Thoughts From My Couch

There is no rest for the Canes as they hop right back into it with the second half of the back-to-back tonight. Just 24 hours ago, the Canes hosted the Ottawa Senators and it was all about the magnificent performance of Antti Raanta. He faced 32 shots and turned them all away to earn his third shutout of the season and push his franchise-leading point streak to 14 games (12-0-2). The Aho line continued to stay hot with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov each recording two assists as Seth Jarvis scored his fifth goal in four games. Brent Burns extended his point streak to five games with a goal, while Martin Necas and Brady Skjei provided the other two goals in a 4-0 victory for the Canes. Though the win was convincing, it was the prettiest. The Canes did take five penalties in the game with the penalty kill coming up big all night. The win gives the Canes their fifth victory in a row to help the team improve to 14-1-1 in their last 16 games. Their lead in the division remains at five ...

There was little lag from the Canes on Tuesday night after the week they'd just had. They took it to the St. Louis Blues for most of the 60 minutes and came out with a 4-1 victory to extend their win streak to four games. The line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Seth Jarvis provided all of the offense, combining for eight points and all four of the team's goals with Svechnikov scoring twice to break his 19-game goalless drought. Brent Burns was the only other player to record a point for the Canes, adding two assists. Frederik Andersen stopped 35 shots and the penalty kill was perfect, denying all three St. Louis power plays. They had the chance to get a few days off before coming into tonight's game, the first half of a back-to-back. Both games this weekend are against teams out of the playoff hunt but they've struggled against them in recent meetings.  Projected Lines/Pairs Andrei Svechnikov-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis Teuvo Teravainen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin...

The Hurricanes have made it out on the other end of a very busy week and they did it with flying colors. They swept all three games in a daunting week of celebration, culminating in the franchise's first outdoor game at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night against Washington. The bright lights of the stadium didn't bother the Hurricanes as they dominated for 60 minutes to sweep the season series against the Capitals. Jesperi Kotkaniemi started the scoring just over two minutes into the contest, the lone goal of the first period. The Canes scored three times in 5:30 in the second period to put things out of reach with Paul Stastny, Martin Necas on the power play, and Teuvo Teravainen finding the back of the net. Washington managed to get one back in the third period but it was far from enough as the Hurricanes prevailed 4-1 behind 24 saves and an assist from Frederik Andersen. The grandeur of the spectacle was magnificent and the players seemed to have a blast, regardless of ...

The game that has been three years in the making has finally arrived and it is easily the most anticipated regular season game in franchise history. On the heels of another celebration on Thursday night, the Canes will play in their first outdoor game ever after originally being slated to host the game in 2021. They celebrated the career of Cam Ward at PNC Arena on Thursday as they announced their inaugural Hall of Fame class. The game that proceeded was actually pretty close through two periods. Montreal scored early in the first before the Canes responded late in the period on goals from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Seth Jarvis. Montreal scored the lone goal of the second period on the power play to make it 2-2 through two. When the Canes came out to start the third period, they were on a mission. Sebastian Aho got it started, followed by Jarvis' second of the night, and Jordan Staal burying one to give the Canes a 5-2 lead five minutes into the period. The score would remain that way ...

The weekend of excitement kicks off on a Thursday night as the Hurricanes honor one of the greats of the franchise. After losing their win and point streaks to the Rangers, the Hurricanes traveled to Washington D.C. to face an Ovechkin-less Capitals team. It wasn't the prettiest game for the Canes but they exited with a 3-2 victory over their division rival. The scoring was back and forth through the first two periods with Brent Burns, Paul Stastny, and Stefan Noesen providing the offense for the Canes. Frederik Andersen bounced back beautifully with a 34-save performance to return to his winning way. The special teams were perfect, killing all three penalties they committed while scoring on their only power play.  Tonight, the franchise inducts Cam Ward to the Hurricanes Hall of Fame as they honor him with a pregame ceremony. No goalie has been more prominent in team history than Ward, leading the franchise in almost every major statistic while also sitting in the top five in GAA ...

The Canes were brought back to Earth on Saturday night as the New York Rangers laid it on in the third period. The star of the show was Artemi Panarin. After helping to set up Mika Zibanejad's power-play goal in the first period, Panarin scored four times in the final 25 minutes of a 6-2 victory for the Rangers. The Canes' goals came in the second period with Teuvo Teravainen and Jesperi Kotkaniemi lighting the lamp. Despite the final score, the Canes played a solid 40 minutes. They didn't get the result and it ended the long streaks they held before the break. Tonight, it's all about flushing that loss and looking forward to a road game against a division opponent. They need to ensure they aren't looking forward in the schedule because the next time these two meet, it'll be under the lights of Carter-Finley Stadium. That's two games away, meaning they need to focus and finish the job tonight.  Projected Lines/Pairs Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis...

I'm not sure why we had to wait this long but hockey is back in Raleighwood after a ten-day layoff. No team enters the backstretch of the season hotter than the Canes as they ride a seven-game win streak and a ten-game point streak into their second meeting of the season with the Rangers. Sebastian Aho and Brent Burns have been streaking personally with a six-game goal streak and a seven-game point streak, respectively. The Canes' last game was on February 1 with a visit to Buffalo. On the heels of a thrilling comeback victory over Los Angeles the night before, there were concerns about the Canes' ability to meet the challenge in the last game before the break. Those worries were quickly shut down. Aho scored 2:35 into the game on the power play to get the Canes sprinting out of the gate. Stefan Noesen would finish a 3-on-1 and Burns would add another goal 2:42 later to make it 3-0. Buffalo got one back late in the period but the Canes held a 3-1 lead at the break. After a ...

The Canes at the Break Through 51 games this season, the Hurricanes are 34-9-8 with 76 points. Their 34 wins and 76 points are each 2nd in the league as they lead the Metropolitan Division by eight points over the New Jersey Devils. They've played a league-leading 18 overtime games this season, proving to have a flair for the dramatic. They have scored 170 goals, 9th in the league, and average 3.33 goals per game, 10th-best. The defense is getting the job done on both ends of the ice. The Canes' defensive core leads the league in goals scored and the team as a whole has allowed the 6th-fewest in the league, is 4th in goals allowed per game and allows the fewest shots per game. Special teams have been a bumpy ride for the Canes this season. The power play has been the biggest source of concern for most of the fanbase. With its recent success, it has hit 20%, placing it 22nd in the league. The penalty kill has been more consistent and is starting to show signs of last season'...