2022-23 Regular Season, Game 74: Hurricanes (47-17-9) at Detroit Red Wings

For the third time in 17 days, the Hurricanes were kept off of the board as the Lightning, led by three points from Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos and 31 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy, shut out the Canes 4-0 on Tuesday night. To their credit, the Hurricanes didn't play a terrible game. They ran into a desperate team that really needed a win and a goalie that can win any game that he starts. The Canes threw all they could at Vasilevskiy, only to be denied in the end. To make matters worse, they lost Stefan Noesen in the second period after a leg-on-leg collision with Nick Paul. Pyotr Kochetkov allowed three goals on 20 shots in the loss. While they weren't able to pick up any points, they maintained their three-point lead in the division. Tonight, the Canes wrap up their March schedule with a trip to the Motor City as the team looks to begin the push to the postseason.

Projected Lines/Pairs

Seth Jarvis-Sebastian Aho-Martin Necas

Stefan Noesen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Jesse Puljujarvi

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Jack Drury-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Shayne Gostisbehere-Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Antti Raanta

Injuries/Scratches- Teuvo Teravainen (illness), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy),

IR- Andrei Svechnikov (Torn ACL), Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (concussion)

The Canes will continue to shake up their forward lines and were pretty much forced to do so tonight with it being announced that Teuvo Teravainen will miss the game with an illness. The Staal line will be reunited, Seth Jarvis will move up to the top line, and Jesse Puljujarvi will re-enter the lineup next to Stefan Noesen, who is good to go after leaving Tuesday's game, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Frederik Andersen will get the start tonight with Antti Raanta dressed and ready to back him up. Andersen is 10-0-1 in his career against Detroit. 

Tonight's Opponent: Detroit Red Wings (32-32-9, 73 Points, 7th in the Atlantic)

After sticking in the race for a while, it looks like the Red Wings are likely to miss the postseason. They unloaded quite a bit at the trade deadline, moving Tyler Bertuzzi, Oskar Sundqvist, and Filip Hronek. However, they did extend Dylan Larkin to keep him in Detroit for a long time. The road has been very rough for the last month as Detroit has dropped 12 of their last 16 games, including a six-game skid, and they've been outscored 61-37. They didn't struggle to find the net on Tuesday night as they battled the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Red Wings scored three times in just over five minutes in the first period with Jonathan Berggren on the power play, Andrew Copp, and Dominik Kubalik beating Casey DeSmith. The Penguins stormed back in the second period with three goals, including two on the man advantage, to knot the game going into the third. David Perron scored early in the third but Josh Archibald responded 1:21 later to tie it at four. It would remain that way until Perron slid a shot through DeSmith on the power play with 3:40 left to put Detroit back ahead. Perron would finish his hat trick 45 seconds later and Larkin would find the empty net to kick the extra point and earn the Red Wings a 7-4 victory. Six Red Wings finished with multi-point nights, led by Larkin and Perron with three each. Alex Nedeljkovic made 35 saves in the win. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- I had completely forgotten about the first time these two teams met because it was all the way back in December. The battle in Detroit was a goalie duel between Pyotr Kochetkov and Ville Husso. Brady Skjei scored on the power play late in the first period and that would be all the scoring we'd see for the rest of the night. Husso made 26 saves but the one goal would be the difference as Kochetkov stopped all 27 shots he saw to complete his second straight shutout to improve his shutout streak to 120:00. Seth Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi would pick up the only other points of the night for the Canes, assisting on Skjei's goal. 

Detroit's Starting Goalie: Alex Nedeljkovic (3-6-2, 3.85 GAA, .884 SV%)- Since being traded from Carolina to Detroit, life hasn't been easy for Nedeljkovic. After a very shaky start to his season (2-4-2 .880 SV%), Nedeljkovic was sent down to Grand Rapids to try and regain his confidence. While his numbers didn't improve a ton in the AHL, he was called back up to Detroit with the injury struggles of Husso. He's 1-2-0 since his return to the NHL, winning on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh. He made all three starts last season against the Canes, winning two of the three games for Detroit. His biggest performance was a 46-save shutout in Raleigh late in the season. 

