"Crisis Averted?": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 26: Hurricanes vs. Colorado Avalanche

The Hurricanes hoped to avoid a fourth straight loss with the Colorado Avalanche visiting. The Canes haven't been clicking offensively over the last three games, dropping two to the Panthers and one to the Kraken on Tuesday. The Avalanche isn't the ideal team to play when you're in a rut, but that's who the Canes had to deal with on Thursday. In a battle of two players squarely in the Art Ross race, Martin Necas aimed to lead his troops past Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

COL (9:13)- Artturi Lehkonen (6) (Cale Makar (25))

CAR (16:05)- Eric Robinson (8) (Brent Burns (6) & Martin Necas (27))

2nd Period

CAR (4:09)- Seth Jarvis (8) PP (Sebastian Aho (20) & Andrei Svechnikov (11))

CAR (6:41)- Jack Roslovic (13) (Andrei Svechnikov (12) & Sean Walker (3))

3rd Period

COL (14:41)- Valeri Nichushkin (4) (Parker Kelly (4) & Devon Toews (8))

CAR (17:49)- Martin Necas (14) PP (Andrei Svechnikov (13) & Shayne Gostisbehere (16))

COL (18:13)- Valeri Nichuskin (5) (Nathan MacKinnon (31) & Cale Makar (26))

CAR (19:44)- Andrei Svechnikov (9) EN (Jack Drury (6) & Sebastian Aho (21))

My Thoughts

Imagine how much better this Colorado team would be if MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen had a competent supporting cast. Valeri Nichuskin could be included in the group, too, but the rest of the team provided next to nothing for the Avalanche tonight. Good goaltending would be nice, though hanging this loss on Scott Wedgewood negates the months of subpar goaltending from Alexandar Georgiev. Makar had two assists. MacKinnon had one and plenty of scoring chances. Rantanen was held off the scoresheet but looked dangerous at times. Outside of the aforementioned four players, the rest of the Avalanche combined for seven shots, all of which came from four players. It was brutal to watch at times. 

This was more like the Hurricanes hockey we've grown accustomed to over the last few years. This was a group that came out hungry from the drop of the puck and didn't allow the first goal against them to dictate how the rest of the night would go. Tripp Tracy mentioned this as a potential performance to lift Andrei Svechnikov's game moving forward. I certainly hope so because I thought he was very good tonight. Notching his first career four-point performance, Svechnikov didn't allow his rough shooting night to prevent him from contributing. Points have been hard to come by for the Russian playmaker, so this could be an excellent step in the right direction. It was also another good night for Martin Necas, who sits atop the points lead by himself with a goal and an assist to eclipse 40 points. 

The Hurricanes won this game in several aspects, special teams being the most critical. I feel like I talk about this team's "timeliness" every other game, but tonight is another perfect example of the team coming up with big plays in crucial moments. First, the power play struck early in the second period to put them in front of the game. Then, the penalty kill stepped up and killed a 5-on-3 early in the third with the Canes leading by two goals. Jalen Chatfield came up with a massive block on MacKinnon to kill a good chunk of the 5-on-3 before they finished the job. Lastly, with the game at 3-2, Necas scores a massive power-play goal with Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, who scored the earlier goal on the man advantage, providing several layers of screens in front of Wedgewood to aid a pinpoint shot.

Along with timely moments on special teams, Pyotr Kochetkov had a sequence early in the second period that helped keep momentum in the Canes' favor. Shortly after Jarvis' power-play tally, Rantanen was sprung on a breakaway. Having stopped MacKinnon's breakaway early in the first period and allowing a goal to Artturi Lehkonen on another chance, this was a perfect moment for Kochetkov to redeem himself, which is exactly what he did. He got his shoulder on the chance, preventing Colorado from stealing momentum back. Not long after, Devon Toews worked down from the point and tried to go to his backhand, only for Kochetkov to poke the chance away with a yawning cage. Jack Roslovic would score shortly after this, giving the Canes a two-goal advantage, and setting them up for a victory down the stretch.

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Andrei Svechnikov

Andrei Svechnikov had hit a dry spell entering tonight, going scoreless in his last four games and scoring just four points since having his point streak snapped in Vegas a little under a month ago. Everything seemed to fall into place for Svechnikov tonight, setting up three goals, including a pair of primary helpers. It was cool to see his teammates get him the puck for the empty-net goal to ice the game. I had no clue Svechnikov hadn't recorded a four-point game during his career, but there's never a bad time to get your first.

The Road Ahead- The Hurricanes will make their first trip to Long Island on Saturday to meet the Islanders for the first time since eliminating them from the playoffs. Next week, the Canes begin a four-game homestand, featuring the Senators, the Sharks, the Blue Jackets, and ending with the Islanders making a return trip.