Thoughts From My Couch

Daily Headlines Monday 1/22 For the first time in 34 games, the Winnipeg Jets allow more than three goals, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Boston Bruins in a battle of two of the league's best.  Tyler Toffoli completes his hat trick in overtime to help the Devils overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-5.  Tuesday 1/23 Nikita Kucherov becomes the fourth player this season to reach 30 goals, netting a hat trick and four points in the Bolts' 6-3 win over the Flyers.  Brandon Saad scores with less than a minute left in regulation to help the Blues overcome a two-goal deficit as they beat the Flames 4-3.  Tom Hertl completes a huge comeback for the Sharks as they erase a 2-0 third-period deficit before beating the Rangers 3-2 in overtime.  Wednesday 1/24 Nathan MacKinnon completes a natural hat trick in less than seven minutes in a four-goal performance as he and Mikko Rantanen combine for ten points in a 6-2 win over Washington. Ilya Samsonov ...

The All-Star Break is fast approaching, but not before the Hurricanes battle the Arizona Coyotes at PNC Arena. The Canes are coming off back-to-back wins against the Bruins and Devils to come within two points of the Rangers in the division standings. Spencer Martin and Antti Raanta put in consecutive excellent starts to help guide the team defensively, while Teuvo Teravainen picked up multiple points in both wins. The Coyotes are starting to fall in the Wild Card race, but there is plenty of fight left in this young team arriving ahead of schedule. Scoring Summary 1st Period ARZ (14:21)- Logan Cooley (6) (assisted by Dylan Guenther (4) & JJ Moser (15)) 2nd Period CAR (7:57)- Martin Necas (13) PP (assisted by Seth Jarvis (22) & Brent Burns (19)) 3rd Period CAR (19:24)- Dmitry Orlov (3) (assisted by Jack Drury (14) & Jalen Chatfield (9)) CAR (19:37)- Jesper Fast (5) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (23)) My Thoughts This game teetered a little too close to "Experience Canes Hoc...

On the heels of an impressive back-to-back sweep, the Hurricanes look to close out the "first half" strong. After beating the Bruins in Boston, the Canes and their moms turned around to host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for the first time since meeting in the postseason. Sebastian Aho provided a rude welcome for the visitors, scoring 90 seconds into the game on a breakaway against Nico Daws. They added to the lead in quick succession in the second period. Teuvo Teravainen buried a shot on the power play after it hit a Devil in front to make it 2-0. Just 25 seconds later, Jordan Staal tipped home a shot from Brady Skjei to break a 13-game goalless drought. This would chase Nico Daws from the game as Vitek Vanecek came out to relieve him. New Jersey was held scoreless by Antti Raanta until early in the third period when Justin Dowling broke the shutout by finishing a great pass from Alexander Holtz. Jesper Bratt pulled them within a goal with less than three seconds left, ...

Less than 24 hours after beating the Boston Bruins in Beantown, the Hurricanes returned home for a tough divisional battle with the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have been off since Monday, bringing them into the game well-rested albeit short-handed, with several key players missing the game. Spencer Martin made 26 stops in his team debut last night, while Jordan Martinook's breakaway goal late in the third period helped the Canes prevent a collapse after blowing a 2-0 lead. With this being the first meeting since May, there was a good chance we'd see some fireworks between two teams with bad blood. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (1:30)- Sebastian Aho (18) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (13) & Jaccob Slavin (16)) 2nd Period CAR (2:54)- Teuvo Teravainen (16) PP (assisted by Michael Bunting (21)) CAR (3:19)- Jordan Staal (6) (assisted by Brady Skjei (20) & Seth Jarvis (21)) 3rd Period NJD (5:25)- Justin Dowling (1) (assisted by Alexander Holtz (11) & Chris Tierney (4))...

After a brief trip to Beantown, the Carolina Hurricanes return home after picking up a huge win over the Boston Bruins last night. With the Mom's Trip garnering headlines around the league, the Canes held a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes. Martin Necas scored for the third straight game, snapping a shot past Linus Ullmark on the power play late in the first period to open the scoring. Teuvo Teravainen added another marker on the power play in the second period, elevating the puck while his stick was between Charlie Coyle's legs. Brad Marchand took things into his own hands in the third period, scoring twice in less than six minutes to knot the game after the Canes held an edge in the play for most of the night. With overtime appearing to be on the horizon, Jordan Martinook got into the offensive zone on a breakaway, beating Ullmark with less than 2:30 left to put the Canes back in front. The Bruins immediately pulled their goalie but couldn't find the tying goal, as the Hurrica...

