2022-23 Regular Season, Game 67: Hurricanes (44-14-8) at Toronto Maple Leafs

It wasn't the prettiest victory but the first game after the devastating news of Andrei Svechnikov's injury ended in a victory for the Canes over the Winnipeg Jets. It snapped a two-game skid for the Canes in which they were shutout in both. The charge was led by two goals and three points from Jesperi Kotkaniemi with Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei, and Jack Drury helping the cause. The Jets fought to stay in the game, cutting the Canes' two-goal lead in half on two separate occasions in the third period, but the Canes did just enough to get by. Frederik Andersen stopped 21 of the 24 shots he faced to pick up the third win in his last four starts and his 17th of the season. Tonight, the Hurricanes begin a three-game road trip with a trip north of the border to face one of the Atlantic's best teams. 

Projected Lines/Pairs
Jesse Pujujarvi-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis
Teuvo Teravainen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast
Stefan Noesen-Jack Drury-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns
Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce
Shayne Gostisbehere-Jalen Chatfield 

Pyotr Kochetkov
Frederik Andersen

Injuries/Scratches- Paul Stastny (healthy), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Antti Raanta (lower-body injury; day-to-day)
IR- Andrei Svechnikov (Torn ACL), Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (concussion)

The Hurricanes will dress almost the exact same group of skaters that beat Winnipeg on Tuesday night. Jalen Chatfield will return to the lineup in place of Dylan Coghlan after missing several games with an injury. Pyotr Kochetkov gets the start after allowing three goals in Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Devils. This will be his first start against the Maple Leafs. 

Tonight's Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs (40-18-9, 89 Points, 2nd in the Atlantic)
Toronto was one of the most active teams in the league at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, Ryan O'Reilly is currently out with an injury, Luke Schenn has missed several games for personal reasons, and Sam Lafferty, Jake McCabe, and Erik Gustafsson have combined for one point. That hasn't seemed to hurt them too much as they sit three points ahead of Tampa Bay for second in the division on the backs of their elite superstars. Mitch Marner is top ten in the league in assists (62) and points (86). William Nylander has already set his career-high in goals (35) and needs two points to set a new high in points. Auston Matthews has battled his share of injuries and still has another 30-goal season. John Tavares has 30 goals too. All four players have 60+ points and are carrying this team once again. Toronto is 3-3-1 in March and has dropped their last two games. They were in action on Wednesday night, hosting the Colorado Avalanche in a defensive struggle. All of the offense came in the first period with Morgan Reilly starting the scoring and Mikko Rantanen responding on the power play at the end of the period. From there, Alexander Georgiev and Ilya Samsonov took over. Nothing got through either in the second, third, or overtime, sending the game to the shootout. Nathan MacKinnon scored the lone goal of the shootout as Georgiev stopped all three shooters from Toronto to win the game 2-1. 
Last Meeting v. Carolina- The first meeting of the season took place in Raleigh in early November. Stefan Noesen got the Canes ahead on the power play in the first period by banking the puck past Erik Kallgren and that's all they would get. Frederik Andersen did his part in keeping the Leafs out of the net until late in the second period when Calle Jarnkrok broke through to tie it. Toronto controlled the third period with Tavares giving the Leafs an early 2-1 lead and Nylander putting the dagger in it as Kallgren stopped 29 shots to backstop Toronto to a 3-1 victory. 
Toronto's Starting Goalie: Ilya Samsonov (23-8-3, 2.36 GAA, .916 SV%)- Much like his former teammate in New Jersey, Samsonov is having a career season after leaving the Capitals. He's taken over as the primary goalie, tying his career-high in wins in ten fewer games than he did last season. Samsonov doesn't lose at home much, holding a 17-2-2 record and a 1.95 GAA in 21 starts at Scotiabank Arena. He's lost two of his last three starts but his most recent loss with a 28-save performance in the team's 2-1 shootout loss to Colorado on Wednesday night. He's also very good against Carolina. In five games, he's 4-0-0 with a 2.04 GAA and a .926 save percentage. 
Toronto Player to Watch: Calle Jarnkrok- In his first season in Toronto, Jarnkrok has benefitted handsomely from playing with Toronto's stars. He's one goal, three assists, and four points away from tying his career highs in all three. Jarnkrok has played well as of late with three goals and four points in his last six, including points in his last two games. He also scored a huge goal for the Leafs during their visit to Raleigh in November. He'll be playing with Matthews and Marner tonight, so they'll be the line to watch. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
(TOR) 2:54- Zach Aston-Reese (6) (assisted by Erik Gustafsson (32) & Calle Jarnkrok (17))
(TOR) 12:30- Mitch Marner (25) (assisted by Michael Bunting (24) & John Tavares (36))
(CAR) 14:37- Brady Skjei (14) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (18) & Brett Pesce (22))
(TOR) 17:38- Auston Matthews (32) PP (assisted by John Tavares (37) & Morgan Rielly (31))
2nd Period
(CAR) 10:45- Martin Necas (26) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (24) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (20))
(TOR) 14:59- Zach Aston-Reese (7) (assisted by Sam Lefferty (13))
3rd Period
(TOR) 8:56- Morgan Rielly (4) (assisted Calle Jarnkrok (18) & TJ Brodie (9))

