Carolina Hurricanes Month in Review: January 2023

The only way December could've gone better for the Canes is if they'd managed to get the second point in their overtime loss to Anaheim. They made their way into the new year with the longest win and point streaks in franchise history and while they'd hit a rough patch early in the month, the end of the month was filled with some of the most amazing moments we've ever witnessed as a franchise. The stars of the team showed up to play, Max Pacioretty made his debut with the Canes, and Frederik Andersen returned from his two-month absence from injury. What looked like it was going to be a month when the Canes were brought back to Earth turned into another month that showcased the Canes as one of the teams that could be fighting for the Stanley Cup at the end of the season. 

The Month in Review Through Headlines

1/1 at New Jersey- "Dealing with the Devils"- Stepan scores twice, Necas scores late on the power play, and Svechnikov wins it in a shootout to keep the Canes ahead in the Metro.

1/3 at New York (R)- "All Streaks Eventually End"- The Canes' streaks come to an end as New York scores three times in the third period to win the first meeting since the second round of the playoffs. 

1/5 v. Nashville- "Juus-tice is Served"- Saros makes 64 saves in one of the most spectacular performances ever in the net to earn the Predators a 5-3 victory.

1/7 at Columbus- "Columbus Marches On"- Rookie Marchenko scores his first career hat trick to overshadow Pacioretty's first two goals as a Hurricanes in a 4-3 shootout upset win for Columbus. 

1/10 v. New Jersey- "Mercer Makes the Canes Pay"- New Jersey scores four unanswered goals, highlighted by two from Mercer, to drive Carolina's losing streak to four games. 

1/12 at Columbus- "When Defense Turns to Offense"- Andersen makes his long-awaited return by making 21 stops as the defense scores five times in a 6-2 victory to break the losing streak. 

1/14 v. Pittsburgh- "Sweeping the Pens Away"- Behind 34 saves from Andersen and goals from Skjei and Chatfield, the Canes secure the season sweep against Pittsburgh with a 2-1 win.

1/15 v. Vancouver- "Canes Can't Contain the Canucks"- Vancouver scores with nine seconds left and wins it in a shootout to hand the Canes their first loss in the second half of a back-to-back.

1/19 v. Minnesota- "Taming the Wild"- Special teams for the Canes earned them a victory as the power play connects twice and they score once short-handed to beat Fleury, Minnesota 5-2. 

1/21 at New York (I)- "Aho Makes it Look Natural"- Aho scores Carolina's first natural hat trick since 2018 and the sixth of his career as the Canes beat the Islanders on Long Island once again.

1/25 at Dallas- "Necas Leaves Dallas Seeing Stars"- For the second time this season, Necas plays the hero in overtime as he scores to beat Dallas 3-2 as Raanta stops 15 shots in relief. 

1/27 v. San Jose- "Marty Does it Again to Drown the Sharks"- Necas scores with 11.5 to force overtime before winning it in overtime for the second straight game to complete the last-minute 5-4 comeback.

1/29 v. Boston- "Bruins Barely Muster a Roar"- The balanced attack of the Canes suffocates Boston as the Canes easily handle the Bruins 4-1 to win their fifth straight game. 

1/31 v. Los Angeles- "Cardiac Canes Comeback...Again"- Entering the third period down 4-1, the Canes score four unanswered, capped off by Sebastian Aho's power-play winner in overtime. 

Other Notes

• 9-3-2, 20 Points in January, T-3rd in wins and points
• 33-9-8, 74 Points overall, second in the league in wins and points, 1st in the Metropolitan
• 6 points ahead of New Jersey (the Devils have a game in hand), 12 points ahead of New York (the Rangers have a game in hand), 14 points ahead of Washington (the Canes have three games in hand)
• 7 points behind Boston for the President's Trophy
• 10-for-48 (20.8%) on the PP, 12th in the league/19.7% overall, 22nd in the league
• 39-for-48 (81.3%) on the PK, 16th in the league/81.5% overall, 7th in the league
• 7 short-handed goals in January, the most in the league (9 SHG this season, tied for most in the league, Aho- league-leading 3 SHG in January)
• All 3 goalies for the Canes have 10+ wins this season (Raanta- 12, Andersen- 11, Kochetkov- 10)
• Andrei Svechnikov- named to the All-Star team as the Canes' representative

Three Stars of the Month

Third Star- Frederik Andersen (6-0-0, 2.19 GAA, .919 SV% in 7 Games)

After missing just over two months with an injury, Andersen returned and looked like he did while he was at his best last season. In seven games, he only played two bad periods. He was pulled from his start with an injury in Dallas after allowing two goals on six shots, then he allowed four goals in the second period against Los Angeles. The other 17 periods were magnificent. If you take away those two periods, he allowed just eight goals. For a team that has gotten some excellent goaltending this season, this is some of the best we've seen all year. 

Second Star- Jalen Chatfield (4 Goals, 3 Assists, 7 Points in 14 Games)

Entering January, Chatfield had only two points this season and only had one goal in his career. Almost of out nowhere, he turned into an offensive juggernaut. On paper, seven points don't seem like a lot. In fact, it's tied for the eighth-most on the team this month. His four goals tied him for fourth on the team and he scored his first career short-handed goal against Columbus. Then, he was tasked with filling in for Jaccob Slavin on the top pair while playing his off-side while Slavin was out with an injury and hasn't missed a beat. Statistically, he was good. In reality, he was excellent. 

First Star- Sebastian Aho (11 Goals, 6 Assists, 17 Points in 14 Games)

He missed most of the fun in December as the team tore the record books to shreds and he needed a few games to get back to normal. Once the calendar flipped over, the Aho we all know and love came out. He finished third in the league in goals this month, led the league in short-handed goals, and is now the franchise's all-time leader in short-handed goals and points. Aho finished the month with goals in five straight games, beginning with a natural hat trick against the Islanders and nearly getting another one against the Sharks two games later. He enters February as the team's leader in goals with 22 and is just one point behind Necas for the team lead. 

February Preview

Schedule Breakdown

8 Games

6 Home, 2 Road

6 games v. East, 2 games v. West

3 games v. Metro, 3 games v. Atlantic, 1 game v. Central, 1 game v. Pacific

1 set of back-to-back games, both games at home

3 games v. playoffs teams if the postseason started today

5-game homestand

1 Outdoor Game

Games to Watch

2/11 v. New York (R)

The first game after the break is against the team that ended the Canes' franchise-long win and point streaks. The Canes blew a lead in the third period and looked flat for the final 20 minutes at Madison Square Garden. With some fresh legs after over a week off, they'll be primed to get back into the swing of things against a division opponent. The late time the Rangers visited, they ended the Canes' season. I'm sure that loss has to sting a little bit still. 

2/14 at Washington, 2/18 v. Washington

I normally don't like it when two teams play so close together but I'm willing to make an exception for this one. We all know what happens on February 18, so the fact they'll play in Washington just four days prior means the next meeting could have some sparks. The Canes have already beaten the Capitals once this season in a tight contest, so to play twice in four days with the second taking place outdoors adds something extra to an already exciting time.