2022-23 Regular Season, Game 71: Hurricanes (46-16-8) v. Toronto Maple Leafs

It was a solid effort from the Canes on Thursday night against the Rangers but it wasn't enough to earn the victory. Sebastian Aho scored the Canes' lone goal in the first period and Frederik Andersen made 14 saves as the Canes fell 2-1. Despite the loss, the Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot for the fifth straight season thanks to tonight's opponent beating Florida 6-2 on the same night. It was a bittersweet ending to a home-and-home with the Rangers in which the road team won both games. The Canes remain in the lead for the division crown with New Jersey continuing to breathe down their necks. With just one game in hand and a few more games in this hellacious homestand, the Canes need every point they can muster. No matter who they play in the first round, it's going to be a dogfight. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Martin Necas

Seth Jarvis-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Stefan Noesen

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Jesse Puljujarvi-Derek Stepan-Jack Drury

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 group taking the ice will be the same tonight with a few slight tweaks. The Staal line has been reunited for the night as Jordan Martinook moves back onto the third line. Stefan Noesen will jump up to the second line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Seth Jarvis, while Teuvo Teravainen will look to make more magic with Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas. The fourth line and the defensive pairs will remain the same. Pyotr Kochetkov will be in the net for the Canes. His last start was last Friday's loss to the Maple Leafs. 

Tonight's Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs (43-19-9, 95 Points, 2nd in the Atlantic)

Since last Saturday's meeting in Toronto, the Maple Leafs have won two of their last three games. They needed a shootout to beat Ottawa on Sunday night. They were embarrassed by the New York Islanders on Tuesday night, 7-2. Toronto returned to form with a 6-2 victory over Florida on Thursday night. Auston Matthews got the Leafs out front early but Matthew Tkachuk responded at the end of the period to knot the game at one after 20 minutes. The difference in the game was the second period. William Nylander scored his 36th of the season and Matthews scored his second of the night to put Toronto up by two and even after Florida closed the deficit, Michael Bunting scored on the power play to restore the two-goal lead. Alex Kerfoot and Mitch Marner scored in the third period to add insult to injury. John Tavares added three assists, Mark Giordano finished with two helpers, and Matt Murray stopped 33 shots in the victory. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- Toronto scored early when the Canes came to town and didn't give the Canes a chance to ever recover. Zach Aston-Reese redirected a shot past Pyotr Kochetkov and Marner snaps one past the blocker of the goalie to give the Leafs an early 2-0 lead. Brady Skjei managed to squeak one through the arm of Ilya Samsonov to pull the Canes within one but a lucky bounce off the knee of Matthews on the power play stake Toronto to a two-goal lead after one. Martin Necas made a great play to close the deficit once again but he'd return the favor by overskating a puck, allowing Aston-Reese to finish a 2-on-1 for his second of the game. A Morgan Rielly snipe in the third period would put the nail in the Canes' coffin as the Leafs took the game, 5-2. 

Toronto's Starting Goalie: Matt Murray (14-7-2, 2.92 GAA, .906 SV%- With this game being played on the road, Toronto will turn to Murray in the net. Murray has won three of his last four starts, including his last two on the road. He was in the net for their win over Florida on Thursday night. Murray has been very good away from Toronto this season, winning nine of his 15 starts and posting a .919 save percentage. He's been even better against the Canes in his career with a 7-3-2 record, a 1.80 GAA, and a .945 save percentage. However, this will be just his second start against the Canes in the last four seasons, a 3-2 shootout loss last season as a member of the Senators. 

Toronto Player to Watch: Alex Kerfoot- Kerfoot broke a long goalless drought on Thursday night against the Panthers, scoring his first goal since January 17 against Florida. He recorded just eight assists during that 25-game drought as he moved all around the lineup. Kerfoot is yet to record a point against the Hurricanes this season in two meetings but could be building some momentum after the team decided to keep him at the deadline. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 1:54- Brent Burns (13) PP (assisted by Martin Necas (39) & Shayne Gostisbehere (25))

(CAR) 10:52- Jordan Staal (17) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (19) & Jesper Fast (16))

2nd Period

(TOR) 4:41- Calle Jarnkrok (18) (assisted by Morgan Rielly (33) & Mitch Marner (65))

