2022-23 Regular Season, Game 53: Hurricanes (34-10-8) at Washington Capitals

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

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Stefan Noesen-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Antti Raanta

Injuries/Scratches- Dylan Coghlan (healthy)

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

The lineup looks the same tonight for the Canes as they'll use the same group that faced the Rangers on Saturday. Brady Skjei will skate in his 500th NHL game tonight, his 193rd as a Hurricane. Frederik Andersen will get the start in the net once again after a rough game where he only stopped 14 shots and allowed five goals to New York. 

Tonight's Opponent: Washington Capitals (28-21-6, 62 Points, 4th in the Metropolitan Division)

It's been a tough 2023 for the Capitals thus far. They're 7-8-1 in the new year and have only put together consecutive wins once. Despite this, they hold the first Wild Card spot at the moment. They split their weekend back-to-back. Darcy Kuemper put in an excellent performance on Saturday against the Bruins, stopping 27 shots in a 2-1 victory for Washington. Nicklas Backstrom opened the scoring on the power play and Garnet Hathaway doubled the lead in the second period as the Capitals held on to upset the league-leading Bruins. They followed this performance up by laying an egg against the San Jose Sharks the next day. Washington fell behind the Sharks early and even after Evgeny Kuznetsov, they allowed two more to fall 4-1. Not having Tom Wilson for the two games likely didn't help things. He's expected to miss his sixth straight game tonight. They'll also be without Alex Ovechkin tonight for personal reasons, so one of their most important weapons will be missing. This could pose some problems for an offense that is struggling to find the back of the net. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- It's been a minute since the Canes and Caps met. They collided at PNC Arena on Halloween night. The Canes jumped ahead early as Stefan Noesen scored his first as a Hurricane on the power play. Washington answered early in the second with a goal from Dylan Strome and took the lead with Ovechkin firing one home on the power play. Andrei Svechnikov would tie things up before the end of the period and after a scoreless third, the teams took it to overtime. Neither side broke the tie in overtime, so they took it to a shootout. Brent Burns opened with a goal. Kuznetsov tied it up for Washington. Svechnikov started the second round with a goal and it would be the last of the shootout. Frederik Andersen closed the door on Ovechkin and Strome to secure the second point. 

Washington's Starting Goalie: Darcy Kuemper (16-14-4, 2.57 GAA, .916 SV%)- Don't let the record fool you. Kuemper has been extremely valuable for the Capitals, coming up big in timely spots. He's tied for the league lead in shutouts with five but he, like his team, has struggled a little lately. He has a .902 SV% in his last nine starts (4-5-0). He returned from the break with a brilliant performance against Boston on Saturday. He was in the net for Washington's shootout loss to the Canes, stopping 33 shots through overtime before allowing goals on two of the three shots in the shootout. He has a 3.44 GAA in five career games against the Canes. 

Washington Player to Watch: Marcus Johansson- While the scoring has largely dried up for Washington in 2023, Johansson has been on a bit of a heater. He had a four-game point streak snapped in the loss to San Jose on Sunday and he's scored in eight of his last 12 contests. Tonight will be his 39th game against the Canes in his career, tied for his most games against any team. Washington will need him tonight, especially with Ovechkin out of the lineup. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 15:00- Brent Burns (11) (assisted by Jordan Staal (12) & Jordan Martinook (15))

(WSH) 19:02- TJ Oshie (11) (assisted by Joe Snively (2) & Dmitry Orlov (16))

2nd Period

(CAR) 2:33- Paul Stastny (6) (assisted by Calvin de Haan (9) & Stefan Noesen (17))

(WSH) 6:23- Joe Snively (1) (assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk (10))

(CAR) 11:38- Stefan Noesen (10) PP (assisted by Brady Skjei (14) & Teuvo Teravainen (20))

3rd Period

None

Let's Talk About the Game

This was not the best effort we've seen from the Canes but the scoreboard doesn't lie. The Canes overcame a very "blah" first period, consistent momentum changes, and a successful challenge to earn their second win over the Capitals. With the dads and mentors in attendance, the Canes didn't come out with the same energy that Brian Pesce read the lineup with before the game. The Canes were held without a shot for more than ten minutes in the first period, stuck at two for the longest time. While the team might not have been ready, the special teams were. The penalty kill came up big after Andrei Svechnikov was called for tripping just before the halfway point in the period. Toward the end of the period, the Canes started to build some momentum as they threw the puck at Darcy Kuemper. It wasn't until Brent Burns decided to wait and fire a low shot that Kuemper was unable to track that finally broke the ice. The puck beat Kuemper through his five-hole to give the Canes the lead with five minutes left in the period. The lead wouldn't hold as Washington made a push at the end of the period and finally broke through Frederik Andersen, who was the only player on his game in the first. Joe Snively wasn't supposed to be in the lineup tonight but when Aliaksai Protas' wife went into labor, he was thrust into the lineup and made the most of it. He helped to send the game into the intermission tied by sending a perfect pass to TJ Oshie as he won a race against Sebastian Aho to the front of the net to finish the play and tie things up. It was a fitting way for the period to end with the way the Canes looked. 

