"Shark Bait (Ooh Ha Ha)": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 28: Carolina Hurricanes vs. San Jose Sharks

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 Eklund (11) & John Klingberg (5))

3rd Period

SJS (18:40-EN)- Macklin Celebrini (15) (Alexander Wennberg (9))

My Thoughts

The first period tonight was pretty good. They gave up another early goal, but the Carolina Hurricanes rebounded to tie it. There wasn't too much to be disappointed with. Then, the second period started, and the Canes looked so many steps behind the Sharks. It was less that their mistakes ended up in the back of the net and more that San Jose just took it to them. Before San Jose scored the go-ahead goal in the second, the Canes had a chance to get it out of the zone, with a Shark losing their stick. Instead, the player without a stick kicked the puck free, allowing San Jose to keep the puck in the zone as they scored. The final 40 minutes were incredibly uninspired. They deserved to lose this game. 

So, this Macklin Celebrini kid...he's pretty good, right? He set the tone with his beautiful pass to Collin Graf for a tap-in on the first shot of the game. Then, he was patient around the net, waiting for John Klingberg to become available for a one-timer in the slot. As is often the case, his hard work was rewarded with the help of his teammates' hard work, with Alexander Wennberg winning a battle to get Celebrini the empty-net goal. After two goals off the scoresheet, Celebrini notched three tonight, moving back into second in the league with 43 points. Not bad.

Even in the overall underwhelming nature of this contest for the Hurricanes, there were plenty of solid individual efforts. Chief among them was Pyotr Kochetkov, who made his return to the lineup only to be met with this effort from the group in front of him. He made 18 stops tonight, doing everything he could to keep the Canes within striking distance. None of the goals were on him. It's a shame that this is how he loses his perfect season. I also liked seeing the power play score, with the most unlikely of scorers. Shayne Gostisbehere extended his point streak to three games, having his shot from the point redirected by Jordan Staal, who scored his first power play goal in over four years. The second line had a pretty good two periods, even if they were split in the third with the lines thrown in a blender.

Getting the win on Saturday was great, but they failed to carry that momentum into Sunday. With tonight's loss, the Canes have failed the mission I gave them this weekend. They only earned two of four possible points. Fortunately, some of the results tonight have helped, with the Islanders losing in regulation and the Penguins falling in a shootout. I'm waiting for them to find another long winning streak, but their play recently hasn't provided much confidence. We're going to need a lot more from them, starting with Tuesday's effort to finish the homestand.

First Star of the Game: Pyotr Kochetkov

It wasn't an ideal return from injury for Pyotr Kochetkov, though that's more because of the group's effort than his own. He made a few pad stops with the game at 3-1 that would've been good to look back at had the Hurricanes made a comeback. Unfortunately, that never happened. 

Next Up: The Canes finish their homestand on Tuesday with a national game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, kicking off a big week against the Metropolitan Division. They'll be in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for a rematch against the Capitals before a home-and-home next weekend against the Philadelphia Flyers.