2023-24 Regular Season, Game 3: Hurricanes at Anaheim Ducks (Pregame)

After the thrilling events of Saturday night and Sunday morning, the Hurricanes will make a quick turnaround to play again on Sunday night. The Hurricanes and Kings battled into the early morning hours on the East Coast. The Canes exploded for three goals in the first period, courtesy of a Brent Burns snipe, a Sebastian Aho short-handed breakaway, and a sharp-angle surprise by Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Los Angeles got one back at the end of the period, but the Canes still found themselves in a good spot. Brendan Lemieux pushed the lead back to three goals in his Hurricanes debut, beginning a period of back-and-forth play. Los Angles scored twice on the power play, but the Canes scored their second short-handed goal of the night in between, courtesy of Teuvo Teravainen. Through 40 minutes, the Canes' lead remained two goals, but a late push by the Kings allowed them to tie the game late in regulation, forcing the first overtime of the season. Overtime solved nothing, so a shootout would be required. Sebastian Aho extended the shootout in the third round, Martin Necas did the same in the fifth round, and Jordan Martinook sent us all to bed happy with the game-winner in the ninth round to secure the second point and a 6-5 road victory for the Canes. 

The Opponent: Anaheim Ducks (23-47-12, 58 Points- 8th in the Pacific Division last season)

The second stop on the Canes' five-city West Coast tour will take the team about 30 minutes southwest of last night's location to the Honda Center in Anaheim for their meeting with the Ducks. The offseason for Anaheim was a bit of a mess. A lot of their young talent was due a heavy pay raise, and while they locked up Troy Terry early, they went down to the wire with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale before getting them locked up, too. They also added Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas to big deals. For all the money they threw around, there were two moves I'm surprised they didn't make. First, they passed on Adam Fantili with the second pick, instead selecting Leo Carlsson. Second, they held on to goalie John Gibson. For a team that isn't likely to contend for a playoff spot and a goalie likely to help many cup contenders, Gibson seemed like an obvious player to move. They might be waiting until the trade deadline to make the deal, but the longer they wait, the lower their value will likely become. Anaheim played its season opener last night in Vegas against the defending Stanley Cup champions. It didn't go great for the Ducks. While Mason McTavish scored, they were down 3-0 in an eventual 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights. They did play with Killorn and Carlsson due to injuries, and the same will be the case tonight. 

Last Season's Meeting- The Ducks were among the few teams to have great success against the Hurricanes last season, beating them in both meetings. The first meeting was in Anaheim in early December, and it was one of the team's worst games during their 17-game point streak. At no point did the Canes lead, alternating goals for two periods before Ryan Strome won the game in overtime for the Ducks. Their meeting in Raleigh in late February is quintessential Hurricanes hockey. The Canes outshot the Ducks 53-16. The Ducks outscored the Canes 3-2 in regulation. John Gibson made 51 saves to sweep the season series.

Stories of the Night

1. The First Back-to-Back of the Year

Back-to-backs in hockey are the worst. Not only is hockey one of the most physically demanding sports in the world but adding travel into the mix makes it that much worse. This will be the case for both teams, though Anaheim had to travel further to get home than the Canes. Regardless, back-to-backs are an always-present staple of the hockey season, so getting one this early could benefit both sides. The Canes need to come out with the same explosion they had last night but need to find a way to sustain a multi-goal lead. In both games this season, they've failed to keep leads in the third period, and while they won both games, it's not a good trend. 

2. Antti Raanta Makes His Season Debut

While it hasn't been made official when writing this, it seems evident that Antti Raanta will get the start, especially since Rod Brind'Amour hates playing the same goalie in back-to-back situations unless absolutely necessary. Raanta was the Canes' best goalie last season, going 19-3-3 with a 2.23 GAA and a .910 SV%. He was also the starter to begin the 1st Round of the playoffs before Frederik Andersen took over in Game 6. After returning on a one-year deal, he'll be just as crucial as Andersen for this team's success. He'll get his first looks for the 2023-24 campaign tonight. 

3. The Ducks Have the Canes' Number?

Since Rod Brind'Amour took over as the head coach, the Hurricanes are 3-2-3 against the Ducks. In Gary Bettman's NHL, it's above a .500-point percentage. In reality, it means they've only beaten the Ducks three times in eight games. Their .563-point percentage is the seventh-worst against any team in the Brind'Amour era, and every team they're worse against (Tampa, Toronto, Vegas, Washington, Colorado, and New York (R)) is a playoff team. One of these things is not like the other. Troy Terry has four goals and five points in five games. Jakob Silfverberg has five points in seven games. Adam Henrique has four points in seven games. John Gibson has a .935 SV%. The Ducks seem to turn it on when they play the Canes. That keeps this from being a cakewalk despite the Ducks not being a playoff-caliber team.