Thoughts From My Couch

After New York kept their season alive with a 2OT win in Game 4 on Saturday night, the series returned to Raleigh for Game 5 on Tuesday night. The Hurricanes returned to the ice after a two-day break with their second chance to put the Islanders away for good. New York's stars officially woke up in Game 4, meaning the Canes' group needed to set the tone with a date with the New York Rangers looming in the second round. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (1:23)- Teuvo Teravainen (2) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (3) & Jaccob Slavin (1)) CAR (3:13)- Andrei Svechnikov (1) PP (assisted by Seth Jarvis (4) & Brent Burns (1)) NYI (3:54)- Mike Reilly (1) PP (assisted by Mathew Barzal (2) & Brock Nelson (2)) CAR (13:22)- Evgeny Kuznetsov (2) PS (unassisted) 2nd Period NYI (3:47)- Brock Nelson (2) (assisted by Kyle Palmieri (2) & Ryan Pulock (2)) NYI (19:38)- Casey Cizikas (1) (assisted by Mathew Barzal (3) & Ryan Pulock (3)) 3rd Period CAR (4:36)- Jack Drury (1) (assisted by ...

For the first time in the series, we have an elimination game. With Carolina's 3-2 win in Game 3, every game from now until the end of the series will be for the series. The Islanders played their best game of the series in Game 3, but an early start by the Hurricanes allowed them to lead 2-0 and 3-1, sending Ilya Sorokin to the locket room before the halfway point in the second period. New York returns to Semyon Varlamov to keep them in the series with hopes of Game 5 in Raleigh on Tuesday. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (8:00)- Seth Jarvis (2) PP (assisted by Jake Guentzel (3)) 2nd Period NYI (10:10)- Mathew Barzal (1) (assisted by Adam Pelech (2) & Bo Horvat (1)) 3rd Period NYI (1:38)- Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1) PP (assisted by Noah Dobson (1) & Anders Lee (3)) CAR (14:08)- Stefan Noesen (2) PP (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (2) & Martin Necas (3)) Overtime None Double Overtime NYI (1:24)- Mathew Barzal (2) (assisted by Robert Bortuzzo (1) & Bo Horvat (2)) My Thought...

The series shifts to the north as Long Island hosts its first of two guaranteed games on Thursday night. The Hurricanes own a 2-0 series lead after an incredible comeback victory on Monday night in Raleigh. New York took a 3-0 lead early in the second period, but the Canes scored five unanswered goals. Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored the game-tying and game-winning goals nine seconds apart in the final frame to help complete the miraculous win. With the change in venue, New York has to win this one to garner a sliver of hope in this matchup. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (4:46)- Brent Burns (1) (assisted by Martin Necas (2) & Teuvo Teravainen (1)) CAR (10:25)- Dmitry Orlov (1) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (3) & Jake Guentzel (2)) 2nd Period NYI (2:48)- Pierre Engvall (1) (assisted by Anders Lee (2) & Adam Pelech (1)) CAR (7:14)- Sebastian Aho (2) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (4) & Jalen Chatfield (1)) NYI (17:39)- Brock Nelson (1) (assisted by Kyle Palmie...

After the Hurricanes got out ahead of the series with a 3-1 win on Saturday night, they looked to follow it up by defending home ice again on Monday. The two sides split goals in the first period before Stefan Noesen broke the 1-1 tie in the third period, and Martin Necas added the empty-net goal. The Islanders hoped to turn the tables against the Canes in Game 2 ahead of the series' shift to Long Island later in the week. Scoring Summary 1st Period NYI (16:22)- Kyle Palmieri (1) (assisted by Mike Reilly (1) & Brock Nelson (1)) NYI (19:45)- Bo Horvat (1) (assisted by Mathew Barzal (1) & Casey Cizikas (1)) 2nd Period NYI (3:54)- Anders Lee (1) PP (assisted by Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1) & Pierre Engvall (1)) CAR (13:01)- Teuvo Teravainen (1) PP (assisted by Jake Guentzel (1) & Seth Jarvis (1)) 3rd Period CAR (10:43)- Seth Jarvis (1) (assisted by Jordan Staal (1) & Brady Skjei (3)) CAR (17:45)- Sebastian Aho (1) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (1) & Seth Jarvis (2)...

