2022-23 Regular Season, Game 64: Hurricanes (43-12-8) v. Vegas Golden Knights

The Hurricanes keep finding new ways to get the job done. In the last week, we've seen a few blowouts, a shootout victory, and on Thursday night, they got a shutout win with just one goal. They called upon Pyotr Kochetkov to get them two more points in his first start in the NHL in a little under two months and he delivered the goods. Andrei Svechnikov scored on the power play just 2:09 into the game and that was all that would be needed. Kochetkov stopped all 19 shots he faced to record his fourth shutout of the season and the team's league-leading eighth. In just 20 games this season, Kochetkov is tied for third in the league in shutouts. Tonight, the Canes begin a back-to-back with a rematch from just ten days ago. All of this will be a pre-cursor to tomorrow night's Metropolitan Division clash in New Jersey. 

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-Jesse Pujujarvi

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan-Shayne Gostisbehere

Frederik Andersen

Pyotr Kochetkov

Injuries/Scratches- Derek Stepan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Antti Raanta (lower-body injury; day-to-day), Jalen Chatfield (lower-body injury; day-to-day)

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

Jesse Puljujarvi will make his team debut tonight after being acquired by the Canes before the trade deadline/ Visa issues have postponed his joining the team but after skating with the team a few times, he'll finally suit up. He'll start on the fourth line alongside Stefan Noesen and Paul Stastny and will likely see some time on the second power-play unit. Frederik Andersen will make the start in the net. He came into the game against Montreal on Tuesday night and stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced, earning the win in a shootout. He was in the net for the team's loss to Vegas last Wednesday. 

Tonight's Opponent: Vegas Golden Knights (39-20-6, 84 Points, 1st in the Pacific)

Since facing the Canes in Vegas, the Golden Knights have continued their winning ways. They've won four of their last five, including their win over Carolina with each game decided by one goal. Vegas is currently on a five-game road trip with Raleigh being their third stop. They started in Florida, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Panthers on Tuesday night before traveling to Tampa Bay on Thursday. Keegan Kolesar scored 27 seconds into the game before Brayden Point returned the favor a few minutes later. The second period featured a fight between Brayden McNabb and Tanner Jeannot but no goals. Vegas charged ahead early in the third period with William Karlsson scoring a short-handed goal and Chandler Stephenson scoring on the power play to take a 3-1 lead 5:39 into the period. There was a major brawl between the two sides, resulting in ten players being ejected and 122 total penalty minutes. This would help spark a late comeback for the Lighting with Nikita Kucherov cutting the deficit to one and Point tying it on the power play with 28 seconds left to force overtime. Alec Martinez would be the hero in overtime. Jack Eichel's shot squeaked through Andrei Vasilevskiy and as they both dove for the puck, Martinez won the battle and finished the win for Vegas. 11 different players recorded points and Jonathan Quick recorded his second win with Vegas since the deadline, making 34 stops. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- The wound is still a little fresh for the Canes after dropping the game in Vegas on March 1. The two teams alternated goals, beginning with a goal from Eichel early in the second period. Martin Necas made a great play to get himself open and fired a bullet past Adin Hill to get the Canes even once again. Eichel would get his second of the night on a breakaway after an unfortunate defensive breakdown to give Vegas the lead going into the third period. It took the Canes most of the third period to tie it up again but would eventually get a goal on a deflection from Jordan Staal to do exactly that. The tie wouldn't last long as Reilly Smith finished a 2-on-1 with 3:42 left and Hill would prevent any further damage as Vegas held on for a 3-2 win. Hill stopped 24 shots, outdueling Frederik Andersen. 

Vegas' Starting Goalie: Jonathan Quick (13-13-4, 3.46 GAA, .878 SV%)- It's very weird seeing Quick in a Vegas jersey since he'll forever be associated with Los Angeles. Since being traded, Quick has won both of his starts for the Golden Knights, including a win on Thursday night in Tampa Bay. Quick faced the Hurricanes during their trip to Los Angeles earlier this season, allowing four goals in a 4-2 loss. This will be his 13th start against the Canes in his career. He's split his previous 12 decisions (6-6-0) with a GAA of just under 3.00 (2.96). 

