Thoughts From My Couch

It feels like just yesterday when the season began. Now, it's officially double digits. Time sure does fly. The Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders each enter play on two-game slides, aiming to prevent it from becoming a streak on Thursday night. There is one other goal for the Canes tonight: don't lose another defenseman. They're back down to three regulars in the lineup after Shayne Gostisbehere left Tuesday's contest, his first game in over a week after leaving the road trip early. Three rookie defensemen in the lineup have become a regular occurrence already this season. The Islanders have a rookie defenseman of their own who is turning a lot of heads. Islanders' top pick Matthew Schaefer makes his inaugural venture to Raleigh tonight, bringing with him an impressive start to his rookie campaign. With October turning to November this weekend, the Canes needed a stout effort from the group to get back in the win column. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (...

Last Game: Tuesday night's battle against the Vegas Golden Knights featured a lot of back and forth for most of the contest. The Canes got rolling early on the power play. Andrei Svechnikov needed just two seconds to get the group on the board, scoring his first of the season off the draw. Pavel Dorofeyev responded with a pair of goals, including a late power play tally of his own. The Golden Knights continued to rule the game, but Jordan Martinook made a great play at the blue line to strip Jack Eichel of the puck and bury a breakaway chance, tying the game at two after 40 minutes. Logan Stankoven restored the Canes' lead early in the third, until Brett Howden responded four minutes later. Tied at 3 late in the third, Eichel returned the favor from earlier, getting sprung on a breakaway and beating Frederik Andersen to hop back in front. A defensive breakdown after a missed call allowed Eichel to get his second goal shortly after, and Tomas Hertl scored into the empty net to s...

As the entire league gets set to drop the puck on Tuesday night, this one should be exciting for the Canes and their fans, returning home for the first time in over two weeks. The Carolina Hurricanes had a good road trip, all things considered. They finished with eight of 12 possible points, including an even split against the four playoff teams they encountered. They did this despite playing without their top defenseman and backup goalie to begin the trip and losing four more skaters throughout their journey west. Players stepped up to help get them home in the black. Now, they get to enjoy a short stay at home through the week, beginning with tonight's return game against the Vegas Golden Knights, a rematch eight days in the making. The Golden Knights were one of the two teams to beat the Canes during their journey, winning 4-1 in Las Vegas last Monday night. With the home team behind them this time, the Canes look to keep their perfect start at the Lenovo Center intact against a...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes closed their road trip on Saturday night in Dallas, suffering a 3-2 loss to the Stars despite a spirited effort from the under-manned visitors. They got off to another great start, getting an early goal from Jackson Blake to break the ice. Sebastian Aho made it 2-0 in the final seconds of the period, finishing a 2-on-1 to extend his point streak to eight games and push Nikolaj Ehlers to three straight. That's all the scoring the Canes would do into their own net, but they helped the Stars a few times during the contest. The first came when Miro Heiskanen's pass to the front of the net redirected off Ehlers' stick and into the net. A few minutes later, Sam Steel tipped Thomas Harley's shot on the power play to tie the game. The Stars struck again on the power play in the third, and, once again, Heiskanen benefitted from a bounce. His pass for Jason Robertson hit a sprawling Mike Reilly in front of the net and slid under Brandon Bussi, g...

The Carolina Hurricanes reached their final stop on their road trip on Saturday night, traveling to the Big D to battle Mikko Rantanen and the Stars. Of course, the game had an interesting feel with so many Hurricanes out of the lineup with injuries. The group lost three players throughout the night on Thursday in Denver, bringing the list of six. The Canes sent five rookies onto the ice on Saturday night, including a trio of defenders and Brandon Bussi in the net. The fourth was top prospect Bradly Nadeau, making his season debut in what could be an extended look for the top prospect. The goal for the night was to avoid any major catastrophic moments, particularly on the injury front. If they could do that, it would be a good night. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (4:14)- Jackson Blake (2) (unassisted) CAR (19:49)- Sebastian Aho (4) (Nikolaj Ehlers (3)) 2nd Period DAL (1:04)- Miro Heiskanen (1) (Esa Lindell (3)) DAL (5:41-PP)- Sam Steel (1) (Thomas Harley (6) & Mikko Rantanen (6)) ...

