"A Whale of the Night": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 53: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Utah Mammoth

I'd almost forgotten what gameday felt like. That's how long it has been since the Carolina Hurricanes played. We only have one more week of games before the Olympics break, so let's enjoy it while we can. Tonight, it's actually the Hartford Whalers on the ice, playing in their green, blue, and white for the final time this season against the Utah Mammoth. The group is getting positive results, recording points in their last five games, even if their effort isn't always the best. Their lead in the Metropolitan Division is okay, but it would certainly be better with two more points tonight. The team is welcoming Shayne Gostisbehere back into the lineup, which hopefully bodes well for a power play that has struggled in its last two outings. Facing Karel Vejmelka, you're either scoring five times or not at all. We'll see which side the Hurricanes land on tonight.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (3:04)- Andrei Svechnikov (19) (unassisted)

2nd Period

UTH (4:10)- Kailer Yamamoto (6) (Jack McBain (12))

UTH (8:24)- Kailer Yamamoto (7) (Nick DeSimone (3) & Michael Carcone (10))

CAR (17:36-PP)- Shayne Gotsisbehere (7) (Andrei Svechnikov (26) & Seth Jarivs (17))

UTH (17:55)- John-Jason Peterka (19) (Barrett Hayton (11))

3rd Period

UTH (7:11)- Michael Carcone (11) (Jack McBain (13) & Kailer Yamamoto (7))

CAR (18:01-PP)- Andrei Svechnikov (20) (Shayne Gostisbehere (27) & Nikolaj Ehlers (27))

CAR (18:33)- Shayne Gostisbehere (8) (Jackson Blake (16) & Jaccob Slavin (3))

CAR (19:30)- Jordan Staal (12) (Jordan Martinook (10) & Jalen Chatfield (12))

My Thoughts

While I wasn't at the game tonight, I did the home equivalent of it, which is refusing to believe the team had a chance to win after the Mammoth made it 4-2 in the third. I didn't turn the game off, which might be a more appropriate comparison, but it was looking bleak. Shame on me, though, because I've seen the Carolina Hurricanes do some miraculous things. This ranks very high up there. Scoring three goals in the final two minutes of regulation almost makes you forget about all of the defensive mistakes they made tonight, or the missed calls that allowed Utah to take the lead in the first place. I'll talk about Shayne Gostisbehere's offensive night in a minute because his defensive night was rough in his first game in over two weeks. He contributed to a pair of Utah's goals by mishandling or losing pucks. Jalen Chatfield also had a glaring mistake, which led to a goal. The Mammoth probably deserved better than what they got, but they'll get nothing and like it (or not).

Andrei Svechnikov is having an incredible month, and tonight was just a drop in the bucket for what has been a good start to 2026 for him. He played a part in the Canes' first three goals, scoring two and setting up another. It's his sixth multi-point game in January, and his fourth in just under two weeks. Gostisbehere, while not playing well defensively, looked just fine on offense. He scored a big goal on the power play in the second period to momentarily tie the game. Gostisbehere also played a big part in setting up Svechnikov's second goal before tying the game 32 seconds later with his second. Jackson Blake made an incredible pass to set it up, too, getting his pass through a maze of sticks to put it on a tee. With four goals accounted for, it was the captain who finished it. With 29.4 seconds left, the comeback was completed. Chatfield made up for his mistake by throwing the puck at the net. Jordan Martinook tipped it to Jordan Staal for the tap-in and the win. Chatfield didn't get credited with a point, but he was also key on the opening goal, pressuring Clayton Keller off the puck before Svechnikov broke the ice. 

Getting Gostisbehere back in the lineup led to results on the power play, but to call the group good tonight feels wrong. They looked abysmal on their first chance, completely sucking the life out of their game and allowing Utah to turn the momentum in their favor. They got the goal in the second period, but still failed to look cohesive at all. Nikolaj Ehlers drew a four-minute high-sticking penalty with 5:18 to go, and the first half of it looked like more of the same. The Canes scored during the second half with 1:59 remaining, and that's when the game decided to get crazy, eventually leading to the win. It's crazy to think that one moment changed the course of the game. The power play needs to be better, even after scoring two goals.

The Hurricanes and the Mammoth only meet twice a year. Tonight's game had the chipiness of a contest between teams that meet far more frequently than that. Mikhail Sergachev joined an illustrious group of visitors who get booed every time they touch the puck. He took out Jesperi Kotkaniemi with a bad shove along the boards and proceeded to taunt the fans as he was being escorted to the box. There were plenty of extra-curriculars, especially between the teams' top lines. With where Utah is in the standings right now, every point is important, so coming up empty tonight is a bummer. They showed the emotions of a team fighting to keep its spot in the standings. The Canes responded like a team equally desperate to keep its spot atop the division. They don't meet again until the end of the season, so we'll see if there's any carryover in a little over two months. 

First Star of the Game: Andrei Svechnikov

He was the best player on the ice for either team tonight, and I'm confident in saying it wasn't close. Andrei Svechnikov is operating on a plane of existence we've seen him on a few times throughout his career. He broke personal bests with his 10th goal and 19th point in January with his three-point effort. His entire line was good tonight, but Svechnikov was easily the star of the show.

Next Up: The Canes have a back-to-back this weekend against the Capitals and the Kings, though the weather could make things a little more interesting. The Triangle is expected to get some snow, so we might have to be a little flexible with the schedule. Next week, they close their pre-break schedule at home against the Senators on Tuesday and in New York against the Rangers on Thursday.