There was a newfound energy for the Canes in the second period and it led to them finding their way back in front. After Stefan Noesen helped to win the draw to the point, Calvin de Haan let go of a wrister that hit a falling Paul Stastny and fluttered over the shoulder of Kuemper 2:33 into the period to stake the Canes ahead once again. The Canes made a nice push to get more past Kuemper but he would be up for the task. On the other end, Snively struck again less than four minutes after the Canes took the lead. The Caps were very good in transition all night and on a 2-on-1, Snively beat a guessing Andersen to the short side and he knotted it up. It's probably one that Andersen needs to have but he made up for it by denying Nicolas Aube-Kubel on a breakaway shortly after the goal. From that point, Andersen stopped everything he saw. Carolina's power play would get a chance to strike and that's exactly what they did. They needed 31 seconds to capitalize as Stefan Noesen deflected a shot from Brady Skjei under the glove of Kuemper to record his team-leading seventh power-play goal of the season. The referees had been pretty lenient all night until the end of the second period when they assessed two penalties to the Canes. Fortunately, the kill didn't have much to worry about as they killed both penalties. Washington came inches away from tying it once again in the final seconds of the period, even fooling the arena crew at one point causing them to flash the lights prematurely. Despite their best efforts, Andersen stood tall and kept the Canes ahead through 40 minutes. 

It felt like a lot happened in the third period. The puck was moving up and down the ice with pace the entire period. Both goalies were ready for the challenge. Washington came close to tying it early in the period with Anthony Mantha ringing the crossbar. The Canes peppered Kuemper with shots but none of them felt threatening. Just shy of the halfway point it looked like Washington had tied the game. Trevor van Riemsdyk, in the middle of a career season offensively, jumped on a rebound with everyone in the crease and Andersen down to tie the game at three. Rod Brind'Amour with the help of his excellent video team decided this was worthy of a challenge for goalie interference. I always feel these challenges are a flip of a coin because its always enforced inconsistently. The big thing appeared to be Oshie's presence in the crease. He entered the paint without any help, fell down, and prevented Andersen from playing his position. This prevented him from getting up to stop the shot and the crew in Toronto seemed to agree. They determined it was enough for goalie interference and it meant the Canes remained in front 3-2. The physical nature of the rivalry very quickly took over after the overturned goal. There was a lot of pushing and shoving after plays and a meeting of the minds between the benches at one point. In the end, the Canes' defense held it down in the final few minutes and allowed the Canes to earn a big two points. Teuvo Teravainen was milliseconds away from getting an empty-net goal but the puck crossed the line after the final horn had sounded. 

It's not always about you start the game but about how you finish. I thought the Canes started sluggishly and ended the game like the team we've come to expect them to be. It all starts with the goaltending of Andersen. After a bad game against the Rangers, he flushed it and made 34 stops. Brady Skjei, in his 500th game, had a much better night, picking up the primary assist on the game-winner. Brett Pesce was quiet on the scoresheet but made some huge defensive plays down the stretch. Jordan Martinook set a new career-high in points (26) by picking up the secondary assist on the opening goal. The Canes were perfect on special teams, killing all three of their penalties while scoring on their only power play. Not having Alex Ovechkin in the lineup, especially on the power play, helped a lot. The result is huge, especially with the way the Devils won their game tonight. The lead in the division remains at three points for now as the Metropolitan Division remains a nightmare to play in. The win helps to gather some momentum going into the weekend's festivities and another date with the Capitals. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Frederik Andersen (34 Saves)

The only player to look good for the entire 60 minutes, Andersen erased the New York game from his mind and came up with a huge performance tonight. The second goal is likely one he wants back, yet it didn't linger as he was perfect from that point, excluding the overturned goal. He was all over the place stopping pucks in the third period as he returned to his winning ways. 

Second Star- Brent Burns (Goal)

He helped to turn an otherwise first period and got one of the lone positive plays out of it with his opening goal in the final five minutes. Burns felt dangerous with the puck tonight and almost opened the third period with a hard-working goal. He blocked two shots tonight also as he wasn't on the ice as much as he normally is, playing just 21:45. 

First Star- Stefan Noesen (Goal, Assist)

With his two points tonight, Noesen has tied his career-high in points with 27. He also joined the double-digit goal club, becoming the eighth Hurricane to do it this season. He's been invaluable on the power play and he has some of the best hands to deflect pucks. The assist to set up the Stastny goal was just as impressive as he helped to win the draw. It was a good night for the fourth line and Noesen is a big reason why. 

What's Next

The Stadium Series festivities can officially begin as the Canes are set to honor Cam Ward on Thursday night before they welcome the Montreal Canadiens to PNC Arena. Ward will be inducted into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame as the franchise's best goalie. Montreal was also in action tonight, blanking the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 in a battle of the cellar dwellers. After that, all eyes turn to Carter-Finley Stadium as the Canes and Capitals play outdoors. Washington will host the Florida Panthers on Thursday night before making the trip to Raleigh. We are already fairly certain that Alex Ovechkin will miss both Thursday and Saturday with this ongoing issue. Regardless, Raleigh is ready to put on a show as the hockey world tunes in to see two division rivals go at it outside.