bad period and instead of letting it snowball into a bad third period, they turned it around and found the magic that hadn't been there all night. We truly are a spoiled fanbase because this team truly is amazing. Some teams have superstars that score two points every night or are a threat to go out and score a hat trick every night. That's not the Hurricanes' game. They have three players with 19+ goals and 40+ points, a defenseman on the verge of 40 points, and a bunch of guys that are hovering around 20-30 points. This is a team that scores as a committee instead of one line doing all of the work. This team is special but we already knew that. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Brent Burns (Goal, Assist)

Game 1301 was very good for Burns after celebrating the most recent milestone for the veteran defenseman. He scored the opening goal to get the Canes going early, then helped to set up the eventual game-winner in overtime on the power play. He added a few hits and put his body on the line, blocking a team-high three shots tonight. 

Second Star- Jordan Staal (Goal)

There are a few guys that seem to score in clutch situations and the captain is one of those guys. His line was extremely effective in the first and third periods, spending a ton of time in the offensive zone. They were finally rewarded in the third with a beautiful redirection from Staal to pull the Canes back within a goal. This is one of the reasons he wears the "C". 

First Star- Andrei Svechnikov (2 Assists)

In a month when he was announced as the Canes' representative for the All-Star Game, Svechnikov didn't find the back of the net. Instead, he made a living in January setting up his teammates. He did that twice tonight. His first assist was nothing more than a drop pass but it was more than enough to get the job done. His second helper was of the secondary variety on the game-tying goal. He also laid four hits, leading the team. 

What's Next

There is only one game separating the Canes from the break and it'll be tomorrow night in Buffalo. This will be the team's third game in four games with the previous two being very emotional wins. I would expect to see Antti Raanta in the net for the Canes as they look to head into the break with their seventh straight win. Buffalo will be well rested, having last played on Saturday night. One thing to keep an eye on before the puck drops tomorrow night will be the help of Buffalo's All-Star Tage Thompson. He's listed as day-to-day right now, so it's possible he doesn't play. It would be a huge blow for the Sabres as they look to position themselves in an advantageous spot to make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.