"'Twas the Game Before Christmas": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 34: Hurricanes at Nashville Predators

The final game before Christmas is upon us as the Hurricanes try to follow up their win yesterday afternoon with a win in Nashville against the underperforming Predators. Pyotr Kochetkov was fantastic, but Dustin Tokarski took the start for the Canes after a solid debut last weekend against Columbus. With Nashville's big offseason signings not quite living up to their potential, the Canes hoped to enter the break with Christmas cheer instead of coal in their stockings. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
NSH (13:34)- Steven Stamkos (10) (Filip Forsberg (18))
2nd Period
NSH (11:45)- Jonathan Marchessault (11) (Tommy Novak (4) & Luke Evangelista (10))
3rd Period
NSH (0:30)- Ryan O'Reilly () PP (Filip Forsberg (19) & Jonathan Marchessault (12))
NSH (2:52)- Mark Jankowski (2) (Colton Sissions (1))
CAR (4:37)- Jordan Staal (4) (Jordan Martinook (9) & William Carrier (5))
CAR (5:17)- Sebastian Aho (11) (Seth Jarvis (12) & Jack Roslovic (6))
NSH (16:48)- Jonathan Marchessault (12) EN (Filip Forsberg (20))

My Thoughts
'Twas the game before Christmas, and all through the land
The Caniacs hoped that Monday night would be grand
Riding high off their win against a Metro foe
They journeyed to Smashville, but it wouldn't be so

The Predators swarmed, making scoring goals tough
Nashville scored the first four, they had the right stuff
The Canes made a late push to try and come back
Juuse Saros stood tall, refusing to crack

Once again, it was Staal, Will, and Marty
Dragging the Hurricanes into the party
I'm begging you Rod to never break them up
They feel like a line that could help win a cup

Another big moment followed their goal
From a big star who has been on a roll
Aho scored one 40 seconds later
A goal that became a stress creator

Fishy has been flying for the last two weeks
With points in five straight, he's on one of his streaks
His goal-scoring touch has been a welcome surprise
It'd be nice if it'd rub off on the other guys

Tokarski looked fine, especially through two
His team wasn't scoring, not much he could do
He made some big saves. Poor O'Reilly got robbed
He withstood the rush as the Predators mobbed

It was a sad day as a different streak died
The penalty kill finally let one inside
Their perfect December has come to an end
It was a great run, which we all should commend

Marchessault and Forsberg led the way
With three points each, they made the Canes pay
They helped set the tone and they never backed down
Their play made me sit back and watch with a frown

With the loss in Nashville, the search will continue
The win will have to come in a different venue
The team couldn't get Rod his 300th win
But, like I said pregame, it's not "if " but "when"

Some are playing well, like the guys with a letter
But Necas and Svechnikov need to be better
Production has dried for some of the offense
They aren't playing bad. Just lacking a sixth sense

This team can't keep leaning alone on their trio
The rest of the guys need to play with some gusto
The points will return for those in a drought
They need the time off to cure it, no doubt

A look at the standings shows a three-team race
The rest of the Metro has failed to keep pace
The Canes are in third, while not quite ideal
I expect they'll play with a ton of zeal

They must make the most of the time they've been given
They all need to rest and to come in more driven
The schedule for next month likely won't be kind
It'll certainly start to feel like a grind

These are my thoughts on their pre-Christmas stumble
After a big win, I'd guessed they would fumble
So enjoy your time as Santa readies his sleigh
Merry Christmas to all! I'll see you on Friday

When We Meet Again- The Hurricanes will welcome the Predators to Raleigh in a little over two months, meeting at the Lenovo Center on March 25. 

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- William Carrier
While he's the part of the Staal trio that has been moved around the most, there's no denying that William Carrier fits best next to the Jordans. He made a huge play behind the net to kickstart Staal's goal, picking up the secondary assist. The part of his game I appreciated the most was the physical aspect. He finished with EIGHT hits in just under 13 minutes of ice time.

The Road Ahead- The Hurricanes will close 2024 with a home-and-home against the Devils and a New Year's Eve meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their first game of 2025 will be against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise on January 2nd. 

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