"Steel City Shellacking": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 3: Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins

The Carolina Hurricanes hit the road for the first time on Friday night to begin their annual State Fair road trip. The Canes will be on the road for their next six games, beginning tonight in Pittsburgh. They're looking to continue their momentum from Tuesday night's win over the New Jersey Devils while finding a way to halt the hot starts of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Both Penguins reached major milestones on Wednesday in their 6-5 overtime thriller against the Sabres. Malkin recorded his 500th goal, while Crosby eclipsed 1600 points. With both historically performing well against the Canes, the first road game of the season could prove challenging. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

PIT (12:20)- Drew O'Connor (3) (Lars Eller (2) & Jesse Puljujarvi (3))

CAR (13:24)- Jackson Blake (2) (Eric Robinson (1) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2))

2nd Period

CAR (6:52)- Martin Necas (1) PP (Seth Jarvis (1) & Sebastian Aho (1))

CAR (17:13)- Shayne Gostisbehere (2) PP (Andrei Svechnikov (2) & Martin Necas (2))

3rd Period

CAR (11:00)- Jack Roslovic (1) (Jesperi Kotkaniemi (3) & Dmitry Orlov (2))

My Thoughts

If you need one stat that proves how thoroughly the Hurricanes whipped the Penguins, let it be this one: Evgeni Malkin, who was tied for the league lead in points entering play, and Sidney Crosby, who is one of the ten-best scorers in league history, combined for zero shots in this game. The two more important players in the Penguins' lineup contributed nothing to their efforts. They also combined to give the puck away seven times. Now, the scoreboard didn't reflect how dominant the Canes were until they scored twice in the second period, but that's beside the point. It was the second straight game in which it felt the Hurricanes outworked their opponent for 60 straight minutes. 

Like the New Jersey game, this was a total lineup effort. While the Canes dominated at 5-on-5, getting goals from Jackson Blake and Jack Roslovic, where they won the game was special teams. The power play, which had looked abysmal, finally showed glimpses of what made them the second-best unit last season. Martin Necas and Shayne Gostisbehere found the back of the net in the second period to establish and pad the Canes' lead. The penalty kill was just as good, if not better. The first Penguins' power play yielded zero shots and it didn't get much better the rest of the night. They had a few chances that Frederik Andersen turned away. This was an excellent start from Andersen. He wasn't busy in the first two periods but got his money's worth in the third period.

The score should've been a lot worse than 4-1. In the first period, Joel Blomqvist was phenomenal. In the second period, the Hurricanes hit four posts and a crossbar. Through 40 minutes, the Canes could've easily had five or six goals with a little more puck luck. They would eventually create their own luck, getting the goals on the power play and a friendly bounce off the post on Roslovic's first Hurricanes goal in the third period to put the nail in the coffin. The Staal line certainly wishes some of that luck had rubbed off on them. The trio was in the thick of the battle but ended the night with nothing to show for it offensively. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't close by giving Blomqvist some praise for his performance tonight. He has been put into a very tough spot early in his career. With former Hurricane Alex Nedeljkovic out, Blomqvist won the backup spot in camp to play behind Tristan Jarry. However, Jarry has been a shell of himself to begin the season and the team in front of him gave him nothing to work with tonight. He bailed them out countless times early in the game before the Canes finally broke through. He was hands down the best Penguin on the ice tonight, showing that Pittsburgh might have a strong option in the net in the future. The Canes got the better of him tonight, though I have a sneaking suspicion that better days are ahead for him. 

When We Meet Again- The Penguins and the Hurricanes will only meet two more times this season, both in Raleigh. The second meeting isn't too far down the line, coming on November 7th at the Lenovo Center. They'll wrap their season series right after the New Year on January 5th. 

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Since coming to Raleigh, Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been under a microscope. Every time he does something wrong or he doesn't perform, everyone has something to say about it. Through three games, Kotkaniemi is tied for the team lead in points with linemate Martin Necas with three, adding assists on the first and final goals of the night for the Canes, the latter of which was his 100th in the NHL. He also had three shots, including a Grade-A chance in the first period alone at the front of the net. Kotkaniemi's line has been very good in the two wins, with the center looking dialed in.

The Road Ahead- The Canes will complete their first back-to-back of the season on Saturday night in St. Louis. The Blues are coming off a 1-0 overtime win over the Islanders on Thursday night. After that, it'll be four straight #CanesAfterDark contests in the Pacific Northwest of North America. It all begins with two in Alberta against the Oilers and the Flames next week.