All eyes were on Raleigh as the first game of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs dropped between the Hurricanes and Islanders. Meeting for the third time in six years, the Canes hoped to get off on the right foot, like they've done in the last two postseason meetings. After an incredibly even season series, the Islanders looked to use their season-ending ten-game point streak to begin the playoffs with a big upset.  Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (1:35)- Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) PP (assisted by Martin Necas (1) & Brady Skjei (1)) NYI (8:20)- Kyle MacLean (1) (assisted by Anders Lee (1) & Alexander Romanov (1)) 2nd Period None 3rd Period CAR (3:44)- Stefan Noesen (1) (assisted by Brady Skjei (2) & Evgeny Kuznetsov (1)) CAR (18:28)- Martin Necas (1) EN (assisted by Brett Pesce (1) & Jack Drury (1)) My Thoughts This was exactly the type of game that I expected to see, seemingly indicating that this isn't going to be as easy as everyone thinks it is going to be for the Hurri...

Daily Headlines Monday 4/15 Down 4-1 late in the second period, Lucas Raymond scores the game-tying goal to force overtime before winning it in overtime to keep Detroit's hopes alive in a 5-4 win over Montreal. The New York Rangers clinch the Metropolitan Division and the President's Trophy by shutting down the Ottawa Senators. Charlie Lindgren pitches a 16-save shutout to stone the Bruins 2-0 as Washington maintains its spot as a Wild Card team. A quartet of Islanders finish with multi-point nights to beat the Devils 5-1, punching their ticket to the postseason as the third team out of the Metropolitan Division. Connor McDavid becomes the fourth player in league history to record 100 assists in the season, reaching the milestone in Edmonton's 9-2 win over the Sharks. Tuesday 4/16 Buffalo fires Head Coach Don Granato as the Sabres fail to make the playoffs for the 13th straight season. Aided by Ottawa's 3-1 win over the Bruins, the Florida Panthers clinch the Atlantic D...

For the last six years, the Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the NHL. On Saturday night, they'll mark their sixth straight appearance in the playoffs following a third straight 50-win season in which they won 52 games and racked up 111 points. After a slow start, the Canes have been one of the best teams in the league since mid-December. They have only lost consecutive games twice over the last four months, neither of which featured back-to-back regulation losses. That hasn't happened since they lost four straight games in western Canada. A turnaround in the net has been one of the biggest catalysts for it. Pyotr Kochetkov looked like a legitimate NHL starter as he took control of the net in Frederik Andersen's absence. Once Andersen returned, he looked like he hadn't missed a beat. The Hurricanes also went off-script and made a big splash at the trade deadline. Jake Guentzel was the biggest fish on the market, and the Canes were the ones who wrang...

The long grind of the 82-game season comes to an end tonight for both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Columbus Blue Jackets. With very little to play for, the Canes sat many of their regulars to keep them fresh for the new season that will begin this weekend. This meant the NHL debuts of Bradly Nadeau and Jackson Blake as part of a giant scramble for the 18 skaters. Columbus wanted to send their fans into the offseason happy, trying to earn two more points before beginning their summer early. Scoring Summary 1st Period CBJ (3:37)- Luca Del Bel Belluz (1) (assisted by Mikael Pyyhtia (2) & Zach Werenski (45)) CBJ (5:24)- Zach Werenski (10) (assisted by Kirill Marchenko (19) & Alexandre Texier (19)) CAR (7:10)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (12) (assisted by Max Comtois (1) & Stefan Noesen (22)) CAR (18;16)- Teuvo Teravainen (24) (assisted by Jesperi Kotkaniemi (15) & Brent Burns (32)) CBJ (19:01)- James Malatesta (2) (assisted by Mathieu Oliver (6) & Sean Kuraly (9))  2nd Pe...

