2022-23 Regular Season, Game 60: Hurricanes (39-12-8) at Arizona Coyotes

The trade deadline has come and gone, so it's time to start looking forward to the end of the season. There is still a lot left to be determined before we hit the postseason and there is still plenty at stake for the Hurricanes. They were quiet today and after making two deals this week, the front office has decided they have the team they think can win a Stanley Cup. The Canes came up short on Wednesday night in Vegas, dropping a 3-2 decision. Martin Necas and Jordan Staal did the scoring for the Canes but a goal late in the third period would end the hopes of the Canes as they lost their second straight. They hold just a one-point lead over the Devils in the Metropolitan Division and tonight looks like a good night to get a few points. This will be the Hurricanes' first visit to Mullett Arena, the arena on Arizona State University's campus.  

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

Shayne Gostisbehere-Jalen Chatfield

Antti Raanta

Frederik Andersen

Injuries/Scratches- Calvin de Haan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Jesse Pujujarvi (recently acquired)

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

One of their deadline acquisitions will make his team debut as Shayne Gostisbehere is set to play against the team that traded him on Wednesday. Gostisbehere has 31 points in 52 games this season and he's recently returned from injury. He has points in his last two games. The only other change from Wednesday's loss is that Antti Raanta will be in the net. Raanta is 12-0-2 in his last 14 decisions, including wins in each of his last five appearances. His last start was a week ago, a 32-save shutout against Ottawa. Raanta is 5-0-1 in his career against the Coyotes, with a win in his lone start against his former team since joining the Hurricanes. 

Tonight's Opponent: Arizona Coyotes (21-31-9, 51 Points, 7th in the Central Division)

While the Hurricanes were a little quiet at the deadline, the Coyotes cleaned house. Along with sending Gostisbehere to the Canes, Arizona traded Jacob Chychrun, Troy Stecher, Nick Ritchie, Nick Bjugstad, and Dysin Mayo. The names on this list account for three of their top eight scorers and a bulk of their defense. The rebuilding team didn't get quite the return they were hoping for Chychrun and their overall returns in all of their trades were a little underwhelming. Arizona looked like they were building something decent, earning points in eight straight games (4-0-4) but they've fallen back a little, losing three of their last four. Their last time out was on Wednesday night in Dallas. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Barrett Hayton and Clayton Keller but Dallas stormed back, scoring four unanswered to win the game 4-2 behind two goals and an assist from Tyler Seguin. Connor Ingram was very busy, stopping 37 shots in the loss. The Coyotes are fifth in the race for Connor Bedard at the moment and the last week seems to indicate that the tank is officially on. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- In a rare occurrence this season, Arizona came to Raleigh and put the Canes in their place. Nick Schmaltz scored just over a minute into the game and it would be plenty for the Coyotes on this night. For some insurance, Lawson Crouse scored twice and Bjugstad scored in the third period as Karel Vejmelka stopped 36 shots in the 4-0 shutout victory. Gostisbehere and Dylan Guenther each added two assists. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 23 shots in the loss. This loss would be the Canes' last regulation loss for over a month as they picked up points in their next 17 games. 

Arizona's Starting Goalie: Karel Vejmelka (16-18-5, 3.32 GAA, .904 SV%)- For as rough as the Coyotes' season has gone, Vejmelka has persevered to a decent record in 41 appearances. He's allowed his fair share of goals, but he's stopped more than 9/10 of his shots. He's won five of his last seven decisions, but he's allowed 13 goals in his last three starts. His last start was a good one though, stopping 23 shots in a 4-1 win over Chicago on Tuesday night. He's made all four starts against the Canes since joining Arizona last season, putting up a .944 SV% despite losing two of the three games he's played. 

Arizona Player to Watch: Mattias Maccelli- With half of Arizona being traded this week, the remaining young players are going to carry the load. Despite missing a month, Maccelli is tied for third in rooking scoring with 30 points. He hasn't quite found his scoring touch, though his teammates have been benefitting. His 26 assists lead all rookies and are second-most on the Coyotes, behind Keller. He has eight points in 13 games since returning from his injury. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 2:20- Paul Stastny (8) (assisted by Brent Burns (34) & Jaccob Slavin (15))

(CAR) 8:57- Sebastian Aho (26) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (31) & Brady Skjei (15)) 

2nd Period

(CAR) 5:43- Jaccob Slavin (4) (assisted by Brent Burns (35) & Seth Jarvis (19))

(ARZ) 10:41- Lawson Crouse (20) (assisted by JJ Moser (18) & Victor Soderstrom (2))

(CAR) 12:26- Shayne Gostisbehere (11) PP (assisted by Martin Necas (30) & Andrei Svechnikov (32))

(CAR) 14:37- Sebastian Aho (27) PP (assisted by Brent Burns (36) & Martin Necas (31))

3rd Period

(CAR) 1:47- Martin Necas (25) PP (assisted by Brent Burns (37) & Sebastian Aho (28))

