"Flightless Birds Stuck in a Hurricane": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 12: Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The homestand comes to an end tonight as the Hurricanes look to cap a perfect four-game stretch and their eighth straight win on Thursday night against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. The Canes didn't bring their best on Tuesday against the Flyers but managed to pull one out. Tonight, it wouldn't be any easier. The Penguins are trying to find a direction as they sputter near the bottom of the division. With one of the oldest cores in the league, their time could already be running out this season.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (0:52)- Jordan Martinook (2) (Jordan Staal (1) & Jalen Chatfield (2))

CAR (8:47)- Jack Roslovic (8) (Sebastian Aho (8) & Dmitry Orlov (5))

2nd Period

CAR (9:27)- Jack Roslovic (9) (Andrei Svechnikov (8) & Jalen Chatfield (3))

CAR (13:52)- Jaccob Slavin (1) (Sebastian Aho (9) & Jack Roslovic (1))

3rd Period

CAR (2:07)- Eric Robinson (3) (Martin Necas (14) & Jalen Chatfield (4))

PIT (5:08)- Blake Lizotte (2) (unassisted)

My Thoughts

Tonight was a shining example of why I would never be a head coach in any league. After Pyotr Kochetkov's stinker against the Flyers on Tuesday, I would've turned to Spencer Martin to finish the homestand. Instead, Rod Brind'Amour went right back to Kochetkov against the Penguins. What happened? Kochetkov played his best game of the season, stopping 35 shots and earning his sixth straight win while helping the team extend its win streak to eight. That's why he gets paid the big bucks while I write about the team from the sanctity of my apartment.

It also helped that the Hurricanes scored early and often against Alex Nedeljkovic, a goalie who always puts his best foot forward against his former team. Jordan Martinook scored on the team's first shot 52 seconds into the game. Jack Roslovic scored his first of two goals on the team's third shot. By the time Jaccob Slavin scored, the Hurricanes only had 12 shots, yet they led 4-0. The Canes only managed 16 shots against Nedeljkovic but scored five times. Let's not act like Nedeljkovic was bad tonight either. His teammates left him out to dry several times, leaving him little to no chance on several of the Canes' goals. 

It was evident on Tuesday but it reared its ugly head again tonight. Andrei Svechnikov has been in the league for seven years, yet he still doesn't receive the benefit of the doubt for anything. In consecutive games, Svechnikov has been assessed incredibly soft penalties. Tonight, the call against him allowed Pittsburgh to generate its best chances of the game. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were merely bystanders three weeks ago when the teams met in Pittsburgh but they had so many chances to get the Penguins on the board. Kochetkov said "Nyet!" on each occasion. The pair combined for eight shots in the game, most of which came during these two minutes. They were practically unheard from the rest of the night.

I close tonight by pointing out some of the streaks and notable stretches that were extended tonight:

- Martin Necas- 8-game point and assist streak (6 G, 12 A)

- Andrei Svechnikov- 7-game point streak (4 G, 5 A)

- Jordan Martinook- Goals in two straight games (0 G in the first 10 games)

- Eric Robinson- 3-game point streak (2 G, 1 A) and 2-game goal streak

- Dmitry Orlov- 4-game point streak (2 G, 3 A)

- Jalen Chatfield- 1st career 3-point game (4 points in last 3 games)

This doesn't even include Sebastian Aho (12 points in 12 games) and Jack Roslovic (5-1-6 in 4 games). The Hurricanes are firing on all cylinders at the moment. They sit atop the Metropolitan Division, owning the same number of points (20) as the Devils despite four fewer games played. They carried their momentum from the road into a four-game sweep of their homestand, including wins over Boston and a trio of division opponents. They did it by scoring 23 goals while conceding nine. If not for Winnipeg's start, I'd call them the hottest team in the league. After an offseason mired in concerns about their direction, the Hurricanes have proven to be just as lethal.

When We Meet Again- With two meetings under their belts, the Penguins will return to Raleigh right after the New Year. The Canes have already clinched the season series against Pittsburgh with a pair of wins and will go for the sweep on January 5th at the Lenovo Center.

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Pyotr Kochetkov

Adversity isn't something Pyotr Kochetkov has needed to face much during his short NHL career. He laid an egg on Tuesday but was bailed out by a six-goal performance by his teammates. Kochetkov returned the favor tonight by bailing his guys out for 60 minutes. I'll probably still be gushing about his two-minute penalty kill early in the second period to maintain a 2-0 lead. He did so many little things tonight that he didn't on Tuesday. The man is a winner and continues to prove it every time he's on the ice.

The Road Ahead- The Hurricanes will take the league's longest win streak on the road for three straight. They'll begin in Colorado against an Avalanche team I'd be willing to bet is pissed off. They lost a tight 1-0 game to the Jets tonight. Next, they'll be in Sin City to battle the Vegas Golden Knights. To close, the Canes will be in Salt Lake City for the first time to face Utah.