2024-25 Regular Season, Game 43 Preview: Hurricanes vs. Vancouver Canucks

Their start left much to be desired, but the Carolina Hurricanes finished Thursday's game against Toronto on the right side of a 6-3 decision. Toronto scored twice in the first 7:30 of the game as they began to run the Canes out of the building. Two goals in 17 seconds by Eric Robinson and Jordan Staal not only brought them even but allowed them to completely turn the game on its head. Staal scored 35 seconds into the second period while short-handed, but Auston Matthews responded during the same penalty to tie the game at three. Jackson Blake restored the lead a few minutes later, earning Juha Jaaska his first NHL point with the primary assist. The Canes maintained their 4-3 lead through two periods before Staal completed his fifth career hat trick 20 seconds into the third by redirecting Brent Burns' shot past Joseph Woll. Seth Jarvis provided the empty-net dagger to close the win. Jordan Martinook recorded assists on all three Staal goals, and Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 30 shots in the victory.

The Opponent: Vancouver Canucks (18-12-10, 46 Points- 4th in the Pacific Division)

Last Meeting: The Hurricanes were in Vancouver to close their six-game road trip in October trying to finish with ten points. They got off to a good start after William Carrier clapped home his first goal with the Hurricanes, but Brock Boeser capitalized on the chaos to tie it up. Martin Necas restored the Canes lead late in the first, and Jack Roslovic scored his fourth goal of the trip early in the second period to take a 3-1 lead into the third. Quinn Hughes pulled the Canucks within a goal midway through the final period, and Pius Suter benefitted from Pyotr Kochetkov's poor decision to play the puck and leave the net open. For the second time during the trip, the Canes were in overtime and, for the second time, it was Sebastian Aho playing the hero. Aho pounced on Shayne Gostisbehere's rebound, sliding it past Kevin Lankinen to win the game 4-3 and send the Canes home happy after a long journey.

Since We Last Met: In early December, the Canucks were in a good spot and playing decent hockey, but things have gotten a little tense. Along with the ongoing stories surrounding JT Miller and Elias Pettersson, true or not, the team's play has hit a wall. They've won just four games over their last 15, relying on the loser point in six of their losses to maintain their position as the second Wild Card team. They've been playing a lot of extra-time games, going to overtime or beyond in ten of their last 21. The Canucks have been battling injuries, too. Pettersson has been out since Christmas. Filip Hronek has been out since Thanksgiving. Thatcher Demko missed the first two months before re-aggravating something last week, though he backed up their 2-1 shootout loss to Washington on Wednesday. Dakota Joshua was just placed on IR. Quinn Hughes missed games after Christmas. Miller was out for about a month. Their lineup has been a revolving door, so finding their groove has been tough. Props to Kevin Lankinen for holding it down with Demko out, starting the season 15-7-3 with a trio of shutouts. 

Stories of the Night

1. Stringing Wins Together

Over the last two months, winning streaks have become a rare breed for the Hurricanes. They've won consecutive games just once in their last 20, doing so in mid-December against Columbus and New York. Winning last night against the Leafs puts the Canes in a spot to do it again. It is the second half of a back-to-back, so I'm not sure how fresh their legs will be in front of Dustin Tokarski, who I assume will start with Pyotr Kochetkov going last night. Tokarski has been great in his three starts at home, but the group in front of him will need to start on time, a seemingly lost art for the Canes over the last few games.

2. Who is Healthy for the Canucks?

To answer this question, I genuinely have no clue. Thatcher Demko was well enough to back up on Wednesday, so he might be in line to start either tonight or tomorrow against Toronto. Elias Pettersson seemed like he was close, so could he be good enough to play in Raleigh? Even the guys who have returned from injury recently could still be a little banged up. The Canucks are a dangerous enough team that they can get contributions from everyone, so who is in the lineup shouldn't be the main concern. 

3. How Does Staal Follow His Hat Trick?

This will be more of an internal story to watch. I'm not anticipating he does it again, but could you imagine how awesome that would be? What I anticipate is for Jordan Staal to be as reliable as ever, whether he's putting up points or not. He's the heartbeat of the team and they go as he goes. With his family in town for Eric's big night on Sunday, Jordan will have extra motivation to put on another good show.