2022-23 Regular Season, Game 56: Hurricanes (37-10-8) v. St. Louis Blues

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 outcome. Now, the action comes back indoors and the focus can return to where it has been all along. The margin for error in the Metropolitan Division is virtually non-existent with the Devils and Rangers never losing. Tonight, the homestand continues as the Canes try to come down from the high that was last week. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Andrei Svechnikov-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Teuvo Teravainen-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 Hurricanes will keep the magic going with the same group of 18 skaters they've used for the last two contests. Frederik Andersen will be in the net once again after a brilliant performance against Washington. His 5-6-3 record against St. Louis isn't great but he hasn't faced them since 2019 while he was in Toronto. 

Tonight's Opponent: St. Louis Blues (26-27-3, 55 Points, 6th in the Central Division)

It's been a rough season for the Blues and they've already started to sell part of the farm. After shipping Vladimir Tarasenko to the Rangers, they traded captain Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari to Toronto and they still have plenty of pieces left to trade. Statistically, there is still a chance for them to make the playoffs. Realistically, they're ten points behind Minnesota for the second Wild Card spot with plenty of competition. We've said that about St. Louis before while they were down and they managed to win a Stanley Cup in 2019. They've only won three of their last ten games and have dropped their last two, including an embarrassing 7-2 loss to Ottawa on Sunday. Ottawa scored six unanswered goals, including four in the second period, against Thomas Greiss before Colton Parayko and Tyler Pitlick got the Blues on the board in less than two minutes. Ottawa would get one back late in the third period to close it out. It was a rough one for St. Louis and the road ahead only appears to be worse. The health of the team has been a concern of late. Jake Neighbours is set to miss several weeks after leaving the Ottawa game, joining Brandon Saad on the injured list. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- The Canes and the Blues came together back on December 1 in St. Louis and it was a high-event game. Pavel Buchnevich opened the scoring on the power play for the lone goal of the first period. Acciari scored early in the second to extend the lead. Jordan Binnington had looked impossible to beat until the Canes broke him for three goals in 64 seconds on goals by Brent Burns on the power play, Jordan Martinook, and Seth Jarvis. Torey Krug scored St. Louis' second on the power play late in the period to tie the game at three before the second intermission. Rod Brind'Amour pulled a rare move before the start of the third as he switched goalies, replacing Antti Raanta with Pyotr Kochetkov. The move would work perfectly. Martinook broke the tie with less than five minutes left in regulation and Jordan Staal buried one in the empty net to make it 5-3. O'Reilly got one back for the Blues to pull within one until Martinook completed his second-career hat trick with the team's second empty-net goal of the night for a 6-4 win. Kochetkov made ten stops in relief to earn the win over Binnington, who made 30 stops. 

St. Louis' Starting Goalie: Jordan Binnington (21-19-3, 3.27 GAA, .897 SV%)- I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of Binnington. He's the type of tough guy that I don't feel can back it up. He has his flashes of brilliance in the net, though they haven't come recently. He's won three of his last eight starts and has allowed 27 goals during that stretch. His last start was a 4-1 loss to Colorado on Saturday night. He was in the net for the Blues' loss to the Canes in December, allowing four goals on 34 shots. 

St. Louis Player to Watch: Ivan Barbashev- With the Blues in the mood to sell ahead of the deadline, Barbashev is another name that will likely become available. He'll be a UFA after the season, so the Blues could move him instead of losing him for free. He had a rough game against Ottawa on Sunday but isn't far removed from a three-point night against the Panthers a week ago. Barbashev hasn't found the same magic that got him to 60 points last season, but he'll likely be a good addition wherever he ends up. Tonight will be about impressing some teams into making a move for him. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 1:26- Andrei Svechnikov (20) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (17))

(CAR) 7:57- Andrei Svechnikov (21) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (18) & Brent Burns (31))

2nd Period

(STL) 3:59- Justin Faulk (7) (assisted by Josh Leivo (10))

(CAR) 16:36- Sebastian Aho (25) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (28) & Brent Burns (32))

3rd Period

(CAR) 2:25- Seth Jarvis (12) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (25))

Let's Talk About the Game

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I wouldn't have been surprised if the Canes had a little bit of a letdown game after all of the excitement that transpired in the last seven days. I clearly should've known better because this was a great effort from top to bottom for the full 60 minutes. St. Louis stayed in this game until the very end but a quick start to the third period from the Canes really put this one away. This turned into a little bit of a goalie duel in the second period with both Frederik Andersen and Jordan Binnington doing everything to keep the game close. The action was fast and furious from the drop of the puck but it was the one guy that really needed a goal that opened things. After Seth Jarvis made an excellent play on the defensive end by breaking up a 2-on-1, he found Andrei Svechnikov in transition, and after 19 games he picked a corner 86 seconds into the contest to finally get his 20th of the season. That had to be a great feeling for him because after coming so close a ton over the last month and a half, Svechnikov labeled one to get his night going. He wasn't done there as he picked up another one just a few minutes later after Sebastian Aho won the draw back to Brent Burns. Burns fired it to the net and after Jarvis' deflected chance was stopped, Svechnikov was right there to pick up the rebound and deposit the puck into the open net. In under eight minutes, both Svechnikov and Jarvis had multi-point nights. From there, it was all about Andersen. He denied Josh Leivo on a breakaway shortly after the second goal. He flashed the leather on a few chances as he helped guide the Canes into the intermission with a 2-0 lead. 

