2023-24 Regular Season, Game 30: Hurricanes vs. Nashville Predators (Postgame)

Returning home after a long and rough road trip, the Hurricanes looked poised to complete a back-to-back coming off consecutive wins. Their win in Detroit was a hard-fought battle, with the difference coming at the expense of a bad misplay by Ville Husso. With the Predators well-rested and awaiting the Canes' return home, they tried to spoil the fun as hockey returned to Raleigh. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

NSH (5:20)- Juuso Parssinen (6) (assisted by Tommy Novak (7))

CAR (9:23)- Stefan Noesen (9) PP (assisted by Jack Drury (7) & Martin Necas (14))

CAR (12:13)- Tony DeAngelo (2) PP (assisted by Michael Bunting (12))

2nd Period

NSH (3:47)- Roman Josi (7) (assisted by Ryan O'Reilly (12) & Gustav Nyquist (16))

CAR (4:50)- Jalen Chatfield (3) (assisted by Michael Bunting (13) & Jordan Martinook (7))

CAR (5:09)- Sebastian Aho (11) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (11) & Stefan Noesen (10))

NSH (9:26)- Ryan O'Reilly (13) PP (assisted by Filip Forsberg (19) & Roman Josi (18))

CAR (9:51)- Martin Necas (9) (unassisted)

NSH (10:18)- Tyson Barrie (1) (assisted by Cole Smith (8) & Philip Tomasino (9))

3rd Period

NSH (10:57)- Jeremy Lauzon (2) (assisted by Luke Evangelista (11) & Juuso Parssinen (3))

Overtime

NSH (0:35)- Filip Forsberg (16) (assisted by Roman Josi (19) & Ryan O'Reilly (13))

My Thoughts

There are going to be two very vocal schools of thought after this game. There's going to be the group that tries to find the silver lining in the Canes earning a point on the second half of a back-to-back with travel after a six-game road trip. There's going to be another group that wants Antti Raanta never to start for the Hurricanes again. While "never" is a bit harsh, I'd love for someone to diagnose exactly what is wrong with Raanta right now because his confidence is about as low as it has even been with the Hurricanes. 

Carolina should've won this game in regulation for a myriad of reasons. The offense had one of its most productive games of the season. Everything we've wanted the Canes to be offensively finally showed exactly how lethal it can be. Five different players found the back of the net, and it was a combination of forwards who stayed hot and defensemen who hadn't scored in a while. The power play provided the first two goals in the first period. The most encouraging sign was how quickly the Canes responded to Nashville's scoring. After Roman Josi tied it early in the second, Jalen Chatfield scored 1:03 afterward, and Aho added another 19 seconds later. When Nashville's power play scored, Martin Necas was there to score 25 seconds later. Jack Drury is on a five-game point streak. Stefan Noesen is just as hot during that time. Necas has started to find his game recently. The same goes for Aho and Jarvis. If they can get Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Teuvo Teravainen scoring consistently, and Andrei Svechnikov gets healthy, the offense is going to continue to be a problem for opponents. 

I've been shy about asserting that goaltending was the definitive reason the Canes lost a game this season. Usually, I try to pin it on the entire team for failing to help their goalie. Tonight, the defense didn't do a good job of helping Antti Raanta. They failed to clear pucks at important times, lost races to the front of the net, and allowed Nashville to get out in transition several times without much opposition. However, I can't defend Raanta for this one. Five of the six goals he allowed would've likely been stopped by a goalie with any semblance of confidence. The first goal was a squeaker. Josi's goal was a wrap-around that he hesitated on. He was beaten to his blocker side twice by defensemen. He got a piece of the winner from Filip Forsberg in overtime. Despite the defensive lapses, the offense gave Raanta plenty of support. I'll always end my criticism of goalies by saying that it's much easier to say all of this from this side of the game. The difference is he gets paid to stop pucks, and I get to watch from home as long as I pay the cable company or Disney. It's time for Pyotr Kochetkov to get the majority of the starts. With a heavy home schedule before Christmas, I see no reason why Kochetkov doesn't start at least three of the four games. 

At the end of the day, I'll take the point. This was a terrible spot for the Hurricanes to be in. The schedule was not the Canes' friend. Traveling from Detroit to Raleigh for a game 24 hours later after spending over a week on the road was not ideal, especially against an opponent with two days of rest. There's nothing they could do about it. Having to settle for just one point stings, given how the rest of the division has been playing. They'll have a chance to even some of it out with a heavy division schedule coming up. It doesn't feel like the Canes picked up a point, but I assure you they did. It should've been two, though there's nothing we can do about that now. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Michael Bunting- 2 assists

The early stages of the game were strong for Bunting. He made a great play along the wall to help set up DeAngelo's goal on the power play. His best play of the night was the pass he made to Chatfield at the side of the net to get the Canes back ahead after Josi tied it. Bunting has made the most of his time on the ice as he continues to pick up points. 

2nd Star- Stefan Noesen- 1 goal, 1 assist

After being the 1st star for three of the six games on the road trip, this is a slight step down for Noesen. He's picked up five points in the last five games, including two tonight. His redirection of the power play was nice, but the drop pass he made to Aho to set up the give-and-go goal was even prettier. 

1st Star- Martin Necas- 1 goal, 1 assist

December has been a good month for Necas. In eight games, Necas is operating at exactly one point per game after picking up two points tonight. He has four in his last three games, including two goals. While his assist was a secondary helper, he put the puck on a tee for Drury. He was in the right place at the right time to pick up an easy goal in the slot on a turnover. 

Up Next- The Canes' next battle will come on Sunday night as they meet the Washington Capitals for the first time this season at PNC Arena. The Vegas Golden Knights will make their first trip to Raleigh as champions on Tuesday night. The final road game before Christmas will be on Thursday night as the Canes meet the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time. To close out the slate before the break, the Canes will return home for a meeting with the New York Islanders.