Last Game: Things got wild in Denver on Thursday night when the Hurricanes collided with the Colorado Avalanche. Wearing their Whalers colors opposite Colorado's Quebec homage, the Canes hopped out to a good start. Eric Robinson picked the corner in transition on Scott Wedgewood, beating him short side to draw first blood. Less than a minute later, Valeri Nichushkin responded, tying it up just over four minutes in. The Canes took control of the period on the scoreboard with three unanswered goals before the end of the period. Seth Jarvis scored the team's first short-handed goal of the season, undressing Wedgewood on a breakaway to regain the lead. Sebastian Aho added to it with a lucky bounce off his leg. Wedgewood kicked out Nikolaj Ehlers' chance, but it redirected off Aho and into the net to extend the lead to two. Logan Stankoven made it 4-1 by poking home a rebound, chasing the Colorado netminder from the game just 13:40 into the game after allowing four goals on 11 s...

We're kicking it old school on Thursday night as the Hartford Whalers battle the Quebec Nordiques. That's not a sentence that I thought I'd ever say, but here we are. The Canes, wearing their Whalers whites, touched down in Denver for the penultimate stop on their six-game journey. With the Colorado Avalanche wearing their throwback Quebec jerseys, the two sides took it back to the days of the Adams Division, meeting in these colors for the first time since 1995. With plenty of history between the two sides and an immense amount of firepower between these two teams, it was certain to be a fun night of hockey. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (3:07)- Eric Robinson (3) (Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2) & Mike Reilly (3)) COL (4:04)- Valeri Nichushkin (3) (unassisted) CAR (7:17-SH)- Seth Jarvis (7) (unassisted) CAR (12:41)- Sebastian Aho (3) (Nikolaj Ehlers (2) & Seth Jarvis (4)) CAR (13:40)- Logan Stankoven (2) (Jackson Blake (4) & Taylor Hall (3)) 2nd Period COL (4:46)- Park...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes were handed their first loss of the season on Monday when they battled the Vegas Golden Knights. Jack Eichel got it started early, getting a friendly bounce off K'Andre Miller's stick to beat Frederik Andersen and get Vegas on the board. Midway through the period, Adin Hill suffered a lower-body injury, bringing Akira Schmid into the game as Hill was helped off the ice. Almost immediately after the change, Pavel Dorofeyev tucked a shot around Andersen's pad with one hand to double Vegas' advantage. The Canes got on the board early in the second. The top line all factored into the goal, finished by Sebastian Aho. They stayed within striking distance for the rest of the night until Miller lost an edge, turning the puck over to Ivan Barbashev, who finished his breakaway chance to restore Vegas' two-goal lead. William Karlsson finished the scoring into the empty net, securing a 4-1 victory for the Golden Knights. Injury Report Shayne G...

With the first half of their road trip completed, the Hurricanes move onto the tougher half, beginning with the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night. In this early-season battle between NHL heavyweights, neither side enters in great health, with the Canes down two defensemen and Vegas missing their captain and an incredible defender of their own. Still, there is plenty of firepower in the lineup for both sides as they each look to avoid their first regulation loss of the season on Monday night. Scoring Summary 1st Period VGK (8:42)- Jack Eichel (6) (Brandon Saad (1) & Ivan Barbashev (5)) VGK (10:28)- Pavel Dorofeyev (7) (Mitch Marner (7) & Tomas Hertl (4)) 2nd Period CAR (4:18)- Sebastian Aho (2) (Seth Jarvis (3) & Nikolaj Ehlers (1)) 3rd Period VGK (11:06)- Ivan Barbashev (3) (unassisted) VGK (18:23)- William Karlsson (3) (Mitch Marner (8) & Shea Theodore (2)) My Thoughts There's no point in belaboring the negatives, so let's talk about some of the better aspec...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes finished their California swing on Saturday night with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks. The Canes got off to a hot start, scoring 12 seconds into the contest and hitting a milestone in the process. Jordan Staal scored career goal #300 to get the scoring started, and he wasn't done there. Staal scored #301 enarly four minutes later, starting the Canes on the right path. Jesperi Kotkaniemi added to the lead early in the second by burying a beautiful breakaway chance from K'Andre Miller. The Kings played like a desperate team to claw back into the game. Trevor Moore responded to Kotkaniemi's goal almost immediately, and Andrei Kuzmenko scored on the power play to make it a one-goal game after 40 minutes. Kevin Fiala notched the tying goal midway through the third, setting the Canes and the Kings on course to settle their differences in overtime. Seth Jarvis played the hero, scoring 1:45 into overtime to push the Canes to a perfe...