The action didn't slow down in the second period as both teams created plenty of offense in the first few minutes. St. Louis finally found the board as two former Hurricanes connected to burn their old team. Leivo, who was very noticeable all night, put a pass on the tape of Justin Faulk and he buried a one-timer through the pads of Andersen to get the Blues back within a goal early in the period. From there, it was a chess match between the two goalies. For each great save one made, the other made an equally important save on the other end. Neither goalie looked like they were going to break until the Canes capitalized late in the period with Svechnikov throwing the puck at the net. The puck would get through Jesper Fast and Binnington as it made its way to Aho. He tapped the puck home as Binnington sprawled to get his glove on it to re-establish the two-goal lead. The Canes were very good and it would've been a real disappointment if they didn't have something to show for it. 

The third period began with a penalty from Fast and it was a goaltending clinic from Andersen. He started by using his head to knock a shot from Brayden Schenn away. He then used his pads to kick away a few shots before sprawling to deny Ivan Barbashev while on his stomach as the Canes killed the penalty. Seconds later, Colton Parayko turned the puck over to Aho in front of Binnington. Aho tapped it to Jarvis, who outwaited Binnington to tuck the puck home for this fourth goal in three games to put the Canes up 4-1 early in the third. The Canes would kill another penalty a few minutes later and then it turned into preserving the lead while trying to get Svechnikov his third hat trick. He came inches away from getting the job done with a lacrosse goal if not for the stick of Parayko. If the Blues' defender was there, he would've pulled it off. Craig Berube pulled Binnington with just over 3:30 left and the fans made it clear they wanted Svechnikov on the ice. Fast fanned on the puck with no one in front of him and I'm convinced it's because the fans wanted Svechnikov to get it. When he did get back on the ice, Binnington was back in the net, much to the dismay of the fans. While they didn't get a hat trick, they did earn the win, which I'd much rather have. 

Since Rod Brind'Amour changed the lines against Montreal, one line has done the lion's share of the scoring in each game. In two of those games, it was the Aho line that did it. Tonight, they scored all four goals. Only four players found the scoresheet with Svechnikov and Jarvis scoring three points and Aho and Burns picking up two each. They were truly excellent all night. That doesn't mean other lines didn't do anything. The fourth line was amazing in the offensive zone. The trio of Derek Stepan, Stefan Noesen, and Paul Stastny almost scored on numerous occasions. Jalen Chatfield and Calvin de Haan had solid nights defensively. They combined for six of the team's ten hits and were on the ice for two of the four goals. Everyone but de Haan recorded a shot for the team. Andersen continued his incendiary play of late with a 35-save effort, his most saves this season. He's 9-1-0 since returning from his injury and has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his 11 appearances. The power play never got a chance tonight but the penalty kill was perfect, killing all three of their penalties. The win is even more important with New Jersey's regulation loss tonight to the Canadiens as the lead in the Metropolitan Division expands to five points over the Devils and nine points over the Rangers with the Canes owning a game in hand over both teams. All in all, it was a very good night for the Hurricanes. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Seth Jarvis (Goal, 2 Assists)

After not having a three-point game in his first 121 games, he now has two in his last three games. Both of his assists came in the first period as he set up both of Svechnikov's goals before getting a goal of his own in the third period to put the nail in St. Louis' coffin. He finished tied for the team lead in shorts with four as he reached the 30-point mark. 

Second Star- Frederik Andersen (35 Saves)

Except for a perfectly placed shot from Faulk, Andersen was simply perfect. The list of adjectives to describe how well he's played since returning from his two-month stint on the injured list is long. Every time he steps onto the ice, it feels like he is going to win. There isn't much that gets to him and right now, he is in the zone. 

First Star- Andrei Svechnikov (2 Goals, Assist)

The monkey, piano, and weight of the world are now off of his shoulders. He had yet to score in 2023 but he fixed that by scoring twice in the first eight minutes of the game. It's not like he hasn't been producing this year. He had 14 assists during his goalless drought and he's now a point away from joining Necas and Aho with 50 points. This is going to be a building block for him as he tries to expand on another great night. 

What's Next

The Canes will have another two-day break before hosting a back-to-back at PNC Arena this weekend. It'll begin on Friday night with the Canes hosting the Ottawa Senators for their first meeting of the season. Ottawa will not have played since Monday, a 3-1 loss to the Bruins on President's Day. It'll be the front end of a back-to-back for Ottawa as well as they'll travel to Montreal after visiting Raleigh. They'll then host the Anaheim Ducks in a cross-conference matchup on Saturday night. The Ducks took a 6-1 thumping from the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight and they'll be visiting the struggling Washington Capitals on Thursday night before the game on Saturday.