"Calamari": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 37: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Detroit Red Wings

With the holidays behind them, it was back to business on Saturday night for the Hurricanes. Their return means a chance to get back on track after a tumultuous journey into Christmas, losing three straight games after blowing multi-goal leads, including a pair of losses to the Panthers. They played without \some of their snarl in the lineup, but both Jordan Martinook and William Carrier appeared poised to return for the group tonight. Brandon Bussi was also back in the net for the first time since losing his nine-game winning streak in Sunrise. Facing a Detroit team on a roll and pushing to pass them for the top spot in the conference, the Canes needed to simplify and return to the ways things had been in Raleighwood.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

DET (12:39)- Michael Rasmussen (5) (JT Compher (8))

2nd Period

CAR (3:22)- Jackson Blake (11) (Shayne Gostisbehere (24))

CAR (4:37)- Eric Robinson (9) (Sebastian Aho (20) & Andrei Svechnikov (16))

CAR (15:22)- Shayne Gostisbehere (4) (Jalen Chatfield (6) & William Carrier (5))

3rd Period

DET (3:11-PP)- Andrew Copp (4) (John Leonard (2) & Axel Sandin Pellikka (11))

CAR (13:09)- Andrei Svechnikov (10) (unassisted)

CAR (18:39-EN)- Jordan Martinook (5) (Andrei Svechnikov (17) & Shayne Gostisbehere (25))

My Thoughts

I can't tell you the level of anxiety induced when the Detroit Red Wings made it 3-2 early in the third period. Multi-goal leads of any kind haven't been safe around the Carolina Hurricanes for the better part of two weeks now. While they've lost three straight after blowing leads, some might've forgotten that they blew a 2-0 lead against the Flyers in the second half of that back-to-back, too. They managed to win that one, though. Leads against Florida and Tampa haven't been as safe. This was a good step for the group, which desperately needed to get on the right side of this result. It helps when you play a third period that we're more accustomed to seeing. We managed to keep our sanity, watching the Canes get back in the win column.

For all intents and purposes, the Hurricanes were the better team by a considerable margin tonight. The Red Wings had the lead after 20 minutes, and they put up a good fight in the third period, but the Canes were pretty much skating laps around them for the better part of two periods. John Gibson was lights out to start the night, but the Canes eventually earned their breaks. The second period was flawless. They outshot the Wings 17-4 in the middle frame, and they found the back of the net three times. The first two were hard-working goals in transition before a beautiful play off the draw got them a third. The third period was a little tougher, but they won it, too. It was a sensational effort from the group tonight to erase what happened before Christmas.

It took the entire group to get this one home. At the forefront of the effort was Andrei Svechnikov. A lot of pressure has been placed upon him for some mistakes last week. Lest we forget that Svechnikov now has points in five straight games after his three-point effort tonight. He was big on the Canes' second goal. He flubbed the pass but stuck with it before Eric Robinson scored for the third game in a row. The biggest moment of the night was his goal in the third. He forced Dylan Larkin to slip and turn it over in the slot, wrapping the present for him to restore the Canes' two-goal lead. Svechnikov finished it with an assist on Jordan Martinook's 100th career goal. Shayne Gostisbehere also had a goal and two helpers. His goal was especially pretty, coming off a perfectly executed face-off play that earned him plenty of space to snipe it top shelf on Gibson. Martinook and William Carrier both had excellent showings in their returns to the lineup, finding the scoresheet and laying some big hits.

The Canes dominated play, and no place was that clearer than looking down the Red Wings' numbers tonight. Detroit's top three scorers (Raymond, DeBrincat, and Larkin) finished tonight with zero points, three shots, and a combined -10 (Raymond/Larkin: -4, DeBrincat: -2). Meanwhile, the Canes' top three healthy scorers had seven points (Svechnikov/Gostisbehere: 3 each, Aho: 1), and the rest of the lineup followed suit. They also won the battle in the net despite Gibson's early brilliance. Brandon Bussi came up with big stops in big moments, which is par for the course for him. It's so much more fun to talk about these games when they win, especially by this much.

First Star of the Game: Andrei Svechnikov

There's a part of me that hopes this game is a big sign of things to come for Andrei Svechnikov. While he had points in the four games before this one, there have also been big gaffes in some of those contests. Tonight, Svechnikov was solid from the jump. He earned the bounce on his goal by applying pressure on Larkin, causing him to fall and hand him a goal on a platter. I also enjoyed the selfless play to help Jordan Martinook get his milestone goal.

Next Up: The Canes have two more divisional games before the calendar switches to 2026. They host the Rangers on Monday before visiting the Penguins on Tuesday. Their start to open the new year is tough. The Canes welcome the Montreal Canadiens on New Year's Day before another back-to-back against the Avalanche and the Devils next weekend.