(TOR) 12:41- Auston Matthews (35) (unassisted)

3rd Period

(CAR) 8:13- Stefan Noesen (12) (assisted by Jesperi Kotkaniemi (22))

(TOR) 17:02- Auston Matthews (36) (assisted by Michael Bunting (25) & Morgan Rielly (34))

(CAR) 17:34- Sebastian Aho (32) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (17) & Martin Necas (40))

(CAR) 18:43- Teuvo Teravainen (12) EN (assisted by Sebastian Aho (29) & Jesper Fast (17))

Let's Talk About the Game

Did the Canes have any business winning this game? After 40 minutes, my answer would've been no. After Carolina held control for the first ten minutes of the game, Toronto ran the show for the next 30. Auston Matthews finished the night with 15 shots. John Tavares had nine for his troubles. Those are Be a Pro numbers. The difference in the net was a Russian assassin named Pyotr Kochetkov. He stopped everything he could and is the reason the Canes won this game. As I said, the Canes came out of the gates on fire. They drew two early penalties to earn 1:12 of a 5-on-3. Brent Burns decided to set the tone by getting a shot past the glove of Matt Murray with some help from the iron just under two minutes into the contest. The pressure continued for the Canes and a bouncing puck would eventually find the back of the net off of the stick of Jordan Staal. The play started with Jordan Martinook knocking down an aerial pass legally and it ended with the captain getting enough of the puck to beat Murray for a 2-0 lead a little past the halfway point in the period. The Leafs mounted a furious attack after the second goal. They would draw a penalty from Brent Burns and pepper Kochetkov with six shots during the sequence but nothing would get past him. Each side ended the first period with 16 shots but the Canes held the 2-0 lead. 

For every good thing that happened for the Canes in the first period, they seemed to sleepwalk through the second. Toronto made them pay for it. The Canes would kill an early penalty but Calle Jarnkrok dented Kochetkov's armor with a perfectly-placed shot that got some help from the iron to draw Toronto back within a goal shortly after the kill. Kochetkov held strong by denying Matthews a few times but the superstar would eventually get a shot through. After a rough turnover in the defensive zone, the puck found Matthews coming off of the bench and he had all the time in the world. A good moving screen from William Nylander allowed Matthews to shoot it through the legs of Kochetkov to tie the game. The onslaught would continue as Kochetkov made more huge saves on Matthews and denied Jarnkrok of a second goal at the top of the crease to keep it 2-2. By the end of the period, the Leafs would hold a 32-21 edge in shots, 12 of which were from Matthews, after outshooting the Canes 18-5 in the middle frame.

Rod Brind'Amour made a slight tweak to the lines in the third period, swapping Teuvo Teravainen and Martinook. In the early stages of the period, it didn't seem to matter. Toronto continued to get great looks at Kochetkov but the goalie was ready. The kill would continue its dominance by killing their third penalty of the night and that seemed to ignite the Canes. Less than a minute after Martinook exited the box, the second line put together an excellent shift and it resulted in a goal. Stefan Noesen tried to wrap a shot home but it sat on the line. Murray moved his pad just enough to expose the puck and Noesen dove for it, poking it into the net before Noel Acciari had any idea what was happening. The crowd erupted as the Canes put themselves back in front. There was still plenty of time left for the Leafs to get back into it but they waited until the last few minutes to do so. The tying goal was a bit of a weird one too. Michael Bunting and Matthews were battling near the crease with Kochetkov and a few others and the puck slid out to Matthews with Kochetkov down. The whistle would blow almost simultaneously with Matthews putting the puck into the net. Initially, the referee didn't make a call but once they all got together, they determined it was a good goal based on continuation. The league would review it and confirm the call, giving Toronto their answer with 2:58 left. The fans weren't very happy with the call. They'd be happy with the team's response. The top line came out and answered right back. Jaccob Slavin's blast would be stopped by Murray. Aho's rebound wouldn't be. Just 32 seconds after Toronto tied it, the Canes would be right back in front. Murray would make his way to the bench with just over two minutes left and Teravainen would end it with a beautiful spin move before sending the puck down the ice to seal the deal. The Canes escaped with a sloppily-earned two points behind 41 saves from the best player on the ice tonight. 