Let's Talk About the Game
I'm not quite sure how to preface what I just watched. I'm not upset at the performance overall but I'm not thrilled with the outcome, obviously. I want to be mad that they lost but I don't know if that's quite where I am. Frustrated is probably the better word though my frustration is more at the Canes not getting the bounces tonight. It felt like Toronto got the bounces all night and that's not sour grapes. The Leafs earned their bounces. I just thought the Canes had done enough to earn one or two. There was no luck on the Canes' side as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It started early for the Leafs as Zach Aston-Reese deflected a shot past Pyotr Kochetkov just under three minutes into the contest and Toronto would lead for the rest of the night. Mitch Marner added to the fun a little past the halfway point of the period as he rang the puck home off of the far post to make it 2-0. The Canes would get one back 2:07 later as Brady Skjei scored in his second straight game as he managed to get one to squeak through the arm of Ilya Samsonov. The luck just kept coming for Toronto, this time benefiting them on the power play. Jordan Staal was called for a borderline hit on Aston-Reese and on the ensuing chance, John Tavares' shot deflected off of Auston Matthews' knee and into the net to make it 3-1, where it would sit going into the intermission. 

The difference in this game is that for as much as the Canes dominated the second period, they scored the same number of goals as the Leafs. They failed to capitalize on the momentum they'd built, they were unable to convert it into offense. It starts with a terrible power play to begin the period. Since they exploded for seven goals in two games, the power play has been a non-factor, which is exactly what it was in the postseason last year. Sebastian Aho busted into the zone and had a great chance that was stopped by the pad of Samsonov. Matthews was unable to beat the head of Kochetkov after making a great move. The tide seemed to shift after the Kotkaniemi line had an excellent shift with Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin. They passed the puck with pace and it all ended with Martin Necas burying a bullet with Samsonov struggling to catch up. The lead was cut down to one goal once again and the Canes continued to push. It looked like Toronto could've been called for too many men on the ice at one point but it went undetected. Shortly after, Necas mishandled a pass from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and it led to a 2-on-1 for Toronto. Sam Lafferty slid a pass over to Aston-Reese and he finished it for his second of the game to give Toronto their third two-goal lead of the night. After that goal, I felt like it was over. I've seen this team make plenty of miraculous comebacks this season but tonight felt different. They outworked Toronto for 20 minutes and ended up exactly where they were at the beginning of the period. The third period would be another largely controlled by the Hurricanes but Toronto would score the only goal of the period as Morgan Rielly finished another 2-on-1 to make it 5-2. The Canes would have two power plays in quick succession. Teuvo Teravainen had the best chance of either attempt as he rang the post but they would come up empty on both chances as Toronto wore down the clock for a big 5-2 win. 

It was very much a mixed bag for the Canes tonight. The penalty kill allowed its first goal in a long time only because of a fluky deflection. The power play continued to struggle. They're now 1-for-15 since the Tampa game and are 0-for-12 since Andrei Svechnikov's tally against Philadelphia. Despite scoring a goal, Necas had a rough night. He was merely a traffic cone for Marner to go around on his goal and was an instrumental part of Toronto getting their goal in the second period. It was also a tough night for Kochetkov. His final statline doesn't tell the entire story because I can make an argument that three of the goals aren't completely on him. Neither of Aston-Reese's goals nor the bad bounce off of Matthews can be put on him. I think you'd like a stop on the Marner goal and he could've played the Rielly goal better even if it was on a 2-on-1. On the positive side things, the defense continued to help the offense as Skjei scored another goal. The Staal line helped to produce the Skjei goal. The fourth line had plenty of chances to score. The Aho line played with a ton of fire tonight, combining for 12 shots with nothing to show for it. I'm very curious whether Rod Brind'Amour mixes up the lines a little tomorrow after this loss. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game
Third Star- Seth Jarvis (4 Shots)
Two-thirds of the Aho line is among my three stars and I'm starting with the sophomore that is so close to finding the back of the net. He had a ton of chances tonight to score, tying his linemates for the team-high in shots. He had even more shots that didn't hit the net. After scoring five goals in three games, Jarvis is on another long drought without a goal as the streak extends to ten games. 

Second Star- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Assist)
Despite his line being on the ice for three of the four goals at even strength, I like Kotkaniemi's overall game tonight. He made a key play leading to the goal from Necas, getting the puck back to Teravainen at the point. It results in him picking up his fourth point in two games. He had some new linemates to finish the night, so that'll be something to watch for tomorrow's game. 

First Star- Jesse Puljujarvi (4 Shots, 4 Hits)
I strongly believe this was Puljujarvi's best game in a Hurricanes uniform. He had four shots and seemed to be everywhere all night for three periods. Along with his barrage at the net, he laid a team-high four hits, including a nasty reverse hit at the end of the game. He clearly has chemistry with Aho and it was evident again tonight. Hopefully, this is a positive sign moving forward. 

What's Next
The Canes will head back across the border for an early evening tilt in Philadelphia with the Flyers. It'll be the second meeting in nine days between the two sides after the meeting in Raleigh last Thursday. The Flyers were in action tonight also, beating Buffalo 5-2 behind a hat trick from Owen Tippett. Carter Hart got the call tonight for Philly, so I would expect we see Frederik Andersen battle with Felix Sandstrom tomorrow. After tomorrow's game, the Canes will have another short break before beginning what I think might be the toughest stretch of games the team has had in a long time, beginning on Tuesday night against the Rangers. The next five games are a home-and-home series with the Rangers, a rematch with Toronto, the final meeting with Boston, and another round with Tampa Bay. These five games will take place over eight days and could go a long way in defining the race for the Metropolitan Division crown. 

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