On the third stop of their four-game road trip, the Hurricanes were in Chicago to face Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks. Frank Nazar, making his NHL debut after signing on Saturday, opened the scoring midway through the period on a breakaway for his first career goal. The Canes didn't get on the board until early in the second period, as the captain buried a rebound just over four minutes into the frame. Andreas Athanasiou helped Chicago regain the lead under two minutes into the third period, but Seth Jarvis redirected a shot past Petr Mrazek on the power play to tie it again a few minutes later. Jarvis struck a second time late in the period by popping a rebound home with 3:33 left to give the Canes their first lead of the night. Sebastian Aho closed it out with an empty-net goal to earn a 4-2 win to extend their win streak to five games. Jake Guentzel extended his point streak to eight games with an assist on Aho's goal, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 stops in the win. The Oppo...

Daily Headlines Monday 4/8 Auston Matthews scores his 65th goal of the season before setting up the game-winner in overtime by Jake McCabe to beat the Penguins 3-2. Tuesday 4/9 Alex Ovechkin sets the NHL record with his 18th 30-goal season, scoring the game-winning goal late in the second period in a 2-1 victory over the Red Wings. Despite losing in overtime 4-3 to the Jets, the Nashville Predators punched their spot in the postseason by earning a point. Nathan MacKinnon records a hat trick to surpass 50 goals for the season as the Avalanche dominate the Wild 5-2. Andrei Svechnikov records the third lacrosse goal of his career, opening the scoring in a 4-1 win for the Hurricanes over the Atlantic-leading Bruins, their 50th win of the season. Juraj Slafkovsky's first hat trick is part of an offensive slaughter as the Canadiens put up nine goals in a 9-3 victory over the free-falling Flyers. Wednesday 4/10 St. Louis scores on their first four shots against the Blackhawks, including a...

In the penultimate game of the season, the Carolina Hurricanes ventured to Chicago to face rookie sensation Connor Bedard in the Blackhawks' home finale. With Chicago well outside of anything meaningful, they looked to be a spoiler as the Canes continued to push for the top spot in the division and the conference.  Scoring Summary 1st Period CHI (10:05)- Frank Nazar (1) (assisted by Seth Jones (23)) 2nd Period CAR (4:10)- Jordan Staal (10) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (18) & Andrei Svechnikov (32)) 3rd Period CHI (1:54)- Andreas Athanasiou (2) (assisted by Lukas Reichel (11) & Ryan Donato (17)) CAR (6:24)- Seth Jarvis (32) PP (unassisted) CAR (16:27)- Seth Jarvis (33) PP (assisted by Brent Burns (31) & Andrei Svechnikov (33)) CAR (17:54)- Sebastian Aho (36) EN (assisted by Jake Guentzel (47)) My Thoughts This was just about the type of game I expected tonight. Chicago was going to be juiced for its home finale, while the Hurricanes would need to weather the storm again...

Friday marked the NHL debut of Scott Morrow as the Hurricanes sat some of their regulars when they faced the St. Louis Blues. The young defenseman joined the three healthy extras in the lineup as they gave rests to captain Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, and Jalen Chatfield. Late in a scoreless first period, Frederik Andersen made a Save of the Year candidate, robbing Zach Dean of his first NHL goal. Zach Bolduc wouldn't be denied, burying a one-timer in the final few minutes to get the Blues on the board first. Jordan Martinook responded quickly, scoring with 1:01 left to tie it up. The Blues would regain their lead on the power play in the second period after Jordan Kyrou snapped one from the right dot past Andersen. The Canes responded quickly again. This time, it was Seth Jarvis who wired one from just inside of the left dot to tie it at two. During a 4-on-4 in the third period, the Canes would earn their first lead of the night. Tony DeAngelo and Sebastian Aho com...