Detroit Player to Watch: Pius Suter- While he is scoring points at the lowest rate of his young career, the puck is still finding the back of the net at about the same clip. He's scored 14 and 15 goals in his first two seasons and is at 13 currently with a few games left. Suter had a good playmaking night on Tuesday, recording two assists in the win over Pittsburgh. He hasn't been very productive in the last month, with just six points in 17 games, but he could be turning a corner. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(DET) 0:59- Dominik Kubalik (20) (assisted by David Perron (29) & Moritz Seider (33))

2nd Period

(CAR) 0:42- Brent Burns (14) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (18) & Jesper Fast (18))

(CAR) 4:18- Jaccob Slavin (7) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (30) & Jordan Staal (15))

(DET) 7:26- Dylan Larkin (28) PP (assisted by Alex Chiasson (3) & David Perron (30))

3rd Period

(DET) 19:56- Jake Walman (9) (assisted by Andrew Copp (32) & Adam Erne (9)

Let's Talk About the Game

I'm simply at a loss for words. It was right there for the taking. The Canes all but had a point secured. The only thing I can say is that they got a taste of their own medicine. For all of the late-game heroics we've seen from the Canes this season, this is what it feels like to be on the other side of it. I'm not sure what it is about the Red Wings but they always seem to have this power over the Hurricanes to play them close. They're in a group of teams that are outside the playoff hunt that can't help but give the Hurricanes nightmares. It didn't take long for the offense to get going as Dominik Kubalik buried a shot just 59 seconds into the game after a defensive breakdown by the Canes. Brett Pesce pinched on the pass, Brady Skjei never got over to cover Kubalik, and it was 1-0 Detroit just like that. The Canes would return to their style of hockey but wouldn't get many good chances against Alex Nedeljkovic. Their best chance came via Sebastian Aho's shin pads as he tried to redirect a pass from Jaccob Slavin. Detroit held the 1-0 lead after the first period. 

The second period would start much better for the Canes. Brent Burns broke the scoreless drought for the Canes by throwing a puck toward Nedeljkovic that magically alluded every stick in the lane just 42 seconds into the period to even it up. Carolina would get its second power play of the night shortly after the goal and while it came up short, Slavin would get the Canes ahead right after it ended with some help from the stick of Pius Suter. It fluttered past Nedeljkovic as the Canes found themselves in a much better place. The good feeling wouldn't last long as Martin Necas was called for a penalty and Detroit needed all of seven seconds to tie it up again. The Wings won the draw, Brent Burns was in no man's land, and Dylan Larkin found himself wide open. He buried the pass from Alex Chiasson to make it 2-2. Detroit had the momentum back and they were throwing everything they could at Frederik Andersen. An ill-timed penalty in the offensive zone from Jordan Martinook at the end of the period would give Detroit almost an entire power play to begin the third period and the Canes got to the locker room tied at two. 

The penalty got back to its usual look and would kill it off. The Canes would then draw a power play of their own but it would come up empty. Most of the period would be contested in front of Nedeljkovic and he was absorbing everything. The Canes' defense was denying the Red Wings chances and it would be until there was 6:10 left in the period that Detroit would get its first shot on Andersen. The problem was that seemed to unleash the dam for the Red Wings. David Perron, after being denied by Andersen and the post, would draw a cross-checking penalty from Jordan Staal with under 5:30 left. Andersen turned into Superman as he stopped every shot thrown at him during the two minutes as the Canes killed it off once again. It felt like the game was destined to go into overtime but Detroit must've had dinner plans. In the final seconds, they pushed the puck up the ice and Andrew Copp would find Jake Walman at the point. The defenseman unleashed a wicked shot that beat Andersen over his glove with 3.2 seconds left to break the tie and ultimately win the game. 

