2023-24 Regular Season, Game 45: Hurricanes vs. Minnesota Wild (Postgame)

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 Kaprizov (18) EN (assisted Brock Faber (24))

MIN (19:04)- Jake Middleton (7) EN (assisted by Zach Bogosian (7) & Joel Eriksson Ek (17))

My Thoughts

This was the type of game that'll make your head explode if you think about it too much. The Hurricanes had every chance in the world to win it but allowed one man to run the show. Tonight, it was Kirill Kaprizov. He single-handedly beat the Hurricanes offensively. On the other end of the ice, Jonas Gustavsson was phenomenal. The Canes were a toe away from tying the game late in the third period, but Gustavsson flashed his pad to rob Jordan Staal. This allowed Kaprizov to score the empty-netter that put the game away. 

The Canes' wide advantage in shots is slightly deceptive, though it also tells a good portion of the story. On the one hand, Minnesota scored three times against Antti Raanta on 17 shots, which isn't great. It also doesn't help that they scored on their second shot after being held without one for over 11 minutes. However, the first goal was a perfect deflection from Kaprizov, so Raanta couldn't have done much with it. The same goes for the second goal. Raanta probably could've challenged Kaprizov's shot a little more, but there was a wall in front of him that he couldn't see around. Raanta hasn't faced many shots in the last two games, and his numbers don't look great, but I struggle to put this loss on him. 

The power play's inability to convert, especially late, is a big part of the loss. The Canes have gone 1-for-13 in their last four games, with the lone conversion serving as the game-winner in the win over Detroit on Friday. Otherwise, they've been held off the board three times in four games. Against Pittsburgh, it didn't burn you. In the losses to Los Angeles and Minnesota, it did. With 5:42 left, the power play got its fourth chance to work. It produced very little. On a chance in the second period, the top unit spent nearly a minute passing the puck before attempting a shot at Gustavsson. If they hadn't scored against Detroit, I'd be a little more concerned. Not having Andrei Svechnikov didn't help, but we've come to expect more with the team on the man advantage.

Outside of Svechnikov missing the game, the other big news was the promotion of Jack Drury and the subsequent demotion of Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Drury's play and Kotkaniemi's lack of production make this move more than justified. The blossoming of Drury alongside Stefan Noesen has been one of the biggest developments this season. It paid off tonight with Martin Necas' goal to open the scoring. The three forwards moved the puck beautifully after Dmitry Orlov made a great to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Meanwhile, Kotkaniemi continues to struggle. He was good in the dot, winning 62.5% of his draws, but was a parking cone on the game-winner from Joel Eriksson Ek. He and Brendan Lemieux provided little resistance, and Rod Brind'Amour said as much during his postgame remarks. He's making too much money to be producing this little. Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call for him to get his game going because we've waited long enough for things to change. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Jack Drury- 1 assist

I'm going to put all my eggs in the basket of one line tonight, giving honors to the entire Drury line. I gushed over Drury's promotion to 2C, and he made the move look even better tonight. He was great in the face-off circle, played over 13 minutes, and picked up an assist on the opening goal. He's hit 20 points for the first time in his career as he continues to light it up. 

2nd Star- Stefan Noesen- 1 assist

Outside of Aho and Svechnikov, Noesen might have an argument as the team's third-best playmaker. Jarvis, who also picked up an assist tonight, might have a case, but Noesen seems to be doing it on a nightly basis. He made a great pass to Necas on the goal. He's a bit of a late bloomer, but he's providing offense almost every time he steps on the ice. 

1st Star- Martin Necas- 1 goal

The time off was clearly nice to Necas because he's come back on a mission. After two points against Detroit, Necas scored another goal and finished with five shots to follow it up. He's found good chemistry with Drury and Noesen in the last two games, so while I'm not holding my breath that they stay together for the rest of the year, it's good to see this can be a reliable line moving forward. 

Up Next- The Canes enter the final week before the All-Star Break with a truly daunting back-to-back. They'll hit the road for the first time in a few weeks when they travel to Beantown to battle the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. They'll be back at home to host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, marking the first meeting since the postseason. To finish the week, they'll host the Arizona Coyotes.