"O Captain! Our Captain!": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 42: Hurricanes vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

After the disappointing end to the tilt in Tampa Bay on Tuesday, the Hurricanes began a three-game homestand and the first half of a back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canes owned last season's series with Toronto, winning all three games, but this Leafs team enters on a wave of momentum. Toronto has won five straight and their offense has looked dangerous. Playing on national television, the Canes needed to make a big statement to begin the second half of their schedule.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

TOR (1:59)- Nick Robertson (7) (Max Domi (12) & Steven Lorentz (5))

TOR (7:29)- William Nylander (24) (unassisted)

CAR (13:58)- Eric Robinson (10) (Ty Smith (1) & Martin Necas (3))

CAR (14:15)- Jordan Staal (6) (Andrei Svechnikov (17) & Jordan Martinook (10))

2nd Period

CAR (0:35)- Jordan Staal (7) SH (Jordan Martinook (11) & Jaccob Slavin (11))

TOR (1:13)- Auston Matthews (14) PP (Matthew Knies (11) & Mitch Marner (45))

CAR (4:58)- Jackson Blake (9) (Juha Jaaska (1) & Dmitry Orlov (15))

3rd Period

CAR (0:20)- Jordan Staal (8) (Brent Burns (11) & Jordan Martinook (12))

CAR (16:23)- Seth Jarvis (12) EN (unassisted)

My Thoughts

If I had a dollar for every bad start the Hurricanes have had this season, I'd have way more money than I'd care to admit. Tonight was no different. Their first ten minutes were abysmal, falling behind 2-0 for the third time in the last four games. Like the Pittsburgh game over the weekend, the Canes fought their way back into it. After Toronto's second goal, the Canes proceeded to outscore the Leafs 6-1, backed by a trifecta of goals from Jordan Staal. I'm begging this group to start a game on time like they did against the Panthers to start 2025. However, I'll take the wins any way I can without much complaining.

The key to beating the Maple Leafs is to stop the Core 4. While I wouldn't call it a complete shutdown tonight, it was pretty darn good for the final 50 minutes. William Nylander had three Grade-A chances in the first 7:30. He hit the post on a 2-on-1, had a breakaway chance stopped, and finally broke through the third time to make it 2-0 for Toronto. Auston Matthews scored a power-play goal assisted by Mitch Marner. John Tavares had four shots. The Core 4 had their chances. However, their night will likely be remembered for Matthews and Marner being on the ice for all six Carolina goals, finishing -6 each, while their linemate, Matthew Knies, was a -5. To boot, Morgan Rielly was a -3. Forcing stars to spend most of their night defending is a surefire way to earn two points. 

Before talking about the man of the hour, I want to quickly give Pyotr Kochetkov his flowers. The Canes' netminder posted 30 stops tonight, coming up huge in the third period to keep the lead at two goals. Nick Robertson, who could've scored a hat trick tonight, had a chance one minute into the third period that Kochetkov stopped from his butt after contact in the crease. He made an equally tough stop on Tavares' backdoor chance a few minutes later. I can't fault him on any of Toronto's goals, but none of it matters with how the rest of the game went. Kochetkov didn't have to dig into his bag of tricks to do anything spectacular. This was a great start after he wasn't rewarded on Tuesday. Also, shout out to Juha Jaaska for earning his first point on Jackson Blake's game-winning goal in the second period.

Everyone did their part, but Jordan Staal scored a hat trick, which was not on my Bingo card tonight. It wasn't that he scored a hat trick. It was how and when he scored. Goal #1 came 17 seconds after Eric Robinson cut into the deficit, squeaking a shot through Joseph Woll while being engulfed by all five Leafs on the ice. Goal #2 came short-handed early in the second period, snapping it past Woll on a 2-on-1 after Jordan Martinook nutmegged Marner. Goal #3 completed the hat trick 20 seconds into the third period on a high tip of Brent Burns' shot, extending the Canes' lead to two goals. Martinook assisted on all three goals and Svechnikov assisted on the first goal, giving him points in consecutive games. He might not be the vocal leader of the group, but the captain leads by example and has for the last several weeks. Tonight, he was handsomely rewarded. 

When We Meet Again- The Hurricanes will visit Toronto at the end of February aiming aim to extend their current win streak against the Maple Leafs. The season series closes in Raleigh on April 13th. 

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Jordan Staal

I've exhausted my analysis of the captain's night already. That he scored a hat trick is reason enough for me to put him in this spot. 

The Road Ahead- The back-to-back ends tomorrow night against the Vancouver Canucks. On Sunday, the Canes will host the Anaheim Ducks for Eric Staal's induction and jersey retirement. The team will get a few days before traveling to Buffalo for another national game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday before finishing the week at home against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.