Vegas Player to Watch: Michael Amadio- Since being claimed off of waivers from Toronto last season, Amadio has found a solid home in Vegas. He's already set a new career high in points with 19 and is likely to set a new mark in goals by the end of the season. Playing alongside Smith and Karlsson, he's performed well. He helped to set up the winning goal in Vegas last in the third period and was effective for most of the night. I expect him to be just as good tonight as the Canes try to keep his line in check. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(VGK) 4:03- Jonathan Marchessault (20) (assisted by Alex Pietrangelo (29))

2nd Period

(VGK) 17:20- Reilly Smith (22) (assisted by William Karlsson (30))

3rd Period

(VGK) 13:10- Paul Cotter (12) (assisted by Alex Pietrangelo (30) & Chandler Stephenson (39))

(VGK) 18:36- Brett Howden (4) EN (assisted by Teddy Blueger (11))

Let's Talk About the Game

Let's call it what it was. This was a turd of a game for the Canes. I don't mean it from the standpoint that they were terrible all night but they just never seemed to get any sustainable momentum going. In the end, Jonathan Quick turned back the clock and posted his third shutout against the Canes and his first as a Golden Knight. There isn't much to talk about that was good on the Canes' end. They played from behind all night as Jonathan Marchessault scored early in the first period on a shot that Frederik Andersen stops 99 out of 100 times. The defense backed off just enough to give him room and he made them pay. Things remained 1-0 for the rest of the first period and most of the second period until Reilly Smith capitalized on a misplay from Brent Burns, beating Andersen to his blocker side to double the lead. The dagger came in the third period with Paul Cotter finishing a 3-on-1 to make it 3-0 and Brett Howden put it into the empty net as the game finished 4-0 in favor of Vegas as they swept the season series. 

Just like I did the last time we had this conversation, I need to clarify that the Canes didn't lose this game because of the officiating. However, tonight's crew had a very rough night. I understand wanting most of the game to be played at 5-on-5, especially when two good teams are on the ice and that was the case tonight with just one penalty given to each side. There were some blatant missed calls tonight that could've altered the course of the game. In the first period, Vegas had six players on the ice. It went undetected. In the second period, Martin Necas looked like he had adjusted himself to stay onside and spring Jesperi Kotkaniemi for a chance. Instead, the whistle was blown and the Canes were called offside. Also in the second, Necas had been tripped with no one else around him. No call. In the third period, Quick got over to make his best save of the night on Brett Pesce but with the puck still loose, the referee pulled the trigger too quickly and blew the play dead, just seconds before the Canes put the puck into the net. At that point, it was 2-0, and a goal there would've been huge in any comeback attempt for the Canes. Arguably the most egregious miss of the night was when Marchessault can-opened Seth Jarvis as he tried to carry the puck in and tripped him. No whistle. The fans let them hear it after that and I can understand why. I try to remain even keel at home when watching a game but the missed call on Jarvis had me frustrated. It was a perfect storm for the Canes tonight. Unfortunately, the wind wasn't blowing in their favor.

Obviously, this isn't how you wanted to go into the New Jersey game. It stings even more because the Devils got the job done in Montreal tonight to pull within two points of the Canes. The good news is that regardless of the outcome in New Jersey, the Canes will still have a game in hand over the Devils, so the worst that can happen is they tie the Canes with plenty of time left in the season. I was originally concerned about Andrei Svechnikov when he left in the second period with an injury but he played in the third period so as long as nothing crazy happens, he should be good to go tomorrow. I would like to point out that this feels vaguely familiar. If you'll remember, back on November 23, the Canes lost a game 4-0 at home to the Arizona Coyotes, right before they traveled to Boston after Thanksgiving. While the Canes lost in overtime to the Bruins, it would be the first of a 17-game point streak that would span over a month. I'm not saying that Vegas and Arizona are on the same level, but this could be a big game to spark something in them tomorrow. Vegas has the Canes' number right now and there isn't anything we can do about it at the moment. They just need to move on and get ready for a big one tomorrow. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

I'm not going to give out three stars because it wasn't a night where the Canes felt worthy of them. I'll give some credit to Sebastian Aho for his six shots and feeling dangerous, Jaccob Slavin for having a solid night defensively, and Jesse Puljujarvi for looking good in his first game.

What's Next

As I've pointed out a few times, the Canes will be in New Jersey tomorrow for a game that will be huge for the division race. The Devils beat Montreal 3-1 tonight, jumping out to a big lead in the first period and never letting it go. With Akira Schmid starting tonight, it appears we'll see Vitek Vanecek and Pyotr Kochetkov facing off tomorrow. From there, the Canes will return home to host the Winnipeg Jets. They defeated the Florida Panthers in overtime tonight 5-4 behind two goals, including the game-winner, from Mark Scheifele. They'll be playing Tampa Bay tomorrow. The Canes will have a few days off before embarking on a three-game road trip, featuring another stretch of three games in four nights. It starts with a back-to-back next Friday and Saturday against Toronto and Philadelphia before finishing with the third of four meetings with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.