2023-24 Regular Season, Game 34: Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders (Postgame)

On the night before Christmas Eve, the Hurricanes welcomed the New York Islanders to town as the Christmas break loomed. With three days off between games, the Canes looked to empty the tank to pick up two valuable points in the ever-tightening division battle. The Islanders opened the night one point ahead of the Canes in the standings, meaning this was a big game for both sides. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

NYI (11:19)- Sebastian Aho (1) (assisted by Kyle Palmieri (11) & Brock Nelson (14))

CAR (12:22)- Teuvo Teravainen (13) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (13) & Dmitry Orlov (12))

NYI (14:43)- Brock Nelson (16) (assisted by Mike Reilly (5) & Kyle Palmieri (12))

NYI (18:25)- Bo Horvat (14) (assisted by Mathew Barzal (24) & Anders Lee (4))

2nd Period

CAR (0:59)- Sebastian Aho (13) PP (assisted by Michael Bunting (16) & Andre Svechnikov (11))

NYI (14:12)- Mike Reilly (2) (assisted by Mathew Barzal (25) & Anders Lee (5))

3rd Period

CAR (1:56)- Jaccob Slavin (4) (assisted by Martin Necas (15) & Andrei Svechnikov (12))

NYI (3:44)- Anders Lee (10) (assisted by Noah Dobson (29) & Bo Horvat (19))

CAR (9:17)- Stefan Noesen (10) PP (assisted by Martin Necas (16) & Brady Skjei (15))

My Thoughts

There are many reasons why the Hurricanes lost this game. First, it's because we can't have a nice even-keel game before Christmas. If you remember, exactly one year ago, the Canes hosted the Flyers to try to set a new franchise record with points in 14 straight games. They scored six goals in the first two periods to take a 6-2 lead but nearly blew it in the third period after Philly scored three goals, including two while short-handed. While they did manage to win the game, it was not fun for anyone trying to avoid a heart attack before Christmas. After the second commercial break in the first period, this game went into overdrive. 

The second reason the Canes lost is because they gave up too many soft goals. While it's not completely on the goalie, Pyotr Kochetkov had his first rough start in about two weeks. There's something about the Islanders this season that gives Kochetkov a hard time. He allowed five goals on 16 shots when they were in Raleigh last time. The first two goals New York scored were tough, but the final three were stoppable. Kochetkov nearly kept Bo Horvat's one-timer out of the net late in the first period, but he couldn't handle it. Anders Lee's shot along the ice was the most egregious of the five goals because it took away all the momentum the team had gained after Jaccob Slavin made it 4-3. 

However, he didn't get a ton of help from his defense tonight, which is another big reason for the loss. Slavin and Burns were both -3. The Staal line was -2. New York's top two lines continued to terrorize the Canes. Lee had three points. Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and Kyle Palmieri had two points each. They outperformed the Canes' top lines, who also produced a bunch of points. Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas had two assists each. Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen found the back of the net. Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis picked up assists. Stefan Noesen and Slavin rounded out the scoring for Carolina. The offense continues to flip-flop between scoring a ton and hardly scoring. Tonight, they chose the former against Ilya Sorokin.

The big win for the Canes tonight was their continued dominance on special teams. The penalty kill moves to 36-for-37 (97.3%) after a 3-for-3 night, granted one of New York's power plays lasted three seconds. They allowed one shot on the two full-length power plays. The power play converted twice on four attempts, getting big goals from Aho and Noesen to pull within one. The difference in this game likely comes down to Svechnikov ringing the post on a 3-on-1 during the 4-on-4 in the second period. He put squarely off the far post against Sorokin. That's the difference between the Canes tying it 3-3 and New York getting the next goal to make it 4-2 going into the third period. It was an unfortunate bounce that hasn't been going the Canes' way lately. They had plenty of chances late in the third period to tie the game and force overtime. Instead, their point streak ends at six games, and they fail to make a move in the division race. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Stefan Noesen- 1 goal

If you could get credit on your own goal, Noesen would've had a two-point night with his tally on the power play in the third period. He was trying to find Teravainen before the puck popped back to him. He had the tying goal on his stick before it bounced on him in the final seconds. 

2nd Star- Martin Necas- 2 assists

He didn't have a great night on defense in the first 40 minutes, but Necas did his best to atone for it in the offensive zone in the third period. He picked up primary assists on both goals in the third. His assist to Slavin came after he took a quick lap around the net. 

1st Star- Andrei Svechnikov- 2 assists

While Svechnikov finished the game with two secondary assists, his biggest moment of the game was the shot off the post when the game was 3-2. He finished tied with several other teammates with four shots while also laying five hits. Add two assists, and it was a solid night for Svechnikov. 

Up Next- With three days off for the break, this will be a good reset for the Canes. The next big stretch will be the month until the All-Star Break. They'll return to action on Wednesday in Nashville before heading home to finish the back-to-back against Montreal on Thursday. The Canes finish 2023 in Toronto to begin a three-game road trip. Their 2024 slate begins at Madison Square Garden and in the U.S. capital.