2023-24 Regular Season, Game 59: Hurricanes at Minnesota Wild (Postgame)

The Hurricanes are in the State of Hockey, playing the second game of their three-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild. They suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres on Sunday night, starting the trip with just one point. Tonight, they'll face red-hot Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild, who are looking to make a push in the Wild Card race. Kaprizov was the league's first star last week after scoring 12 points in four games, including a hat trick and three assists against Vancouver last Monday.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

MIN (10:10)- Connor Dewar (8) (assisted by Declan Chisholm (4) & Ryan Hartman (16))

CAR (15:26)- Jordan Staal (8) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (12) & Jaccob Slavin (19))

MIN (19:39)- Jonas Brodin (6) (assisted by Brandon Duhaime (3) & Ryan Hartman (17))

2nd Period

CAR (19:35)- Andrei Svechnikov (13) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (29) & Jordan Staal (15))

3rd Period

CAR (11:02)- Stefan Noesen (13) (assisted by Jack Drury (18) & Teuvo Teravainen (21))

My Thoughts

It's a good thing this game isn't entering any beauty contests because this one was tough. When Jonas Brodin's floater from the point in the final minute of the first period went into the net, I was not in a good place. The Canes had done so much to get back into the game with Jordan Staal's goal that it felt like the Brodin goal was a slap in the face. Carolina started the game well, but one penalty snatched the momentum from them. Then, they got one of their own from Andrei Svechnikov to end the second period, and I was starting to feel a lot better. That's about when I realized the Canes were about to get some bounces because Svechnikov's shot should've gone several feet wide. If not for Gustavsson's right pad, Minnesota might've won this game. 

To add stock to my theory, the Canes immediately got a good bounce in the third period. Ryan Hartman deflected a shot off the post on the power play, and the puck managed to stay out of the net. Pyotr Kochetkov helped matters by robbing Marco Rossi right after that. The pinnacle of good bounces came on the eventual game-winner. The puck literally hit Stefan Noesen in the face and went into the net. That's really how the Hurricanes won this game. It wasn't nearly as brutal as the time Justin Williams redirected a shot off his face. This didn't look like it hurt as much. Still, it couldn't have felt pleasant. From there, it was elementary for the Canes. They shut down the Wild down the stretch to preserve their win.

The Canes won this game in spite of the presence of Minnesota's top stars. Kirill Kaprizov finished the game with six shots, while Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek had four each. Not only did they fail to find the scoresheet, they combined to finish -5 tonight. At least one of them was on the ice for all three of Carolina's goals. They had their chances to score, but Pyotr Kochetkov denied them at every turn. After a rough first period, through no fault of his own, Kochetkov was lights out in the final 40 minutes, making some huge stops down the stretch to earn the win. 

While the overall game was a little sloppy for the Hurricanes, there were plenty of stellar performances. Jordan Staal stepped up and recorded two points. Seth Jarvis was on another level all night. He made some huge defensive plays to break up chances and had the primary assist on Svechnikov's goal. The top pair of Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns was good. Slavin tied Justin Faulk for the most points by a defenseman in franchise history, while Burns looked solid against the team that drafted him. Jalen Chatfield returned to the lineup after four games on the shelf and played very well. It wasn't the easiest game or the prettiest, but it was a hard-fought road victory to help the Canes maintain their positioning in the playoff race. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Jalen Chatfield- 2 shots, 2 hits

The hit that knocked him out for the last four games was brutal, but it didn't look like Chatfield had missed a step. He made arguably the most consequential defensive play of the night in the second period. Kochetkov did a good job of denying the initial shot from Rossi before Chatfield got his stick on Johansson's rebound chance to thwart a golden opportunity. 

2nd Star- Jordan Staal- 1 goal, 1 assist

We've come to accept that the captain isn't likely to light up the scoreboard, which is why we appreciate games like this when he gets it done in the offensive zone. His goal was important at the time to push the momentum back in the Canes' favor. His assist was a secondary helper on Svechnikov's goal as he dropped the puck to Jarvis. 

1st Star- Seth Jarvis- 1 assist

It's no secret that Jarvis hadn't been playing at the same level for the last few games, so to see him playing out of his mind tonight was awesome. He was knocking down potential breakaway passes and diving to clear pucks. No effort was bigger than the one in the final seconds to force the Wild out of the zone. He added an assist on the tying goal, being rewarded for his efforts. 

Up Next- The Hurricanes will conclude their road trip on Thursday night in Columbus for their second meeting of the season with the Blue Jackets. Columbus is in the cellar once again, but there is still plenty of feistiness in this club. The next home game will be on Saturday for an early afternoon battle with the Winnipeg Jets.