Thoughts From My Couch

On paper, this game promises to be a game between heavyweights as the top two teams in the league based on point percentage square off in Raleigh. It has been a long time since Colorado has been in town. They last visited on February 28, 2020, right before the COVID pause. The Canes erased a 2-0 deficit in the third period on two goals from Teuvo Teravainen, but Samuel Girard scored late in the third period to give the Avs a 3-2 win on the road. The Canes had won the meeting earlier in the season in Colorado, with Jaccob Slavin breaking the 1-1 tie late in the third period before Sebastian Aho scored the empty-netter to win 3-1. The Canes have been off since Sunday night after a hard-fought win over Seattle. The game was very back and forth. The Kraken held 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but a power play goal from Teravainen late in the second and a slump-breaking goal from Martin Necas midway through the third secured the victory for the Canes. Antti Raanta held down the fort and made some big sa...

There's no denying that Friday night's win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime was an emotional one. Tonight, the team will have to put that behind them as they welcome the Seattle Kraken to Raleigh for their inaugural game inside PNC Arena. Jordan Staal scored twice on Friday night and Andrei Svechnikov scored the game-winner on the power play in overtime to secure two points over their division rival, while Antti Raanta picked up the win for his 101st of his career. The Canes and Kraken met in Seattle in November and it resulted in the Kraken's first-ever win over Carolina. Brendan Smith opened the scoring in the first period, but Jared McCann scored on the power play to tie it in the second to knot it at one heading into the third period. Marcus Johansson untied it late in the third period as Seattle held on to beat Frederik Andersen and the Canes 2-1. Alex Lyon was called up on an emergency basis and will serve as the back-up to Raanta tonight with Andersen conside...

After a bad 4-0 loss last night with the offense generating absolutely nothing, there's only one way for the Canes to go and that's up. It doesn't help that tonight's opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins, is the best road team in the league. They lead the league in road wins as they come into the Canes' barn for the second of three meetings this season. The loss to Washington last night was a tough one. It was the second time they'd been shut out this season, both of which have been on ESPN+. Frederik Andersen took the loss for the Canes and while this wasn't his best performance, he was really the only one that showed up. It ended the point streaks of both Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen as well as the team's seven-game point streak. These two teams met up 12 days ago in Pittsburgh in a very back-and-forth affair. The Canes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, then scored nine seconds into the second. The Penguins responded with two goals late ...

A rivalry is renewed when the Hurricanes and Capitals collide for the second time this season. The first meeting left me with a sour taste in my mouth. The Canes fell down 2-0 after the second period but clawed their way back in the third to tie it was just over six minutes left in the game. They would then be called for two penalties 30 seconds apart in the last five minutes and after killing the first penalty, the Capitals scored with 2:55 left in the game before adding an empty-netter to win 4-2. I felt the slash on Aho was a 50/50 call at best and it felt like far worse had been going on to that point. Regardless, they took the loss in November, so tonight should be about getting even. The Canes surrendered a late lead to the Red Wings on Tuesday night, dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime after a costly penalty during the extra session. Despite the losing decision, the Canes have earned points in their last seven games (5-0-2), their longest since opening the season with nine strai...

The first time these two met this season was during the height of the Canes' COVID mess. Back on December 16, the Canes sent out a team with a lot of its AHL guys and only ten forwards. It featured one of the most back-and-forth first periods of the season as the two sides alternated goals for 20 minutes. Jesper Fast and Jesperi Kotkaniemi both assisted on two goals and Jack Drury scored his first NHL goal in a wild 3-2 period. The Canes would go on to win that night, despite being shorthanded on the ice, 5-3 with two goals in the third period to beat Alex Nedeljkovic in his return to Raleigh. This time, the Canes will be mostly complete in that they'll have a full team on the ice. The Canes are coming off a tight 2-1 win over Edmonton on Sunday afternoon. Frederik Andersen made 29 saves in the win with Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho providing the scoring in the first period. Andersen gets the night off with Antti Raanta in the starter's crease during the morning skate....

The month of February was supposed to be a three-week break for the Olympics. There weren't games scheduled at the beginning of the season until the end of the month. Instead, there were some games that needed to be made up and the schedule quickly became loaded. There were some high-quality opponents on the ledger, especially early in the month. The All-Star break helped to break some of it up, but the games came fast and furious in the month. With a lead in the division, the focus was going to be finding a way to extend the distance between the Rangers and the Penguins. This is a look back at February for the Carolina Hurricanes.  The Month in Review Before the fun of February could begin, Sebastian Aho, Frederik Andersen, and Rod Brind'Amour represented the team in the All-Star game for the Metropolitan Division. They all had great showings too. Aho proved he was the league's most accurate shooter, knocking out all four targets in four shots. He also scored a goal, while...

It's Kids Day at PNC Arena and though I'm not sure we'll see another game like it, the Canes are going to need to be just as good with the Oilers in town for the final meeting this season. The Canes outshot Columbus 50-19 in their 4-0 win on Friday night against a tired Blue Jackets team. Frederik Andersen recorded his third shutout of the season with four different Hurricanes finding the back of the net on J.F. Berube. The win was their fourth straight and they've scored at least four goals in each of those wins. This is the second and final meeting between the Oilers and Hurricanes this season. They met on December 11, my birthday, north of the border with the Hurricanes shutting down the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl. Sebastian Aho scored twice and added an assist to factor in on each of the team's goals in a 3-1 victory. Andersen made 22 saves that night, beating Mikko Koskinen. I don't expect any lineup changes for the team from the win on Friday nig...