2023-24 Regular Season, Game 35: Hurricanes at Nashville Predators (Postgame)

After taking a few days off for the holidays, the Carolina Hurricanes returned to action for the first game of a back-to-back. Their first opponent would be the Nashville Predators, who beat the Canes 6-5 in overtime 12 days ago in Raleigh. With the lines getting a major shakeup ahead of the battle against Juuse Saros, Carolina would be looking to start on the right foot as 2023 draws to a close. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (9:50)- Sebastian Aho (14) PP (assisted by Brent Burns (10) & Seth Jarvis (14))

CAR (15:08)- Brent Burns (6) PP (assisted by Sebastian Aho (19) & Andrei Svechnikov (13))

2nd Period

NSH (1:18)- Gustav Nyquist (6) (assisted by Ryan O'Reilly (15))

CAR (3:44)- Andrei Svechnikov (3) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (20))

NSH (5:08)- Ryan O'Reilly (14) PP (assisted by Colton Sissons (9) & Roman Josi (21))

CAR (9:56)- Jack Drury (5) (assisted by Jesper Fast (7) & Stefan Noesen (11))

CAR (17:54)- Seth Jarvis (12) PP (assisted by Michael Bunting (17) & Sebastian Aho (21))

3rd Period

None

My Thoughts

It's not often you see the Hurricanes dominate a game despite being outshot by a wide margin. Nashville put 37 shots on Pyotr Kochetkov on Wednesday night. Carolina put up just 25 against Juuse Saros and Yaroslav Askarov. The fact that I had to put two Nashville goalies in that sentence tells you everything you need to know about this game. This win for the Hurricanes, outside of being a great way to return after Christmas, was spurred by one of the hottest power plays in the league and a player on a hot streak. 

This game almost turned into a copy of their meeting in Raleigh. The Canes scored twice on the power play in the first period. Nashville scored early in the second period, but Carolina responded, only for Nashville to score again, this time on the power play. Instead, the Canes established their game and kept the Predators in check the rest of the way. Getting a goal from their fourth line to make it 4-2 helped that, too. I'm not sure my heart could've handled another game like that tonight, so this was a great change of pace. 

The Canes might only be 5-5-3 in December, but they're putting up some impressive numbers on special teams. After tonight, and with two games left in the month, the Hurricanes have the best penalty kill in the league in December (95.1%) and the second-best power play (35.7%). Sebastian Aho has also been impressive on an individual level. He's in the top ten in the league in goals (8) and points (15) this month while sitting tied for second in PPGs (4) and PP points (9). Tonight was especially memorable as he notched his 500th NHL point with his goal in the first period. He didn't stop there, recording three more assists for the eighth four-point game of his career. 

What was more impressive from the Hurricanes tonight was how well I felt they played defensively. Nashville was incredibly aggressive all night, as evidenced by their 37 shots, but the Canes were there to help their goalie when he needed it. Jaccob Slavin helped take away a wrap-around chance in the third period. Kochetkov made an incredible pad save on an attempted bank chance. The defense had their sticks in the lanes to break up chances. They didn't allow Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, or any of Nashville's other weapons to take over the game. Ryan O'Reilly finished with two points, but that's about as much damage as was caused. It's a little funny that O'Reilly has been the only player to solve the Canes' penalty kill, scoring both of the goals they've allowed this month. I've said numerous times that a win like this could be the catalyst that the team needs to turn things around. Eventually, those words will become empty, but not yet. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Andrei Svecbnikov- 1 goal, 1 assist

Svechnikov has scored more goals in his last five games since returning from his upper-body injury than he did in the 15 games after returning from his knee injury. He has recorded back-to-back multi-point games, scoring his second goal in five games tonight. Seeing him light the lamp is always fun, especially when goals have been hard to come by this season. 

2nd Star- Brent Burns- 1 goal, 1 assist

Tonight was a game we've rarely seen this season from Burns. He recorded points on both goals in the first period, including a top-shelf bullet. After a rough night against the Islanders, Burns got back on the right track with a two-point night. It was his first goal in over a month and his first multi-point game since the Buffalo game at the beginning of December. 

1st Star- Sebastian Aho- 1 goal, 3 assists, 500th NHL point

If you stare too closely at Aho right now, you could go blind. He has 13 points in his last eight games after putting together a season-high four-point game. He became the fourth player in franchise history to reach 500 points. Then, he added three more points to help get goals for his teammates. He has a long career ahead of him, so this is just one of many major milestones we'll see Aho run through. 

Up Next- The Canes will be back on the ice in less than 24 hours as they face the Montreal Canadiens for the first time this season. This will be the final home game of 2023 as the team heads to Toronto to begin a three-game road trip. They'll have two days between each game on the trip, which will also see them play divisional games against the Rangers and Capitals.