2022-23 Regular Season, Game 58: Hurricanes (39-10-8) v. Anaheim Ducks

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 points with a game in hand against New Jersey, who just doesn't seem to lose. Tonight, the Canes will finish their homestand before getting a few days off and hitting the road. 

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 only change to the lineup comes in the net as Frederik Andersen will start the second game of the back-to-back against his former team. Andersen spent his first three seasons in Anaheim, going 77-26-12 in 125 games. He's going 4-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .934 SV% in six games against the Ducks, including two wins last season with the Hurricanes. The rest of the lineup remains the same as Brent Burns skates in his 737th straight game, the second-most consecutive games by a defenseman in NHL history. 

Tonight's Opponent: Anaheim Ducks (18-34-7, 43 Points, 8th in the Pacific Division)

If the season ended today, Anaheim would have the second-best odds of winning the lottery to select Connor Bedard. It's exactly where they want and need to be. The team has a few young stars that are taking the league by storm, namely the team's leader in points Trevor Zegras, but they just aren't good. They are coming off a solid team win over the equally struggling Washington Capitals in D.C. on Thursday night to snap a six-game skid. The Ducks were behind 1-0 after the first period before Isac Lundestrom scored his third of the season to tie it up. Washington would take the lead less than two minutes later but Troy Terry answered 44 seconds later to tie it once again. There would be two fights before the period ended and it was all Anaheim in the third. Jakob Silfverberg gave the Duck their first lead of the night early in the period and Derek Grant found the empty net to give Anaheim three unanswered goals as they held on to win 4-2. John Gibson made 41 saves in the win and Cam Fowler added two assists. There hasn't been much to the good for Anaheim this season. They have allowed the most goals in the league to this point while scoring the third-fewest, which is only a good combination if you're trying to tank. While Gibson's numbers have been abysmal, it's worth mentioning that he's faced more shots than any goalie in the league this season and has the most saves. He's faced 40 or more shots in 17 of his 40 games, including 138 in the last week. The guys in front of him have been doing him very few favors. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- The Canes and Ducks met in December while Carolina was on a tough road trip and they were one of two teams that the Canes couldn't beat during the 17-game point streak. The two sides alternated goals for the first 40 minutes. Adam Henrique, who will miss tonight's game, Brady Skjei, and Max Comtois scored in the first period to give Anaheim a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes. Sebastian Aho, Brett Leason, and Jordan Staal scored in the second period to send the game to the third tied 3-3. Neither side scored in the third and Anaheim never allowed the Canes to touch the puck in overtime as Ryan Strome scored the game-winner. Gibson made 34 saves in the win, beating Pyotr Kochetkov and his 26 saves. 

Anaheim's Starting Goalie: John Gibson (11-23-6, 4.01 GAA, .900 SV%)- Despite a week where he's faced a ton of shots, Gibson will get the start once again for the Ducks. His win over Washington on Thursday snapped a five-start losing streak since the All-Star Break in which he allowed 24 goals. He was in the net for the Ducks' overtime over the Canes in December, his fifth win against the Canes in nine career starts.

Anaheim Player to Watch: Cam Fowler- For as rough as this season has gone for the Ducks, Fowler continues to put up solid numbers. Fowler has seven points in his last five games with three multi-point nights during that stretch. He's on the verge of scoring ten goals for the third time in his career and is one point away from 400 in his career. He's on pace to break the career-high in points he set last season (42). He's never scored a goal against the Hurricanes in 17 games, which feels like it's destined to change tonight. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

(ANA) 16:32- John Klingberg (8) (assisted by Trevor Zegras (30) & Ryan Strome (17))

3rd Period

(ANA) 4:06- Jakob Silfverberg (8) (assisted by Ryan Strome (18) & Trevor Zegras (31)))

(CAR) 4:19- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (11) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (13))

(ANA) 12:01- Troy Terry (15) (assisted by Isac Lundestrom (10) & Cam Fowler (25))

(CAR) 13:35- Jesper Fast (7) (assisted by Brett Pesce (18) & Jordan Staal (13))

Let's Talk About the Game

The bottom line is the Canes should've won that game. I don't say that because they were screwed out of it. I say that because whenever you outshoot a team that badly, you need to find ways to beat the goalie. John Gibson was on another planet tonight and he has needed to be for the Ducks this season. This is another 50-save game for him. This had major Nashville vibes after the way Juuse Saros played against the Canes last month. The Canes had plenty of chances to score all night. For a game that ended 3-2, we had to wait a long time before someone scored a goal. John Klingberg scored the opening goal with 3:28 left in the second period and then the floodgates opened in the third as each team scored twice. 