There is only one stop remaining in California for the Carolina Hurricanes, and it is the toughest of the three. With no disrespect to San Jose or Anaheim, this Kings team is the best of the bunch, even if they enter the contest with just a 1-3-1 record, and without their captain and two-way star, Anze Kopitar, and their starting goalie and Vezina finalist, Darcy Kuemper. The Kings were the league's best road team a year ago, though they're looking for their first of the season before heading out on a long road trip. The Canes are just getting to the middle portion of their trip, with three more big games on the other side. They can't look ahead, sending Brandon Bussi out for his second start after an excellent debut in San Jose to open the journey. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (0:12)- Jordan Staal (2) (William Carrier (2) & Jordan Martinook (4)) CAR (3:58)- Jordan Staal (3) (Mike Reilly (2) & Jalen Chatfield (2)) 2nd Period CAR (3:43)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1) (K...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes continued their trip through California, making their second stop in Anaheim. The Ducks had a solid opening to the game, but Shayne Gostisbehere read a pass perefectly to help kickstart the opening goal. While his chance was stopped, Lukas Dostal was unable to play it cleanly. The puck slid to Seth Jarvis, who potted the 100th goal of his career to open the scoring late in the first period. The Canes doubled their lead midway through the second on the power play. All five members of the top unit touched the puck before Jarvis buried his second of the night. Leo Carlsson cut the Canes' lead in half by finishing a 2-on-1. That's all they'd get against Frederik Andersen. The former Duck shut the door the rest of the way. The Canes added two insurance goals in the third period, beginning with the first NHL goal for Alexander Nikishin early in the frame. To close it out, Sebastian Aho scored his first of the season, capping a 4-1 victory for th...

With their first road game behind them on this six-game trip, the Canes turn their focus to the Anaheim Ducks, a team trying desperately to reclaim the glory of their better days after years of mediocrity. Many believe that this is the year they can start to push the envelope, sitting as a dark horse to make the postseason after finishing with 80 points a year ago. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes enter The Pond with a red-hot offense averaging a league-best five goals per game. While their power play hasn't figured it out, few are clicking as well as the Canes at 5-on-5. It's the first big test of the road trip ahead of four very grueling games over the next nine days against teams with Stanley Cup aspirations. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (14:54)- Seth Jarvis (4) (Shayne Gostisbehere (4)) 2nd Period CAR (10:22-PP)- Seth Jarvis (5) (Jackson Blake (3) & Shayne Gostisbehere (5)) ANA (11:32)- Leo Carlsson (2) (Alex Killorn (1) & Drew Helleson (1)) 3rd Period CAR (2:38)- Alexan...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes began their six-game road trip with an emphatic 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. The first period was all about Brandon Bussi, the 27-year-old netminder making his NHL debut after years in the minors. The team in front of him, playing without defensive stalwart Jaccob Slavin, struggled to prevent the Sharks from producing high-danger chances, but Bussi was there to close the door. Sean Walker got the party rolling early in the second by smacking a one-timer home from the point. William Eklund tied the game with a breakaway tally shortly after, but that's all the offense they mustered. William Carrier restored the Canes' lead by pushing home Alexander Nikishin's chance after it hit the post, and Eric Robinson buried a breakaway after an excellent aerial stretch pass by Mike Reilly, who was also making his team debut. Shayne Gostisbehere and Jackson Blake provided the insurance goals in the third to put the Canes away f...