This is a bitter pill to swallow. With the Devils beating the Rangers tonight at the Rock, the lead in the division has shrunk to one point with the Canes still holding a game in hand. Still, the Canes should've banked at least one point tonight. Detroit played to the horn and they found a way to steal two points from Carolina. The defense was responsible for both goals tonight, tying the franchise record with 51 goals combined across the blue line. The loss is going to be reflected on Andersen's record but it would tell the story of how he kept this team in it until the very end. He made some huge saves after Larkin's goal in the second period, especially during the sequence late in the third period. The fourth line had another excellent game tonight without being rewarded with anything. This one is going to sting until Saturday. Nothing can be done about it now as the team has to move on to Montreal. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Brent Burns (Goal)

The goal from Burns in the second period helped to set the tone for the Canes. It broke the shutout streak and was a classic example of what the Canes are looking to accomplish. The shot misses everything in its path and squeaks through the goalie. He also led the team in TOI tonight, playing 22:55 and being invaluable at all three strengths. 

Second Star- Frederik Andersen (19 Saves)

Andersen deserved better than the result he got tonight. I can't really hang any of the goals on him. Defensive breakdowns lead to the first two goals and a perfect shot beats him on the game-winner. The stretch he had in the final 6:10 of the game was fantastic. He was getting to every great chance Detroit had before eventually being beaten with 3.2 left. 

First Star- Jaccob Slavin (Goal, Assist)

The only multi-point player for the Canes tonight, it took a little bit of luck for Slavin. He picked up the primary assist on the Burns goal and then got some help from Detroit to get his seventh goal of the season. It initially looked like he made a great pass to Necas but it was Suter that helped him out to give the Canes the lead at the time. He was solid on both ends of the ice tonight. 

What's Next for the Canes

The team is off to Montreal as they begin a weekend back-to-back against the Canadiens on Saturday night. Montreal dropped a 5-2 decision to the Panthers tonight at the Bell Centre. They will then return home for Sunday night's game against the New York Islanders in what could be a playoff preview if the Canes win the division and the Islanders hold the first Wild Card spot. New York will also be in action on Saturday night on Long Island, so they'll be traveling in for this one. With it being a back-to-back, I would think we'll see Antti Raanta make his return from injury on Saturday for Frederik Andersen to play against the Islanders in what is the Canes' final game against a playoff team this season, as of right now, and their final meeting with a division opponent. 

What's Next for the Teams in the Playoff Hunt

New Jersey (102 Points, 1 Point Behind Carolina for 1st)- Behind goals from Haula and Meier, the Devils held off the Rangers to come within a point of the Hurricanes. They have a weekend back-to-back ahead of them in Chicago on Saturday and Winnipeg on Sunday. 

New York (R) (98 Points, 4 Points Behind NJ in 3rd)- The Rangers couldn't find a second goal to fall to the Devils 2-1 tonight. They'll complete a back-to-back tomorrow night in Buffalo before playing their next game on Sunday afternoon in Washington. 

New York (I) (87 Points, 1st WC, Canes' current 1st Round opponent)- The Islanders picked up two big points last night in a shootout victory over the Capitals. It helped to expand their lead in the Wild Card race before a tough back-to-back against Tampa Bay and Carolina this weekend. 

Pittsburgh (84 Points, 2nd WC)- The Penguins responded to Tuesday's loss to Detroit by shutting out the Nashville Predators 2-0 tonight. They will remain at home for a weekend back-to-back with Boston and Philadelphia. 

Florida (83 Points, 1 Point out of the WC)- The Panthers got off of their losing streak by sweeping a back-to-back in Montreal and Ottawa. Matthew Tkachuk netted a hat trick in tonight's 5-2 victory in Montreal and they'll be back in action against Columbus on Saturday to finish their road trip.