"Singin' the Blues": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 47: Carolina Hurricanes at St. Louis Blues

It doesn't matter how last night ended. It's all about what the Carolina Hurricanes choose to do in response. Tonight, they turn their focus to the St. Louis Blues to complete this quick back-to-back on the road. They don't have time to think about Monday night in Detroit. All of their attention is on the Blues. The Canes wouldn't have Jaccob Slavin for the contest, keeping him out for the second half as part of his rehab. It would be a big change with the Canes' pillar of stability, Brandon Bussi, in the net. Tonight marks his 20th start in the NHL, and he's going for win #17. To do it, he'll need to beat a Blues team that is sliding and playing without its top scorer and one of its top defensemen. This has the makings of a classic trap game, if the Canes aren't careful. I feel like they'll be plenty motivated to earn two points, but we'll have to see whether my intuition is correct.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

STL (3:09-SH)- Nick Bjugstad (5) (Otto Stenberg (6) & Justin Faulk (11)) 

STL (9:45)- Dalibor Dvorsky (7) (Jake Neighbours (8) & Tyler Tucker (7))

STL (12:49-PP)- Jimmy Snuggerud (7) (Jordan Kyrou (11) & Brayden Schenn (10))

3rd Period

None

My Thoughts

I'm going to keep this one short because there isn't too much to this game. The Blues wanted it more, and they earned it. The Canes looked like a team playing the second half of a back-to-back against a team with two days of rest. Honestly, the Blues won this game by exposing the Canes' transition defense. They scored all three goals on odd-man chances, and that was pretty much all she wrote. They clogged lanes to block shots, and Joel Hofer stopped everything that got through. He's tied for the league lead with four shutouts now. I didn't think the Canes played a bad first period, but their second period was rough. That's when the Blues jumped on them and didn't let them up to breathe until the horn sounded. I give the Blues all the credit in the world for what they did tonight.

There's only so much Brandon Bussi can do about this one. I knew that this was going to be a tough spot for him to be in, and he did his best to keep his team in the game. Ultimately, he can't do everything. Bussi stopped 28 shots, playing two perfect periods. The Blues went to school on the high-glove location, scoring two identical goals in the same spot. I don't fault Bussi for any of the goals he allowed. When you have three or four opponents bearing down with only one or two of your teammates defending, you're being put into an impossible spot. Tonight, Bussi couldn't save the Canes, and he wasn't given the proper backing to get it done.

Tonight was the Hurricanes' 8th game in 13 days, tied for the most in the league to this point in January. Wednesday and Thursday are the first multi-day break they've had since Christmas. Since the holiday pause, the Canes have played three sets of back-to-backs. This team looked exhausted, and that's exactly how they played. It doesn't excuse their poor effort tonight, but it's worth mentioning. They need this two-day break because they're in for another big weekend.

Next Up: This weekend, the Hurricanes go back-to-back once more. They get a few days off to prepare for the Florida Panthers on Friday night, marking the final meeting of the regular season between the two. On Saturday night, they're back in Newark to battle the New Jersey Devils for the second time in less than two weeks. Next week, the Hurricanes have an afternoon battle on MLK Day, a visit from the Blackhawks, and a quick saunter to Canada's capital on the schedule.