2023-24 Regular Season, Game 14: Hurricanes at Florida Panthers (Postgame)

Old wounds were ready to be opened as the Hurricanes and Panthers met for the first time since Florida swept Carolina in the Eastern Conference Finals in May. Despite playing without some key players, the Panthers have been on fire in the last few weeks, coming off consecutive overtime wins. The same can be said for the Canes, who have won four of their last five games. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
CAR (1:20)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (6) (assisted by Jesper Fast (2) & Jordan Martinook (3))
FLA (3:01)- Matthew Tkachuk (3) (assisted by Carter Verhaeghe (4) & Anton Lundell (5))
FLA (18:53)- Uvis Balinskis (1) (assisted by Matthew Tkachuk (10) & Eetu Luostarinen (2))
2nd Period
FLA (7:08)- Aleksander Barkov (5) (assisted by Evan Rodrigues (8) & Sam Reinhart (7))
CAR (16:40)- Sebastian Aho (3) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (4) & Brady Skjei (9))
3rd Period
FLA (13:18)- Carter Verhaeghe (5) (assisted by Gustav Forsling (2))
FLA (16:18)- Kevin Stenlund (3) EN (assisted by Sam Reinhart (8) & Aleksander Barkov (9))

My Thoughts
I'm not sure we've seen a more vanilla game from the Hurricanes this season. The Panthers are one of the opponents the Canes seem to abandon their game plan against. I didn't like this game from the Canes, which says a lot, considering they scored 1:20 into the contest. They set the tone early with Jesperi Kotkaniemi's goal, then retreated, allowing Florida's stars to take over. Does that sound familiar? It's almost like we were revisiting the series in May, minus the goalies standing on their heads. 

I'm not sure when Matthew Tkachuk turned into a Canes Killer because Tkachuk only had five points in 12 meetings before the Eastern Conference Finals. Since Game 1 of the ECF, Tkachuk has scored five goals and seven points in five games. Aleksander Barkov, a well-known Canes Killer, now has 34 points in 34 regular-season meetings. This team is without two of their top three defenders and a key forward, yet they ran roughshod over the Canes tonight. I don't get it. It's not like Sergei Bobrovsky played out of his mind like he did in May. He was good tonight but wasn't tested as much as Antti Raanta. 

Speaking of Raanta, while he was the second-best goalie in the game, he was good. The defense didn't do much to help him tonight. The first period was rough for Jalen Chatfield and Dmitry Orlov. Chatfield was caught flat-footed, losing a race to the front of the net against Tkachuk on the tying goal. Orlov tried to step into Eetu Luostarinen on the go-ahead goal. In doing so, he allowed Tkachuk to get in on a 2-on-1 with Uvis Balinskis against Chatfield, leading to the defenseman scoring his first NHL goal. The other two goals were a low rebound and a high deflection. 

While Florida's stars ran the game, the Canes' stars disappeared. Sebastian Aho might've extended his point streak with a goal in the second period, but he was a -3 tonight. Andrei Svechnikov, Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis, and Brent Burns were -2. The power play was abysmal, recording 0 shots on three attempts. It wasn't all bad for the team. Jordan Martinook had two points. Brett Pesce returned to the lineup and looked good next to Brady Skjei. The fourth line had a decent showing. It was an uneven game for the Hurricanes, leading to an uneven result on the scoreboard. 

My Three Stars of the Game
3rd Star- Brady Skjei- 1 assist
Skjei is playing some of his best hockey of the season. He's recorded four points in the last three games, picking up an assist tonight on Aho's goal to pull within a goal. The icing on the cake was the return of Pesce. They were the team's best defensive pair tonight by a mile. 

2nd Star- Jesperi Kotkaniemi- 1 goal
If we thought last season was Kotkaniemi's breakout, this is him doubling down. He's been one of the most consistent forwards on the team through 14 games, leading the team with 13 points. He started and ended the play to get the Canes on the board early in the first period. 

1st Star- Jordan Martinook- 2 assists
You know the Canes are searching for a spark when Martinook plays next to Aho. Tonight, it paid off with a goal in the second period. In fact, both assists were to centers he doesn't usually play with. He'd been snakebitten to begin the season, yet now has three points in three games. 

Up Next- The Hurricanes will be back in action on Saturday night, facing the Lightning for the second time this season. They lost 3-0 in the first meeting at the end of Carolina's six-game road trip in October. Pyotr Kochetkov will likely be the starter, with Antti Raanta playing tonight. After facing Tampa, the Canes will begin a five-game homestand at PNC Arena on Wednesday night against the Flyers. This will be the Canes' first nationally televised game of the season. 

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