Two teams playing incredible hockey locked up in Beantown as the Carolina Hurricanes and their moms traveled to Boston to face the Bruins for the first time this season. The Canes ended their six-game homestand on Sunday night with a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, thanks to a hat trick by Kirill Kaprizov, but finished 3-2-1 during their stay as they look to gain ground in the Metropolitan Division. The Bruins continue to light up the league, holding a decent advantage in the Atlantic Division despite losing some key players in the offseason.  Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (18:04)- Martin Necas (12) PP (assisted by Brady Skjei (19) & Jack Drury (13)) 2nd Period CAR (11:50)- Teuvo Teravainen (15) PP (assisted by Seth Jarvis (20) & Sebastian Aho (36)) 3rd Period BOS (1:30)- Brad Marchand (22) (assisted by Trent Frederic (13) & Hampus Lindholm (17)) BOS (7:20)- Brad Marchand (23) (assisted by Charlie Coyle (22) & Trent Frederic (14)) CAR (17:33)- Jordan Martinook (7) ...

The Hurricanes closed their six-game homestand on a low note as the Minnesota Wild took them down 5-2. Martin Necas opened the scoring with some help from the entire line, scoring in his second straight game after returning from injury. Kirill Kaprizov responded late in the first period with a beautiful deflection to beat Antti Raanta. Kaprizov gave the Wild the lead early in the second period with a spinning shot through a screen. The Wild's 2-1 lead remained into the third period until Michael Bunting snapped a shot past Filip Gustavsson from the left dot. The tie didn't last long as Joel Eriksson Ek outworked the entire Canes' defense to put home a rebound that squeaked through Raanta. Kaprizov completed his hat trick into the empty net, and Jacob Middleton added a fifth goal to put the Canes away for good. Despite the loss, the Canes finished their homestand at 3-2-1.  The Opponent: Boston Bruins (29-8-9, 67 Points- 1st in the Atlantic Division) When Patrice Bergeron an...

Daily Headlines Monday 1/15 Sidney Crosby scores twice, and Tristan Jarry makes 22 stops for his fifth shutout as the Penguins halt the Kraken's nine-game win streak with a 3-0 win.  Marc-Andre Fleury blanks the Islanders 5-0 to earn his 552nd career victory, passing Patrick Roy for the second-most in NHL history. Mark Stone records a hat trick to help the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators.   Joel Armia breaks the tie late in the third period as Montreal takes a 4-3 upset win over the Colorado Avalanche.  Tuesday 1/16 Down 4-2, Colorado rattles off five unanswered goals to help them rout the Ottawa Senators 7-4 behind a pair of goals from Mikko Rantanen.  Edmonton erases a 2-0 deficit by scoring four straight to help them beat Toronto 4-2 and push their winning streak to 11 games.  Calgary strikes twice in the third period to force overtime and completes the comeback in the dying seconds for a 3-2 win over the Coyotes. ...

The Hurricanes' six-game homestand came to an end tonight as they host the Minnesota Wild. The Canes are coming off a tough 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night to get back into the win column. Martin Necas was the big story from the win, returning from injury with a goal and an assist as one of four players with multi-point games. Meanwhile, Minnesota is looking to build off their 6-4 win over the Panthers, in which they scored five times on the power play.  Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (14:02)- Martin Necas (11) (assisted by Stefan Noesen (16) & Jack Drury (12)) MIN (17:43)- Kirill Kaprizov (16) (assisted by Alex Goligoski (9) & Marco Rossi (14)) 2nd Period MIN (6:18)- Kirill Kaprizov (17) (assisted by Matt Boldy (16) & Joel Eriksson Ek (16)) 3rd Period CAR (8:17)- Michael Bunting (10) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (19) & Sebastian Aho (35)) MIN (9:32)- Joel Eriksson Ek (19) (assisted by Jonas Brodin (10) & Brock Faber (23)) MIN (17:59)- Kirill Kapr...