The Hurricanes are beginning a long road trip, and while they won their first two games of the season, they aren't starting it under the best circumstances. Along with their backup/1B goalie on the shelf, the team is in California without its most valuable defenseman, Jaccob Slavin. With the All-World defender nursing a lower-body injury from Saturday, the opportunity provides a big chance for several of the defensemen in the lineup, beginning with Mike Reilly, who hops into the lineup on Tuesday for the first time as a Hurricane. It was also a big night for Brandon Bussi, the last-minute waiver claim, who made his NHL debut against the Sharks. With a lot to watch, the only downside to all of this is that it had to start at 10 pm. Scoring Summary 1st Period None 2nd Period CAR (1:24)- Sean Walker (1) (Sebastian Aho (4) & Seth Jarvis (1)) SJS (4:28)- William Eklund (1) (Tyler Toffoli (1) & Nick Leddy (2)) CAR (14:14)- William Carrier (1) (Alexander Nikishin (3) & Jordan ...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes had a great start to their contest on Saturday with the Flyers, getting the better of play for most of the 20 minutes. However, despite three failed attempts on the power play, they couldn't find the first goal. Instead, Owen Tippett took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to pot the opening goal in the final minute. The Canes got it back early in the second, courtesy of Logan Stankoven, but Bobby Brink put the Flyers right back on top a few minutes later. Taylor Hall scored his second in as many games, finishing a beautiful pass from Eric Robinson to tie it again, and Jordan Staal scored Goal #299 with 1:30 left in the period to put the Canes ahead for the first time. Travis Sanheim drew Philly even with four to go in regulation, sending us to the first overtime contest of the new season. Brink appeared to win it for the Flyers in the final minute of overtime, but a review for goalie interference took it off the board. Instead, Seth Jarvis played t...

For the final time for two weeks, the Carolina Hurricanes took the ice in Raleigh to face the Philadelphia Flyers. After the roaring success of Opening Night, a 6-3 win over the Devils, the Canes sought a similar result against another division opponent. The Flyers, who finished 8th in the division a season ago, dropped their season opener to the Panthers on Thursday. They tried to play spoiler on the road against the second team in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Scoring Summary 1st Period PHI (19:38-PP)- Owen Tippett (1) (Travis Konecny (1) & Trevor Zegras (1)) 2nd Period CAR (3:46)- Logan Stankoven (1) (Jackson Blake (2) & Alexander Nikishin (2)) PHI (6:18)- Bobby Brink (1) (Noah Cates (1) & Nikita Grebenkin (1)) CAR (9:07)- Taylor Hall (2) (Eric Robinson (1)) CAR (18:30)- Jordan Staal (1) (Jordan Martinook (2)) 3rd Period PHI (16:00)- Travis Sanheim (1) (Bobby Brink (1) & Tyson Foerster (2)) Overtime CAR (4:43)- Seth Jarvis (3) (Sebastian Aho (3) & Shayne Go...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes began their 2025-26 season with a 6-3 victory over the New Jerseu Devils on Thursday night. Taylor Hall got the party started, redirecting Shayne Gostisbehere's point shot through Jacob Markstrom's pads to score the first goal of the season and earn Alexander Nikishin his first (official) NHL point. The Devils leveled the score in the second on Dougie Hamilton's backhand, but the Canes quickly snatched the lead back on K'Andre Miller's bouncer. Cody Glass took advantage of a turnover, scoring on a 2-on-1 to knot the game at two after 40 minutes. The Canes, once again, took the lead on Miller's second of the night, a clapper walking down from the point that Markstrom got more than a piece of. This time, it was the Devils with the quick response, as Jesper Bratt charged to the net and finished a pass from Brett Pesce. Seth Jarvis, who hit the post twice prior, gave the Canes their fourth lead of the night with 2:43 left, and they...