2023-24 Regular Season, Game 55: Hurricanes vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Postgame)

After winning two of three games on the road last week, the Carolina Hurricanes returned home for three straight, beginning tonight with the Chicago Blackhawks. When you mention Chicago, Connor Bedard is likely not that far behind. The top pick in last year's draft has been almost as good as advertised, leading Calder Trophy consideration despite missing a month with a broken jaw. With the Canes coming off a tough win on Saturday night in Vegas, the friendly confines of PNC Arena were sure to be a welcome change for the group. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (11:45)- Michael Bunting (13) (assisted by Martin Necas (23) & Jack Drury (17))

2nd Period

CAR (1:59)- Martin Necas (17) (unassisted)

CAR (8:32)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (10 (assisted by Dmitry Orlov (15) & Teuvo Teravainen (19))

CAR (10:52)- Sebastian Aho (20) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (20) & Jesper Fast (8))

CHI (15:23)- Nick Foligno (13) (assisted by Connor Bedard (21))

3rd Period

CAR (2:34)- Brent Burns (9) PP (assisted by Sebastian Aho (39) & Seth Jarvis (27))

CHI (7:00)- Connor Bedard (17) PP (assisted by Philipp Kurashev (23) & Tyler Johnson (6))

CHI (9:08)- Tyler Johnson (11) PP (assisted by Connor Bedard (22) & Nick Foligno (12))

CAR (18:11)- Jordan Martinook (10 EN (assisted by Seth Jarvis (28) & Jordan Staal (14))

My Thoughts

There's no need to pretend that it was an easy victory, but the Hurricanes sure did make that look effortless through 40 minutes. I know Chicago is bad, yet they still looked even worse than I thought they would. I know they're a rebuilding team that is dead last in the league, so I'll cut them a little slack. However, that defense needs a lot of help. Did anyone else remember that Seth Jones was on this team? I certainly didn't. I was looking at their roster this morning and said, "Wow, I forgot Seth Jones played for Chicago." So much of the talk in Chicago surrounds Connor Bedard that you almost forget that 19 other guys dress every game. 

The Canes deserved so much more than one goal in the first period, but Petr Mrazek showed up to the game on time. He was way better than he had any right to be early in the game. It almost makes you feel bad at how easy it looked when the Hurricanes scored three goals in the second period. Mrazek was given absolutely no help from his defense. Outside of his record, Mrazek's numbers are solid. It helps when you face the fifth-most shots in the league. You know you're down bad when Jesperi Kotkaniemi scores against you. Kotkaniemi, who had an encouraging game in Vegas, ripped one from the right dot in the second period to score for the first time in two months, allowing us all to take a collective sigh of relief. Sebastian Aho's goal was almost too unfair. I can't remember if it was someone on the broadcast or someone on Twitter who compared his goal to "playing with his food." 

To his credit, Connor Bedard proved to be what we'd all expected him to be tonight. While he was quiet for most of the first 40 minutes and was on the wrong end of a reverse hit from Aho, he finished with three points. He thought he'd scored a goal in the third period and proceeded to stare down Spencer Martin, who promptly pointed to the scoreboard, only for the goal to come off the board. Instead of pouting, he got the goal back on the power play and added an assist on the power play within five minutes to give Chicago some life. It didn't go anywhere after that, but in a short amount of time, Bedard has proven to be the real deal. 

At the end of the day, this was exactly how you should handle a bad team. It was similar to the game in Arizona on Friday. The Coyotes entered with a seven-game losing streak, and instead of allowing them to stick around, the Canes put their blades on their throats from the drop of the puck. They did the exact same thing tonight. The script wasn't the exact same, but the feeling was there. Chicago is at the bottom of the league for a reason. I don't mean this as a slight to anyone who supports the Blackhawks, but it's a matter of fact. They're going to return to their glory in the future. The Canes didn't allow tonight to be a feather in their cap, and that's how it should be. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Jesperi Kotkaniemi- 1 goal

I almost felt obligated to put Kotkaniemi in this spot after he scored. The truth is that a lot of people could be here, but Kotkaniemi earned it by bringing his good game in Vegas home with him. After breaking his scoring drought, he broke his goalless slump after 22 games. The cheers from the fans as the goal was announced made my heart happy. 

2nd Star- Martin Necas- 1 goal, 1 assist

The broadcast tonight mentioned how close Necas and Mrazek are and how much Necas wanted to score a goal tonight. Necas contributed to the first two goals, making a great play below the goal line to set up Bunting before scoring one of his own early in the second period. He now has eight goals and 14 points in 12 games since returning from injury as he hits the 40-point mark for the fourth straight season.

1st Star- Sebastian Aho- 1 goal, 1 assist

Aho rarely has a stretch like he had recently when he doesn't find the scoresheet. From the drop of the puck tonight, he was in the zone. I'm not sure if it was being matched up against Bedard or not, but he seemed to have a fire in him to do great things. While he only finished with three shots, one of them was a goal, his 20th of the season, and the other led to a rebound that Burns scored on. Bedard might've finished with more points, but Aho was the best player on the ice.

Up Next- The next game is a big one as the Hurricanes welcome the Panthers to PNC Arena for the first time since the Eastern Conference Finals. The Canes were on the wrong end of a 5-2 decision in Sunrise in November, but this means a little more with Florida's 11-game road winning streak on the line. To close the homestand, the Dallas Stars will be in town on Saturday.