2023-24 Regular Season, Game 64: Hurricanes vs. Calgary Flames (Postgame)

The Hurricanes are just over 24 hours removed from sealing a season sweep against the New Jersey Devils. Today, they'll look to avoid that fate against the Calgary Flames. Teuvo Teravainen recorded three points, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 stops as the Canes beat the Devils 4-2. Evgeny Kuznetsov made his Canes debut, but now he'll get to experience life as a Hurricane on home ice. With the injury to Jack Drury, Kuznetsov's arrival will likely ease some of the blow while the Flames look to ruin the party in their fight for the postseason.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (6:30)- Jordan Martinook (11) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (42))

CAR (17:43)- Sebastian Aho (25) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (25) & Andrei Svechnikov (26))

2nd Period

CAR (0:17)- Jalen Chatfield (6) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (30) & Jordan Staal (16))

CAR (1:15)- Andrei Svechnikov (16) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (43) & Teuvo Teravainen (26))

CGY (4:11)- Dryden Hunt (3) (assisted by Oliver Kylington (2) & Andrew Mangiapane (23))

CAR (13:55)- Brent Burns (10) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (20) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (12))

CAR (19:26)- Seth Jarvis (20) (assisted by Jalen Chatfield (12) & Jordan Staal (17))

3rd Period

CGY (4:54)- Yegor Sharangovich (27) (unassisted)

CAR (17:14)- Teuvo Teravainen (21) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (27) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (13))

My Thoughts

To have any critiques of the Carolina Hurricanes after the absolute pounding they just gave the Flames would purely be nitpicking. Sure, the goal Frederik Andersen allowed to Yegor Sharangovich in the third period was tough, but it was a 6-1 game when it happened. I'd be more concerned if it was like what Pyotr Kochetkov did against the Jets last weekend. The Canes dominated from the drop of the puck, withstood a push from the Flames after they'd established a huge lead, continued to punish them, and ended the game with a five-goal victory. I'd say it wasn't a flashy win, but that would be a lie. The two goals in the first period were beautiful, and Andersen made a paddle stop. Almost everything that could go right for the Hurricanes did this evening. 

March has been dominated by the Aho line. I was very critical of their effort against the Devils yesterday despite their offensive output. Today, they were leagues better and produced even more. All three members of the line scored a goal and added two assists. The Staal line was just as good. Seth Jarvis hit 20 goals and 50 points with his goal and assist, Jordan Staal had a pair of assists, and Jordan Martinook scored the opening goal with some help from Aho. Even the fourth line had some fun. Jesperi Kotkaniemi has three points in two games, and Brendan Lemieux dropped the gloves in his 300th game.

As good as the forwards were, the defense was just as active in the offensive zone. Two of the seven goals came from the defense, with Jalen Chatfield and Brent Burns scoring in the second period. Chatfield added an assist, as did Jaccob Slavin. Chatfield and Dmitry Orlov were +4 in the game. Their work in the offensive zone was in addition to the stellar work in the neutral and defensive zones. They stifled the Flames through the first period, allowing two easy shots for Andersen to deny. Calgary couldn't generate much, but when they did, Andersen came up with the stops. He made one mistake, and that was about it. We still need to see him against a good opponent, and we're likely to see that at some point this week. 

Postseason Watching- With the regular season coming down to the wire, it's time to start looking at where everyone else is. With tonight's win, the Hurricanes are two points back of the Rangers for the top spot in the division. The Rangers have a game in hand, but that will be used tomorrow night against the Devils. If the Rangers lose in regulation tomorrow, the Canes could potentially take over the top spot in the division by beating the Rangers on Tuesday. 

If the season ended today, the Hurricanes would host the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. The Flyers are ten points behind Carolina at the moment, and the Canes hold a game in hand. The Flyers' spot is being threatened by the Islanders, who will be just two points back with two games in hand if they hold one to beat the Ducks tonight. The Capitals aren't far behind either, trailing the Flyers by five points with three games in hand. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Jalen Chatfield- 1 goal, 1 assist

As polarizing as the Canes' Top 4 is, I don't think the pair of Chatfield and Orlov gets enough credit around the league. They've developed into a good third pair, and that was showcased in spades tonight. Chatfield led the defense with two points and was one of seven players with a multi-point effort. His goal 17 seconds into the second period served as the game-winner.

2nd Star- Andrei Svechnikov- 1 goal, 2 assists

I didn't think Svechnikov had a good game against the Devils, though he was able to add an empty-net goal in the win. Tonight, he was lightyears better. He did take another dumb penalty in an already lopsided game, but he extended his goal streak to three games while also picking up two assists. With his three-point effort, Svechnikov is back to a point-per-game pace for the season.

1st Star- Sebastian Aho- 1 goal, 2 assists

No matter how well Aho plays consistently, I still forget just how special of a player he is sometimes. Then, he has a game like tonight, reminding me that he might end his career as the best player to ever wear the Hurricanes crest. Like Svechnikov, he finished with three points, doing most of his heavy lifting in the first 21:15 of the contest. He didn't play as much as he normally would, but he didn't need to tonight.

Up Next- This could prove to be an incredibly important week for the Hurricanes in the long run. Their next two games at home are against the Rangers and Panthers, two of the top three teams in the conference. The Canes have a realistic chance of tying the Rangers at the top of the Metropolitan Division if they slip up against the Devils tomorrow.