Thoughts From My Couch

The top of the Metropolitan Division was on the line on Thursday night when the Hurricanes visited the Capitals. Does it matter that much, considering we're in December? Not really, but we need to find ways to make these games feel important when they really aren't. Along with potentially overtaking the Capitals, it was a shot at revenge for the Canes after the Caps took it to them in Raleigh exactly one month ago. Brandon Bussi was given the reins again, and there was no reason not to after winning his ninth start in ten games on Tuesday. We'll have to wait a little longer to see Jaccob Slavin back in action, meaning I wouldn't get my birthday "wish" this time around. Scoring Summary 1st Period None 2nd Period WSH (5:00)- Connor McMichael (5) (Alex Ovechkin (16) & Rasmus Sandin (6)) CAR (13:43)- Nikolaj Ehlers (7) (Logan Stankoven (8) & Alexander Nikishin (7)) 3rd Period WSH (11:32)- Nic Dowd (2) (Rasmus Sandin (7) & Connor McMichael (12)) CAR (17...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes closed their seven-game homestand on the right foot, knocking off the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first of four straight games against division opponents. The Blue Jackets broke the ice in the first period. Sean Monahan made a perfect pass to the front of the net for Dmitri Voronkov to finish on the power play, staking Columbus to an early lead. Jet Greaves had kept the Canes quiet until halfway through the second period. A massive two-man effort from Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis ended with the former setting up the latter for his 17th goal to tie the contest at one. The third period belonged to the home team. Joel Nystrom intercepted an attempted entry by Columbus. He turned it the other way, setting up the Canes for a 2-on-1. Taylor Hall found a streaking Eric Robinson to bury one and give the Canes their first lead of the night. The Canes' power play struck again, too. Jordan Staal redirected Svechnikov's shot to score his second on t...

Anything less than two points would feel like a disappointment as they try to close their homestand on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Canes haven't wowed during this stay in Raleigh, which feels a little weird for a team that is usually very good in front of the home crowd. It didn't look good on Sunday against the Sharks, having their behinds handed to them by the upstart group from San Jose. Meanwhile, Columbus is trying to fight out of the division's cellar, which isn't that deep since they're only a few points out of a playoff spot. Both teams are hungry for points, so it should be a good bout for the folks on ESPN+/Hulu.  Scoring Summary 1st Period CBJ (12:39-PP)- Dmitri Voronkov (11) (Sean Monahan (12) & Kirill Marchenko (15)) 2nd Period CAR (9:42)- Seth Jarvis (17) (Andrei Svechnikov (9)) 3rd Period CAR (7:53)- Eric Robinson (6) (Taylor Hall (9) & Joel Nystrom (4)) CAR (13:38-PP)- Jordan Staal (9) (Andrei Svechnikov (10) & Sh...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes failed to carry the momentum from Saturday's win into Sunday's battle with the San Jose Sharks. Macklin Celebrini made his presence felt immediately, setting up Collin Graf for a tap-in 33 seconds into the game, welcoming Pyotr Kochetkov back to the lineup in a rude way. The Canes got it back at the end of the first. Jordan Staal redirected Shayne Gostisbehere's shot from the point, keeping his stick just below the bar to deflect it past Alex Nedeljkovic. Celebrini was at it again early in the second, finding John Klingberg in the slot for a one-timer to give San Jose the lead for good. Late in the period, Alexander Wennberg was perfectly positioned to knock home a rebound on the power play after Kochetkov kicked out the initial chance. To close it out, Celebrini scored into the empty net, completing a three-point game and a 4-1 victory for the Sharks at the Lenovo Center. Kochetkov made 18 stops to keep his team in the game, but the offen...

With the second half of a back-to-back on Sunday, there was reason to celebrate as the 20th Anniversary of the team's Stanley Cup victory began. With all of the festivities set for the next few days, there was still business to attend to on the ice. The Canes got the weekend off to a good start with a win on Saturday night against the Predators, earning two big points in the process. To finish the weekend, they welcomed Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks to town to try and top it the right way. Pyotr Kochetkov returned to the lineup after what felt like forever on the shelf. It was a big night, given the circumstances. The team on the ice tried to match it.  Scoring Summary 1st Period SJS (0:33)- Collin Graf (5) (Macklin Celebrini (27) & Will Smith (16)) CAR (13:18-PP)- Jordan Staal (8) (Shayne Gostisbehere (18) & Andrei Svechnikov (8)) 2nd Period SJS (7:54)- John Klingberg (4) (Macklin Celebrini (28) & Philipp Kurashev (8)) SJS (15:14-PP)- Alexander Wennberg (6) (William...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes got back to their winning ways on Saturday, taking it to the Nashville Predators. The power play set the stage in the first period. Jackson Blake poked a puck off Taylor Hall's skate and into the net to get it started. Then, Nikolaj Ehlers buried a one-timer just under two minutes later to double the advantage. In the final minute of the frame, the third line's hard work resulted in William Carrier finishing his second goal of the season, making it 3-0 after 20. Blake finally got his first goal of the night late in the second, making a beautiful play to the middle of the ice and finishing on the backhand. Sebastian Aho buried a breakaway early in the third to extend the lead to five. The shutout finally ended when Michael Bunting scored on the power play. Blake got it back with his second of the night shortly after. Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg scored in the third as well, but the Canes were already too far ahead. Blake and Ehlers had three...