There are four reasons why the Ducks won this game tonight. There are likely more than four but these are the obvious ones. First, they blocked 20 shots. It felt like every good chance the Canes had was deflecting out of play off of a Ducks' stick. The one thing about the Canes' style is that whenever your play starts with the defense throwing pucks at the net, it opens you up to having everything blocked. For the most part, it was either that or there was no traffic and Gibson could see it coming the entire time. Second, the Ducks used the area below the goalline to perfection. On Anaheim's first two goals, the play began behind Frederik Andersen's net. Both times it was the Zegras line getting the job done. Third, the Ducks had just three shots in the third period, yet they scored twice. They capitalized on the few chances the Canes allowed and it turned out to be the difference in the game. The goal from Troy Terry probably shouldn't have happened but he found just enough room to score Anaheim's third goal. Lastly, Gibson stole the game. He finished the night with 51 saves and made some timely saves down the stretch to seal the game. 

The Canes didn't just roll over tonight after Anaheim scored. They were very good about responding quickly. After Jakob Silfverberg scored to make it 2-0, Jesperi Kotkaniemi needed just 13 seconds to respond. Jaccob Slavin, who had an excellent night, flipped a puck out of the defensive zone to spring Kotkaniei on a breakaway and he snapped one past Gibson to make him look human and pull the Canes back within one. With it 3-1 a few minutes later, Jesper Fast finally found the back of the net by deflecting a shot from Brett Pesce to cut the deficit to one goal once again 1:34 after Terry's goal. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at Gibson at the end of the game. The power play fell flat once again, going 0-for-4, including a failed conversion in the final 2:30. It's a good thing the Canes aren't facing the Ducks again this season because they clearly have Carolina's number. Add to it that New Jersey won 7-0 tonight against the Flyers to pull back within three points and that they're likely to land Timo Meier and it just puts a bow on a tough night. The win streak comes to an end as they prepare for a tough March. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Jesper Fast (Goal)

It had been 11 games since Fast scored a goal, finding the back of the net last on January 21 against the Islanders. His goal tonight was a big one at the moment as it pulled the Canes back within a goal with plenty of time left to make a push. Like most of the guys on the team, he had plenty of chance to score, finishing the night with four shots. 

Second Star- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Goal)

After two games without a point, Kotkaniemi scored a goal and it rejuvenated a quiet PNC Arena as it got the team back in the game. He's been phenomenal in February with seven points in eight games. He also had four shots and his line with Necas and Teravainen was probably the team's best tonight. Kotkaniemi looks like he's having fun and that's all I can ask for. 

First Star- Jaccob Slavin (Assist)

With as many chances as he had tonight, Slavin easily could've finished with a few goals. Instead, he'll have to settle for an assist on the Kotkaniemi goal as his aerial pass started the play. He played a true 200-foot game tonight, making several great plays on defense and getting robbed on a few chances by Gibson. His best of the night came during the 4-on-4 in the third period right before Terry's goal. 

What's Next

The Canes won't lace up the skates for a game until they travel to Vegas for a primetime game on national television on Wednesday night. Vegas is in action tonight at home against Dallas and they'll be in Colorado on Monday night before hosting the Hurricanes. The brief trip out west will finish in Arizona next Friday night. The Coyotes will play three times before facing the Canes, hosting Nashville tomorrow and Chicago on Monday before visiting Dallas on Wednesday. The schedule in March features some huge games against playoff teams with very little time off. The grind is about to begin.