The Hurricanes are entering the final stretch as they play Game #80 tonight against the St. Louis Blues. They've won their last three games, including a dominant 4-1 win over the Bruins on Tuesday night. St. Louis continues to fight for their postseason lives, needing these two points badly to keep up with the Golden Knights for a Wild Card spot. Both teams are getting hot as the season comes to an end.  Scoring Summary 1st Period STL (17:34)- Zach Dolduc (5) (assisted by Nick Leddy (24) & Robert Thomas (59)) CAR (18:59)- Jordan Martinook (14) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (31)) 2nd Period STL (5:41)- Jordan Kyrou (30) PP (assisted by Pavel Buchnevich (36) & Robert Thomas (60)) CAR (8:07)- Seth Jarvis (31) (assisted by Brady Skjei (34) & Frederik Andersen (1)) 3rd Period CAR (7:53)- Jaccob Slavin (6) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (53) & Tony DeAngelo (8)) CAR (17:20)- Jake Guentzel (29) EN (unassisted) CAR (19:10)- Jake Guentzel (30) EN (assisted by Seth Jarvis (34) ...

The Carolina Hurricanes began their season-ending four-game road trip on the right foot on Tuesday night when they dismantled the Boston Bruins 4-1 to win the season series. The action remained scoreless into the second period until Andrei Svechnikov went into his bag of tricks to pull off his third lacrosse goal more than halfway through the period. Just over two minutes later, he set up Teuvo Teravainen for a tap-in to double the lead. Charlie McAvoy broke Pyotr Kochetkov's shutout with a clapper with 3:05 left in the second to send it into the third as a one-goal game. Kochetkov fought off some early pressure from the Bruins in the third, eventually allowing the Canes to re-extend their lead. Jake Guentzel's shot sat in the crease, but Pavel Zacha's clearing attempt hit Jeremy Swayman in the back before crossing the goal line. Seth Jarvis added the nail in the coffin, scoring a short-handed goal for his 30th of the season to complete squash Boston's comeback attempt....

The Hurricanes faced their last true test of the season by traveling to Boston for the final meeting of the season. With the next three games against teams outside of the playoffs, the Canes hoped to get their road trip started on the right foot against a Bruins team that beat them in Raleigh five days ago. Boston came into the game on a four-game win streak, hoping to lock up the Atlantic Division with a win and a little bit of help. Scoring Summary 1st Period None 2nd Period CAR (10:55)- Andrei Svechnikov (19) (assisted by Jordan Staal (20) & Jaccob Slavin (29)) CAR (13:05)- Teuvo Teravainen (23) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (30) & Jaccob Slavin (30)) BOS (16:56)- Charlie McAvoy (12) (assisted by Jakub Lauko (7)) 3rd Period CAR (10:14)- Jake Guentzel (28) (unassisted) CAR (13:22)- Seth Jarvis (30) SH (assisted by Brady Skjei (33) & Jordan Staal (21)) My Thoughts I hate the Boston Bruins with a passion, especially Brad Marchand. Tonight encapsulated everything about Marc...

The Carolina Hurricanes played their final home game of the regular season on Sunday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. After a big comeback win on Friday, the Canes were looking for a little bit of an easier night against the worst team in the conference. Andrei Svechnikov set the tone by scoring 17 seconds into the game against Malcolm Subban. Sebastian Aho added to the lead on the power play when Jake Guentzel set him up for a one-timer to make it 2-0. Along with some staunch defense, Frederik Andersen did his part to keep the Blue Jackets at bay. Teuvo Teravainen provided the insurance marker late in the third period, and Andersen finished the night with 23 stops to record his third shutout since returning in a 3-0 victory. The Canes finished the season 27-10-4 at home, posting one of the best home records in the league. The Opponent: Boston Bruins (46-17-15- 107 Points, 1st in the Atlantic Division) Last Meeting- It was only five days ago that the Bruins were in Raleigh for ...