After their lackluster performance on Thursday night, just about anything would've been better for the home team than what they put out against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They looked flat for the entire second half of the contest, and Toronto made them pay. With a weekend back-to-back on the docket, the Canes needed a much better effort against a Nashville team they couldn't figure out a season ago. With Jesperi Kotkaniemi back in the lineup, they'll get a little more skill on the fourth line, but it means nothing if they can't get to Juuse Saros early. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (8:01-PP)- Taylor Hall (6) (Jackson Blake (10) & Logan Stankoven (7)) CAR (9:55-PP)- Nikolaj Ehlers (6) (Seth Jarvis (8) & Shayne Gostisbehere (17)) CAR (19:44)- William Carrier (2) (Jordan Martinook (7) & Jordan Staal (3)) 2nd Period CAR (15:46)- Jackson Blake (7) (Nikolaj Ehlers (12) & K'Andre Miller (10)) 3rd Period CAR (4:45)- Sebastian Aho (9) (unassisted) NSH (6:26-P...

Last Game: It was a rough showing for the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. After three days between games, the Canes returned to host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto immediately took the lead. Bobby McMann's shot hit the post and Frederik Andersen's back to get the Leafs on the board 53 seconds into the game. Midway through the frame, the puck took a Toronto bounce off a stanchion, sliding into the slot for Scott Laughton to snap past a surprised Andersen. The Canes cut into the deficit before the end of the period when Shayne Gostisbehere slid a beautiful pass to Seth Jarvis for his 16th of the season. However, it was all Toronto from there on the scoreboard. Matthew Knies outmuscled Sebastian Aho before getting a weak backhander past Andersen. Then, an offensive zone turnover by Jordan Martinook allowed the Leafs to skate the other way on a 3-on-1, giving Auston Matthews a chance to finish a one-timer. McMann's second of the night into the empty net put it to bed a...

With three days between games, the question posed before the game was how well the Hurricanes would look with two extra days of practice between games. With a lot of time spent working on their power play, there was cautious optimism that things would trend in the right direction. Against a lethal offense but a suffering defense, the Canes needed to find their groove, limit their mistakes, and take it to the Leafs on home ice. Otherwise, the new Core 4 would jump all over them to make sure their return to the ice would be a miserable one. Scoring Summary 1st Period TOR (0:53)- Bobby McMann (7) (Nicolas Roy (6) & Jake McCabe (8)) TOR (11:45)- Scott Laughton (2) (Philippe Myers (1) & Simon Benoit (3))  CAR (15:45)- Seth Jarvis (16) (Shayne Gostisbehere (16) & Sebastian Aho (17)) 2nd Period TOR (4:44)- Matthew Knies (7) (Max Domi (7) & Morgan Rielly (17)) TOR (10:39)- Auston Matthews (11) (Max Domi (8) & Matthew Knies (21)) 3rd Period TOR (18:16-EN)- Bobby McMann (...

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes continued their homestand on Sunday night, hosting the Calgary Flames in the third of seven straight at the Lenovo Center. Brandon Bussi earned consecutive starts for the first time in his NHL career after his strong performance against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. It wasn't a particularly fun game to watch. Neither team found the back of the net across the 60 minutes of regulation. Bussi was tested a few times, and he passed each one. In overtime, Nikolaj Ehlers was the hero, finishing a perfect pass from Taylor Hall to beat Devin Cooley and earn the second point. Bussi made 15 stops, recording his first NHL shutout as the Canes triumphed, 1-0.  Injury Report Jesperi Kotkaniemi: He was a full participant at practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, signaling he should be good to go soon, if not on Thursday. Pyotr Kochetkov: He was also in the goalie rotation at practice, though it's unclear when he'll be returning to the net. Jaccob Slavin: He s...