"Simply Sin-sational": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 14: Hurricanes at Vegas Golden Knights

The Canes aimed to start a new win streak after having their eight-game stretch snapped on Saturday in Denver. They held the lead twice over the Avalanche before allowing three goals late in the period in what became a 6-4 loss, their first in three weeks. Their clash with the Avalanche began a three-game road trip. The second stop on their journey brought them to Sin City on Monday night to battle the Vegas Golden Knights. Without Mark Stone in the lineup, the Canes aimed to slow Vegas' top line and keep their offensive firing on all cylinders.

Scoring Summary
1st Period
CAR (4:24)- Eric Robinson (4) (Sean Walker (2) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (8))
CAR (12:46)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2) (Martin Necas (16) & Eric Robinson (5))
2nd Period
CAR (3:38)- Jordan Staal (2) SH (unassisted)
CAR (6:13)- Tyson Jost (1) (Jaccob Slavin (5) & Jack Drury (4))
3rd Period
VGK (6:11)- Jack Eichel (5) (unassisted)
CAR (14:28)- Jordan Martinook (5) EN (Jordan Staal (3) & Jaccob Slavin (6))
VGK (19:47)- Ivan Barbashev (8) PP (Alexander Holtz (6) & Jack Eichel (19))

My Thoughts
Now, this is how you go into a hostile environment and immediately take the crowd out of the game. The Hurricanes never let the Golden Knights breathe, jumping on them early to cruise to a road win in Sin City. We have the Kotkaniemi line to thank for setting the tone in the first period, but it was the beginning of the second period that made me feel like this was going to be a breeze. When Jordan Staal scored the short-handed goal 11 seconds into the penalty, I felt comfortable. It was only two nights ago when Cale Makar's shorty got Colorado back in the game. When the Golden Knights couldn't crack into the Canes' 2-0 and allowed that one, it was lights out Vegas. 

Pyotr Kochetkov is on an incredible run. His career-high win streak is up to seven games with anther sterling performance. He's allowing just over two goals per start during his last seven, allowing the Canes' offense to carry the load while he makes stop after stop behind them. He hasn't had to steal any games with the way the Hurricanes are scoring either. His effort tonight brought his save percentage north of .900, but that's far from the only metric the showcases how solid he has been. Frederik Andersen's injury has allowed Kochetkov to display his abilities to carry the team as their #1 goalie. He has passed with flying colors thus far. 

This win epitomized the Hurricanes' season offensively. My favorite stat is that the Hurricanes have played 19 skaters this season, which changed from 18 after Seth Jarvis missed this game with a shoulder injury, and all 19 skaters have recorded a point. To go even further, 17 of the 19 skaters have scored a goal, with Jalen Chatfield and Brent Burns being the lone holdouts. Tonight's goal scorers included the captain who hasn't scored since Opening Night (Staal), the free agent signing that flew under the radar (Robinson), a playmaker who finally was rewarded for setting up his teammates (Kotkaniemi), the guy making his team debut (Jost), and the hottest goal scorer on the face of the earth (Martinook). 

Unfortunately for some of us in North Carolina, we weren't able to view much of the third period. After Jack Eichel broke Kochetkov's shutout early in the third period, he also broke the stream on FanDuel Sports Network. We were met with a blank screen without any indication of when it was coming back. I jumped over to the radio feed since the Hurricanes simulcast their games on television and radio, so I could at least try and visualize what was happening. It was only slightly disappointing since I had stayed awake until Tuesday morning to view it, but it doesn't appear that I missed much, which I appreciate.

When We Meet Again- The Vegas Golden Knights will visit Raleigh in the New Year, playing at the Lenovo Center on January 17th. 

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Four players ended the night with multiple points for the Hurricanes, but I'm going with the center of the line that set the tone. Jesperi Kotkaniemi finished with a team-high six shots in the game, firing everything he could at the net. He was finally rewarded with a goal after playing a big part in setting up Eric Robinson's goal earlier in the first period. His start has gone largely unnoticed around the league, but the Caniacs appreciate everything he has done to begin the season.

The Road Ahead- The Hurricanes complete the road trip on Wednesday against the Utah Hockey Club. They'll make a quick trip home, playing a weekend back-to-back in Raleigh against Ottawa and St. Louis before playing three more on the road, including a second back-to-back next week in Philadelphia and New Jersey.

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