Let's Talk About the Game

I must admit that I was initially concerned about tonight's game. Arizona just unloaded a ton of their team at the deadline and had a few new guys in the lineup. This had the makings of a trap game. Instead, the Hurricanes got started early and handled their business against a bottom-five team. Everything that could go right for the Canes did. The special teams were clicking on both sides. All four lines had their chances to score and three of the four did exactly that. The blueline was buzzing and jumping into almost every play. It was a far cry from the effort we saw on Wednesday night, albeit against a worse opponent. Carolina got on the board first in the first 2:20 of the night with Brent Burns making a perfect pass to Paul Stastny, who had all the time in the world with Karel Vejmelka out of position. He put it where mama hides the cookies and the Canes were good to go. Arizona deserves some credit because they didn't go quietly after the Stastny goal. Clayton Keller, in particular, had a really good start to the game. Unfortunately for him, Antti Raanta was on his game to start. He made some tight saves and got some help from the post to keep it 1-0. If not for Raanta, the Canes likely don't get up 2-0. After Arizona's flurry of chances, Sebastian Aho found himself on the breakaway and despite bobbling the puck a little bit, he slid it between the legs of Vejmelka to double the lead. The Coyotes pushed back, earning a very rare penalty from Jaccob Slavin at the end of the period. The kill did what it usually does, killing it with ease and allowing just one shot. The Canes would ride that kill into the intermission with their two-goal lead. 

Rod Brind'Amour said he didn't love the teams' first period during his postgame interview. He had to love the second period though. It helped that the Canes really put the game away in the second. It did start with another penalty, this time to Brett Pesce but if we're being honest, it was a dive. Fortunately, it didn't come back to haunt the Canes and they killed it off. Shortly after the kill, the Canes extended their lead. Slavin showed off his bullet of a shot with a one-timer from the point that Vejmelka saw all the way and still couldn't stop. Pesce would be called for his second penalty of the night and though it was killed, Arizona would score just after the penalty expired. It was a very inauspicious shot from Lawson Crouse on a broken play that found its way through Raanta to break the shutout. The Canes responded quickly. They earned their first penalty of the night 33 seconds after the Crouse goal and their first power play since the Anaheim game. It would be the new guy haunting his former team as Shayne Gostisbehere came down from the point and snapped one off of the post and in for his first goal as a Hurricane. The power play wasn't done there as Martin Necas drew another penalty and this time it would be Aho picking his corner for his second of the night and the second for the Hurricanes' power play. The Canes continued to pour it on Vejmelka but couldn't get another one as they made it to the intermission up 5-1. The power play continued their dominant night early in the third period as Necas buried a one-timer from Ovechkin's office to make it 6-1. The Canes wouldn't let off of the gas for the rest of the night, holding Arizona without a shot for 17:30 across the final two periods as they eased into the final horn for an easy victory. 

It's hard to find a guy that didn't contribute to this win in some fashion. Nine Hurricanes found the scoresheet tonight, five of whom had multi-point nights (Burns- 4A, Aho- 2G, A, Necas- G, 2A, Svechnikov- 2 A, Slavin- G, A). The new guy scored in his first game on the power play, doing exactly what we traded for him to do. The fourth line had some chances and Stastny was rewarded with the first goal of the night. Four of the defensemen had a point, scoring two goals.  Burns and Teuvo Teravainen were the only two players not to record a shot. Raanta extended his point streak to 15 games with a rather easy night. The power play was tired of not getting any chances and responded by scoring three times. The penalty kill went 3-for-3. It was a complete dismantling of the Coyotes in every aspect of the game. Add the Devils losing in a shootout and it was a very good night for the Canes. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Martin Necas (Goal, 2 Assists)

The script keeps getting longer as Necas continues to perform at an elite level. He factored on all three power-play goals tonight, setting up Gostisbehere for his first goal, earning a secondary assist on Aho's goal after winning a battle along the boards, then finding the back of the net in the third period with a bullet. He continues to hold a slim lead on the team for points as he nears 60.  

Second Star- Sebastian Aho (2 Goals, Assist)

If Aho doesn't score on his breakaway in the first period, I'm convinced this game could've looked very different. Instead, he made it 2-0 and it was all Canes from there. He added a goal on the power play in the second before making a key play to get the puck to Burns on Necas' goal. He led all the forwards in TOI tonight with over 17 minutes and he made every shift count. 

First Star- Brent Burns (4 Assists)

If you were open tonight, Burns managed to find your stick. He recorded four assists in a game for the first time in his long career and all four were primary assists. He didn't have a shot tonight but he found other ways to influence the game, clearly. Burns is the first Canes' defenseman in 14 years to record four assists in the game, joining Anton Babchuk for that distinction. 

What's Next

The opening sprint of the month returns to Raleigh this weekend as the Canes welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to PNC Arena for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon. It'll be another nationally televised game for the Canes with a 3pm start. The Lightning will be in Buffalo on Saturday before making the trip. From there, the Canes will be back on the road on Tuesday night in Montreal. According to Don Waddell, this could be the first time we see Jesse Puljujarvi with the team as he continues to resolve his visa issue. Once the Canes finish in Montreal, they'll play three games in four nights. Beginning on Thursday, they'll be at home against the Flyers before a weekend back-to-back with Vegas coming to Raleigh and then the Canes traveling to New Jersey for their final meeting with the Devils next Sunday.