This was surely something. Just like with the home-and-home with the Rangers, there were going to be key battles in this game that would need to go the Canes' way if they wanted to win this one. The Canes won their fair share of these battles. The Canes won the special teams battle, killing all three penalties and scoring on the power play in the first. They won the third period, scoring three goals after entering the period tied 2-2. Toronto's stars showed up tonight. Matthews scored twice, Rielly had two assists, Marner had a helper, and Tavares had nine shots. The Canes are arguably the deeper team and it showed on the scoresheet. While Aho and Martin Necas both had multi-point nights, they also got two points from Fast, points from Staal, Noesen, Martinook, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and three from their blueline. 11 different players recorded a point for the Canes while only five did for the Leafs. The biggest difference was in the net. Without Kochetkov playing his tail off, the Canes lose this game. If he has even the slightest of bad nights, Toronto probably scores six or seven goals. Instead, he sets a new career high in saves and earns the Canes the win before Boston comes to town tomorrow. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Stefan Noesen (Goal)

While it didn't end up as the game-winner tonight, this was a momentum-shifting goal. The Canes hadn't generated much offense since the Staal goal in the first period as they played on their heels for about 30-40 minutes. That all changed with Noesen scoring his second goal in three games. It was all about effort as he dove to poke it in. Without his goal, we probably don't get the finish we did. 

Second Star- Sebastian Aho (Goal, Assist)

On a night where Matthews seemed to have the puck the entire game, it was Carolina's star that would get the last laugh. He'd played just fine through almost three periods but he found a way to be the difference-maker in the game. The puck popped right out to him on a rebound and he made no mistake about it. He made an equally important pass to Teravainen for the empty-netter to finish his multi-point night. 

First Star- Pyotr Kochetkov (41 Saves)

If we're being honest, Kochetkov should probably be all three stars tonight because he was a true game-changer. Between surviving the late first-period onslaught without allowing a goal to keeping the damage to a minimum in the second period, Kochetkov made some huge saves that won't be on the highlight tape but was consequential. He's stepped up with Raanta's injury and while the results haven't always been there, he's a gamer and tonight he stymied one of the best teams in the league. 

What's Next for the Canes

It's another quick turnaround for the Canes but they won't have to go anywhere this time. They will be right back in action tomorrow night as the team celebrates Whalers Night with the Bruins coming to town. The top two teams in the league will do battle inside PNC Arena and while both have clinched playoff spots, there is still plenty to fight for. Boston is going to win the President's Trophy and has already won the division but they're chasing history. The Canes are fighting the Devils for the division and need to make the most of one of the two games they have in hand. The homestand will come to an end on Tuesday night when the Hurricanes welcome Tampa Bay into town. 

What's Next for the Teams in the Playoff Hunt

New Jersey (100 Points, 2 points back of the Canes with two fewer games left)- The Devils got some help from the Rangers as they clinched a playoff spot with New York's win over Florida. They then beat Ottawa 5-3 to split their weekend back-to-back after losing last night to Buffalo. They'll be on Long Island Monday and will then be off until they host the Rangers on Thursday. 

New York (R) (96 Points- 3rd in the Metro and is set to face whoever doesn't win the division)- The Rangers fell behind 2-0 early to the Panthers today before storming back with some help from the Kid Line. They'll host Columbus on Tuesday before a back-to-back with New Jersey and Buffalo on Thursday and Friday. 

New York (I) (83 Points- 1st Wild Card and the Canes' current opponent in the playoffs)- The Islanders' offense didn't show up today as they fell 2-0 behind a 27-save shutout from Eric Comrie. They'll close out March by hosting New Jersey on Monday and traveling to Washington on Wednesday. 

Pittsburgh (82 Points- 2nd Card, just 1 Point behind New York)- Despite blowing a three-goal lead to Washington, the Penguins found a late goal to win 4-3 tonight. They'll be in Detroit on Tuesday and will close out the month by hosting the Predators on Thursday. 

Florida (79 Points- 3 Points out of a playoff spot)- Florida seemed to have everything go right for them in the first period against the Rangers but the wheels fell off of the wagon in a 4-3 loss today. They're set to begin a four-game road trip in Ottawa on Monday with stops in Toronto, Montreal, and Columbus.