"BOOM!": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 69: Carolina Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs

It's time for another road trip, but the Carolina Hurricanes aren't straying from their time zone, so that in itself is a win. The Canes begin by heading to the center of the hockey universe to battle the Toronto Maple Leafs, who look very different from the last time they faced the Canes in December. They're without their captain, Auston Matthews, who had season-ending knee surgery this week. They also traded three forwards at the break, allowing a few others to step into the lineup. Still, there is no shortage of top players at the top of the lineup, anchored by the trio of William Nylander, Matthews Knies, and John Tavares. The Canes have played a few very interesting games over the last week, including their wild back-and-forth affair with the Penguins on Wednesday. They haven't put together a 60-minute effort in a good bit, so it would be nice to get that from them tonight.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

TOR (11:48)- Dakota Joshua (9) (Bo Groulx (2) & Mattias Maccelli (20))

2nd Period

CAR (5:57-PP)- Jordan Staal (17) (Seth Jarvis (27) & Sebastian Aho (46))

CAR (12:35-PS)- Eric Robinson (12) (unassisted)

TOR (13:47)- John Tavares (24) (Calle Jarnkrok (2) & Jake McCabe (18))

CAR (17:40-SH)- K'Andre Miller (6) (unassisted)

3rd Period

TOR (13:50)- William Nylander (24) (Mattias Maccelli (21))

Overtime

CAR (0:41)- Alexander Nikishin (10) (Seth Jarvis (28) & Sebastian Aho (47))

My Thoughts

For a team that has been very good against the best teams in the league this season, the Carolina Hurricanes have shown numerous instances when they either couldn't get it done against teams outside of the playoff picture or allowed them to stay in the race too long. Tonight was no exception. The Maple Leafs aren't going to the playoffs this season, bringing an end to the longest active streak in the league at nine seasons. They also didn't have their captain and leading goal scorer. Yet, the Canes allowed this one to stay close for too long. It nearly cost them a second point tonight. Fortunately, they got it over the finish line in overtime. Toronto deserves a ton of credit. For everything that hasn't gone well for them this season, they aren't going away quietly. 

Down a goal after an underwhelming opening 20 minutes, the Hurricanes made a little franchise history in a very unconventional way. Eric Robinson drew a four-minute power play by taking a stick to the face, and the Canes didn't do a great job of showing some urgency. They took nearly the entire power play to finally get it into the net, with a great tip by Jordan Staal between his legs. Robinson drew another call later in the frame, only this one led to him getting a penalty shot. Opportunities like this don't come often, and the Canes don't have a history of burying these chances. However, Robinson got it between Joseph Woll's glove and left pad to put it into the back of the net, similar to Jordan Martinook's short-handed tally on Wednesday. Speaking of short-handed goals, the Canes got another tonight. With the game tied at two. K'Andre Miller stripped Morgan Rielly to get free while down a man. He beat Woll to the same side, except he finished it on the backhand with a beautiful move to freeze the netminder. It marked the first time in franchise history that the Canes scored a PPG, a PSG, and a SHG in the same period, which is a weirdly specific stat, but it's cool to see history being made.

I won't be the first person to say that Brandon Bussi didn't have a great night, allowing three goals that ranged from "surprisingly soft" to "yikes!". The goal by John Tavares stands out as being particularly bad. However, Bussi was the winning goalie tonight, so he clearly did a few things right. Throughout the final two periods in regulation, Bussi showed flashes of what made him brilliant before the Olympic break. He stood tall on a few odd-man chances, including a pair while the team was on the power play in the third. He only had one bad puck-handling moment, though it came while he was still in the crease and kicked a soft rebound to a spot for Dkota Joshua to score. Otherwise, there weren't any glaring issues with how Bussi played the puck. I think there are some positive building blocks for Bussi to use moving forward. He's likely to draw his next assignment in Montreal on Tuesday. He played his worst game of the season against them on New Year's Day, so it'll be something for him to look forward to.

At the end of the night, it came down to a face-off in overtime to decide the game. Jordan Staal won the opening draw against John Tavares by using his skate, giving the Canes the first, and, as it turned out, only possession of the frame. Just 41 seconds later, the puck was in the back of the net. Alexander Nikishin, who hit the post earlier in the game, did the same in overtime. This time, it broke the right way. He's the first rookie defenseman with 10 goals, getting a second huge point for the group. Seth Jarvis made the pass to find Nikishin as he came off the bench. It was his second primary assist of the night. The secondary helper went to Sebastian Aho. The duo combined to get Staal on the board in the second period. That secondary assist got Aho to 70 points for the fifth time as he closes in on another point-per-game season. It was a good way to end an uneven win for the team.

First Star of the Game: Eric Robinson

This was a tough call, with K'Andre Miller playing an outstanding game, but I'm going with Eric Robinson because of his importance on two of the team's goals during the second period. He used his head on the first one, taking a stick to the chops to help get the power play on the board. Then, his speed through the neutral zone gave him a chance to draw a penalty shot, which he perfectly placed into the net. He's closing in on his goal total from a season ago, needing just two goals to match it.

Around the League

Pittsburgh: Before welcoming the Hurricanes to town on Sunday, the Penguins will try to close the gap between them and the division leaders when they face the Jets on Saturday afternoon.

Columbus: There are some big points on the board for the Blue Jackets this weekend, welcoming the Kraken to town on Saturday before a big clash with the Islanders on Sunday on Long Island.

New York (I): Like Columbus, the Islanders have a game on Saturday, heading to Montreal to face the Canadiens, who are also in need of points in the Atlantic Division.

Current Standings

Carolina: 94 Points (13 GR)

Pittsburgh: 84 Points (14 GR)

Columbus: 83 Points (14 GR)

New York (I): 83 Points (13 GR)

Next Up: The road trip continues to Pittsburgh on Sunday, bringing us the final meeting of the season between the division foes to decide the season series. The last two meetings over the last two weeks have needed extra time to resolve. The trip concludes in Montreal on Tuesday night, with the Canes looking to play a cleaner game than when these two met in Raleigh on New Year's Day. The Canes return from the trip to a three-day break that ends when they host a weekend back-to-back against the Devils and the Canadiens on Saturday and Sunday.