Thoughts From My Couch

The Hurricanes started their three-game road trip in Dallas on Tuesday night, suffering a 4-2 loss behind a few defensive lapses. After two days off, the Canes took their talents to Arizona to conclude their season series with the Coyotes. It was nearly three weeks ago that Dmitry Orlov scored in the final minute to break a 1-1 tie to help the Canes pick up a win before the All-Star Break. Arizona is trying to snap a seven-game losing streak and get back into the playoff race in the Western Conference. Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (0:16)- Jordan Martinook (9) (assisted by Brady Skjei (22) & Jordan Staal (12)) CAR (4:50)- Jalen Chatfield (5) (assisted by Martin Necas (20) & Jack Drury (15)) ARZ (14:32)- Dylan Guenther (5) (unassisted) 2nd Period CAR (6:28)- Seth Jarvis (17) (unassisted) CAR (17:16)- Teuvo Teravainen (17) PP (assisted by Jack Drury (16) & Stefan Noesen (17)) 3rd Period CAR (4:37)- Michael Bunting (12) (assisted by Martin Necas (21)) My Thoughts When I saw t...

The Hurricanes embarked on a three-game road trip, beginning on Tuesday night when they stopped in Dallas to face the Stars. As has become customary in recent years, this was a tight contest. The Canes nearly scored on one of their first shifts, with Seth Jarvis tipping a shot off the crossbar. Roope Hintz got the Stars ahead in the first period, freezing Pyotr Kochetkov before snapping one between his pads. The Canes' captain responded 13 seconds into the second period, burying a backhanded saucer pass past Jake Oettinger to knot things up. Less than five minutes later, the Stars regained their lead as Mason Marchment beat Kochetkov from the left dot as he came off the bench. The Canes tied it again late in the second period as Jesper Fast legally redirected Jordan Martinook's shot off his skate and into the net. Once again, the Stars were the next to score, but it would put them ahead for good this time. Jason Robertson found himself with plenty of space to bury the go-ahead ...

For just the second time in over a month, the Hurricanes are on the road for the first of three stops on their final Western trip of the season. Their first battle was in Dallas to face the stars for the first time this season. The Canes enter the night trying to maintain their position in the division, with the Flyers bearing down and the Rangers trying to extend their lead. The Stars are in the middle of a tough battle in the Central Division, so they can't afford to start slacking now. Scoring Summary 1st Period DAL (9:53)- Roope Hintz (23) (assisted by Joe Pavelski (26) & Jason Robertson (36)) 2nd Period CAR (0:13)- Jordan Staal (7) (assisted by Seth Jarvis (25) & Jordan Martinook (10)) DAL (5:04)- Mason Marchment (17) (assisted by Nils Lundkvist (13) & Matt Duchene (31)) CAR (15:16)- Jesper Fast (6) (assisted by Jordan Martinook (11) & Jordan Staal (11)) 3rd Period DAL (4:35)- Jason Robertson (18) (assisted by Joe Pavelski (27) & Jani Hakanpaa (7)) DAL (17:...

The Carolina Hurricanes celebrated Whalers Night on Saturday, turning the clock back to return to their roots. The fans in attendance were treated to all of the bells and whistles associated with the days in Hartford. On the ice, the Canes and Devils went to war. Pyotr Kochetkov and Vitek Vanecek went save-for-save for 60 minutes, with neither goalie allowing a goal in regulation. Both faced over 30 shots, but neither team was able to break through. With overtime being needed, the game opened up a lot. Kochetkov made two big stops on Tyler Toffoli, allowing his team to go the other way. Martin Necas' initial shot was stopped, but Sebastian Aho was there to bat the puck out of mid-air and into the net to secure the win. Kochetkov finished the night with 34 saves to record his second shutout of the season.  The Opponent: Dallas Stars (32-14-6, 70 Points- 1st in the Central Division) The Stars came close to reaching the top of the mountain last season, falling six wins short by fallin...

Daily Headlines Monday 2/5 Alexis Lafreniere helps the Rangers win a tight one 2-1 against the Avalanche, scoring the game-winner in overtime after Artemi Panarin tied the game in the third period.  Pierre Engvall stuns his former team, scoring with 2:02 left as the Islanders return from the break with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Tuesday 2/6 The NHL announces that next year's Winter Classic will feature the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field. Edmonton falls one game short of tying the NHL record for the longest win streak, losing 3-1 to the Golden Knights to snap their 16-game win streak. Elias Lindholm scores twice on the power play in his Canucks debut as Vancouver beat the Hurricanes 3-2 in Raleigh. Andrei Kuzmenko finds the back of the net in his first game as a Flame in a 4-1 win for Calgary over the Bruins in Beantown. Tristan Jarry stops 23 shots to post his league-leading sixth shutout of the season as the Penguins down the Jets 3-...

The Hurricanes turned back the clock on Saturday night as the organization celebrated its roots. The team got back into the win column on Thursday behind Martin Necas' natural hat trick in the first period as the Canes won 5-2 over the Colorado Avalanche. Tonight, they sported their white Whalers jerseys as they welcomed the New Jersey Devils to town. The Devils saw Jack Hughes return to action in their loss on Thursday to the Flames. The Canes will get a little bit of that with Andrei Svechnikov returning after missing the last six games. Scoring Summary 1st Period None 2nd Period None 3rd Period None Overtime CAR (3:40)- Sebastian Aho (19) (assisted by Martin Necas (19) & Jaccob Slavin (18)) My Thoughts As we all guessed we'd see before the game, Pyotr Kochetkov and Vitek Vanecek provided one of the best goalie battles of the season. We were 80 seconds away from both goalies earning a shutout if not for a timely bunt from Sebastian Aho in overtime. The Canes and Devils co...

The Carolina Hurricanes got back in the win column on Thursday night in a spirited and odd encounter with the Colorado Avalanche. Martin Necas was the early story, scoring a natural hat trick in just 16:51 in the first period to propel the Canes to a 3-0 lead. It looked like that would be the case going into the intermission, but Zach Parise scored his first goal with the Avalanche during a 4-on-4 to cut into the Canes' lead. Seven seconds later, Samuel Girard threw the puck at the net from just inside of center ice. Pyotr Kochetkov went to catch it but it hit his glove and went into the net. What looked to be a 3-0 lead was quickly just 3-2. Rod Brind'Amour opted to change goalies in the second period, sending Antti Raanta out to take over. Raanta was phenomenal, keeping the Avalanche from tying the game. To help matters, Michael Bunting buried a goal on the power play to restore the two-goal lead. To start the third period, Kochetkov was back in the net after the team announc...