The Carolina Hurricanes returned to the win column on Friday night when they beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. The Wings and Canes traded early goals as Klim Kostin scored on Detroit's first shot before Jordan Martinook responded 47 seconds later with his fourth goal in as many games. The 1-1 tie held strong until late in the second period when Martin Necas, who returned to the lineup after missing the last five games, snapped a shot under the blocker of Alex Lyon to give the Canes their first lead of the night. This, too, didn't last long. Detroit earned the game's first power play late in the second period and wasted little time scoring as JT Compher buried a 2-on-1 to tie the game in the final minute of the period. The Canes got their chance to respond on the power play midway through the third period, and they converted. Andrei Svechnikov slid the puck between Lyon's pads to help the Canes restore their lead. Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter late to seal the win. S...

The last time the Canes were on the ice, they were thoroughly beaten down in the third period by the Los Angeles Kings as they spoiled Justin Williams' big day. After stewing on that loss for three days, the Carolina Hurricanes were finally back, hosting the Detroit Red Wings, who entered the game on a seven-game point streak. Along with the news of the Canes claiming Spencer Martin, the other big news for the team was the return of Martin Necas after missing the last five games. For the Red Wings, they'd enter the game without Patrick Kane, who left their win over Toronto early with an injury.  Scoring Summary 1st Period DET (2:27)- Klim Kostin (3) (assisted by Joe Veleno (10) & Daniel Sprong (18)) CAR (3:14)- Jordan Martinook (6) (assisted by Brent Burns (18) & Jordan Staal (9)) 2nd Period CAR (16:25)- Martin Necas (10) (assisted by Michael Bunting (19) & Dmitry Orlov (14)) DET (19:17)- JT Compher (10) PP (assisted by Dylan Larkin (22) & Shayne Gostisbehere (2...

The Hurricanes saw their point streak come to an end on Monday afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings as the organization welcomed Justin Williams into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame. The Kings drew first blood in the first period as Trevor Moore knocked home a rebound early. The response from the Canes didn't come until the second period when Jordan Martinook scored for the third straight game, burying a 2-on-1 with Seth Jarvis. The difference in the game was the start of the third period. Los Angeles scored three times in under 5:30 as Phillip Danault, Alex Laferriere, and Pierre-Luc Dubois all beat Antti Raanta to chase him from the game. This allowed Yaniv Perets to make his first NHL appearance. The Canes got one back when Jack Drury finished a beautiful pass from Stefan Noesen, and Perets recorded his first save a little later, but Moore scored his second of the game into the empty net as the Kings snapped their winless drought with a 5-2 win in Raleigh.  The Opponent: Detroit ...

Today was a big day in organizational history as the Hurricanes inducted Justin Williams into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame. They did so with the Los Angeles Kings, the team Williams won his other two Stanley Cups with, in town. Following the ceremony before the game, the two sides faced off as the Canes looked to stay hot while the Kings tried to find the win column for the first time in eight games. With it being an emotional day, the Canes looked to temper their emotion to pick up two more points.  Scoring Summary 1st Period LAK (6:24)- Trevor Moore (19) (assisted by Phillip Danault (17) & Vladislav Gavrikov (8)) 2nd Period CAR (5:38)- Jordan Martinook (5) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (18) & Brent Burns (17)) 3rd Period LAK (1:01)- Phillip Danault (9) (assisted by Matt Roy (10) & Vladislav Gavrikov (9)) LAK (2:21)- Alex Laferriere (6) (assisted by Mikey Anderson (12) & Pierre-Luc Dubois (10)) LAK (5:20)- Pierre-Luc Dubois (9) (assisted by Jaret Anderson-Dolan (3) &...

Daily Headlines Monday 1/8 Toronto announces that William Nylander has signed an eight-year, $92 million extension, taking one of the biggest UFA names off the board.  The Flyers trade top prospect Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim for Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 2nd in a sudden blockbuster deal. Elias Pettersson scores twice and adds a pair of assists to help the Canucks pick up a big win on the 6-3 over the Rangers.  Matt Murray makes his season debut and records his first career shutout, making 23 stops in a 4-0 win for Dallas over Minnesota.  Tuesday 1/9 Tampa Bay completes a comeback in the final eight minutes, scoring twice to force overtime before Nick Perbix wins it in overtime to take a 3-2 win over the Kings.  Mitch Marner's four-point night (2G, 2A) helps the Leafs hang seven on the Sharks in a dominant 7-1 victory.  Matthew Tkachuk records a natural hat trick to put the game away as the Panthers take down the Blues 5-1.  Wednesday 1/10 The Stars ruin the...