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

After a tense 6-5 shootout win against the Kings, the next stop on the road trip saw the Canes battling the Anaheim Ducks. While the two franchises are in different positions, the Hurricanes always seem to have trouble against the Ducks. With Anaheim playing in its home opener, the job won't be easy for the Canes. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

ANA (6:52)- Sam Carrick (1) (assisted by Brett Leason (1))

ANA (8:29)- Frank Vatrano (1) (assisted by Jamie Drysdale (2) & Cam Fowler (1))

ANA (12:06)- Pavel Mintyukov (1) (assisted by Jackson LaCombe (1) & Ryan Strome (2))

2nd Period

CAR (13:52)- Teuvo Teravainen (3) (assisted by Brady Skjei (3) & Brett Pesce (1))

CAR (16:44)- Frank Vatrano (2) (assisted by Ryan Strome (3) & Mason McTavish (1))

3rd Period

CAR (3:01)- Teuvo Teravainen (4) PP (assisted by Brent Burns (2) & Dmitry Orlov (1))

CAR (15:29)- Martin Necas (1) PP (assisted by Michael Bunting (1) & Tony DeAngelo (3))

ANA (18:03)- Cam Fowler (1) EN (assisted by Troy Terry (1) & Adam Henrique (1))

ANA (18:41)- Frank Vatrano (3) EN (assisted by Mason McTavish (2))

My Thoughts

Whenever the Hurricanes win, I always go through every goal. When the Hurricanes lose, I'm less inclined to do so, instead opting to look at the big picture. I'm choosing to do the latter following tonight's loss because everyone and their mother know the first period won Anaheim the game. Three goals on 11 shots is now how Antti Raanta wanted to start his season. It's not how I wanted him to start his season, either. Still, I can only fault him for one of them. Sam Carrick's goal was perfectly placed, and Pavel Mintyukov's first NHL goal resulted from terrible team defense. The first Frank Vatrano goal was a bad one to allow, especially that soon after Carrick's opening goal. It also didn't help that the Canes recorded the first five shots of the game, then were outshot 11-3 for the remainder of the period. This was the worst way for the Canes to start against a team they've had trouble beating under Rod Brind'Amour. I mentioned during my pregame stories that the Canes' point percentage against the Ducks is their 7th-worst against any team in the league since 2018-19, and every team below Anaheim has consistently been in the playoffs during that stretch. 

If you eliminate the first period from the game, the Hurricanes win. Anaheim's two empty-net goals would be taken off the board, and the Canes likely win 3-1 or better. They heavily out-chanced the Ducks in the final two periods. Instead, the Canes' first goal of the game would make it 3-1. The moment I knew tonight was a lost cause was when Lukas Dostal robbed Jordan Staal on a 2-on-1 with Sebastian Aho, and Jordan Martinook forced the rebound wide with Dostal out of position. Even after Teuvo Teravainen finally got the Canes on the board, Vatrano was right there to kill the mood. Speaking of Teravainen, having him back in this form has been the best part of the first week. He's scored four goals in three games. The only player with more goals than him this season is Auston Matthews. His goals were timely, too. His goal in the second period got the Canes moving in the right direction. Then, he helped get the power play moving in the third period, scoring one of the team's two goals on the man advantage. He's been the team's MVP through three games. 

+/- is a terrible statistic to base much off, but it tells a big story tonight for the Hurricanes. Dmitry Orlov was -5. Tony DeAngelo and Brent Burns were -3. I'd give Orlov for being on the ice for both empty-net goals, but he lost a battle along the boards to McTavish, allowing him to set up Vatrano to complete his hat trick. The third pair had terrible moments in the defensive zone, especially DeAngelo. It's cliche to say DeAngelo is bad in the defensive zone, but it's hard to dispute when there's proof. On Mintuyukov's goal, DeAngelo is left to defend a 2-on-1. Instead of taking away one of the two, he stands there. The play developed into a 3-on-2 with Seth Jarvis getting back, but DeAngelo continued to defend no one, allowing Mintyukov an easy first goal. On Vatrano's second goal of the night, Orlov and DeAngelo combine to do nothing. DeAngelo loses the initial race to the puck as Ryan Strome knocks it over to Mason McTavish, who's being engaged along the boards by Orlov. McTavish wins the battle, passes the puck to Strome, who has moved around DeAngelo as he stands still, and sets up Vatrano with no one around him. It was borderline comical to watch it play out on the highlight reel.

It'll be easy to dwell on this game, especially since it's the first loss of the season. Ultimately, it's not much to sweat over. The fact they finished the game strong makes me optimistic that this is a blip and they'll be fine moving forward. It's early enough in the season to iron out some of the finer details. I'd strongly recommend changing the defensive pairings by moving guys around or scratching DeAngelo for Jalen Chatfield. Frederik Andersen will likely be back in the net for the next game, leaving Raanta to face the Kraken or the Avalanche. There are 79 games left in the season. It's not time to hit the panic button. The Carolina Hurricanes are a good team that hasn't found their stride yet. When they do, they're going to be scary. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Michael Bunting- 1 assist, 3 shots

Bunting has quietly put together a solid start to his Hurricanes career. After scoring on Opening Night, he failed to find the scoresheet in Los Angeles but did so tonight with an assist on Necas' goal to pull within one in the third period. He finished the night with the second-most TOI among the forwards. 

2nd Star- Brett Pesce- 1 assist, 3 hits

Five of the six defensemen recorded points tonight for the Hurricanes. Pesce kickstarted the play that led to Teravainen's first goal of the night. He and Skjei finished the night +1, and Pesce led the team with three hits. 

1st Star- Teuvo Teravainen- 2 goals

Teravainen scoring four goals in three games is not how I envisioned his season starting. He's been the team's best player to start the year. He's playing better now than he did at any point last season. If he keeps this up, he could be looking at a new career high in goals. 

Up Next- The next stop on the road trip is San Jose. The Hurricanes and Sharks played some tight games last season, including a 2-1 game in San Jose early in the season. Once they meet the Sharks on Tuesday, Seattle and Colorado are the final stops on the western portion of the trip. They'll head home before departing for Tampa Bay to face the Lightning next week.