The Carolina Hurricanes returned to the United States, after a long trip in Canada. They played on consecutive nights, as they went to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Thursday night, before coming home to PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, last night.
Thursday night, the Hurricanes visited the Detroit Red Wings. Early in the game, both teams had shots on goal & were blocking shots. Less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game, (Red Wings left winger) Alex DeBrincat was called for high-sticking. While on the power play, the only shot on goal for the Hurricanes was from (left winger) Teuvo Teravainen.
The Red Wings nearly had a short-handed goal from (center) Michael Rasmussen. Just 22 seconds after the power play expired, the Hurricanes scored. After (defenseman) Brent Burns had 2 shots blocked, (center) Martin Nečas kept control of the puck. He passed to (right winger) Stefan Noesen, who set up (center) Jack Drury for an easy goal against (Red Wings goalie) Ville Husso. Late in the first period, the Red Wings earned their first power play, after Noesen was called for interference. The period ended with the Hurricanes leading 1-0, but the Red Wings still had 42 seconds left on their power play.
As the second period began, DeBrincat nearly scored before the power play expired. Shortly after that, Rasmussen was called for high-sticking. Though they missed the net in the 1st portion of the power play, the Hurricanes had some shots on goal from Noesen & Drury, followed by Nečas, after the power play expired. Some careless puck control from Nečas would ultimately help the Red Wings tie the game.
While he was trying to use some trickery, Nečas had the puck poke checked away from him by (Red Wings center/alternate captain) Andrew Copp. He passed the puck to (left winger) Jonatan Berggren, who quickly passed it back to Copp. Seeing Rasmussen ready to unload, Copp passed it & Rasmussen scored a goal against (Hurricanes goalie) Pyotr Kochetkov. The Hurricanes would retake the lead in crazy fashion, as (defenseman) Brett Pesce would retrieve a loose puck in Carolina’s defensive zone & deflect it off of the stick of (right winger) Jesper Fast. When the puck came near Husso, he tried tried to play it, but he missed it.
The puck caromed in front of the net & Husso desperately tried to deflect it away, but (Hurricanes center/captain) Jordan Staal tipped it in for a goal. Late in the period, Pesce was called for holding. Just like the first period, the second period ended with the Hurricanes leading, but the Red Wings having power play time to start the next period.
The third period saw the Red Wings fail to get a shot on goal, during the remainder of their power play. The Hurricanes doggedly tried to extend their lead, while repeatedly blocking shots. That determination would earn them a power play, as (Red Wings center) Austin Czarnik was called for delay of game. The Hurricanes had shots on goal from (defenseman) Brady Skjei & Nečas. With 11 seconds left, Nečas was called for holding, meaning there would be a brief moment of 4-on-4 hockey.
After Czarnik’s penalty expired, the Red Wings went on a power play. DeBrincat & (center) Joe Veleno had shots on goal for the Red Wings, but the Hurricanes nearly had a short-handed goal from (left winger/alternate captain) Jordan Martinook. Just 8 seconds after his penalty expired, Nečas had a shot on goal. With less than 3 minutes left in regulation, Copp was called for tripping.
Burns had a shot on goal, during the power play, but (Red Wings defenseman/alternate captain) Ben Chiarot nearly scored a short-handed goal before it ended. There was less than 1 minute remaining in regulation, when Copp’s penalty expired, so Husso was pulled for an extra attacker. The Red Wings had 2 last chances to score, but DeBrincat & (center) Robby Fabbri couldn’t get the puck past Kochetkov. The Hurricanes would win 2-1.
Last night, the Hurricanes were home to host the Nashville Predators. Over 5 minutes into the game, the Predators scored first. After (center) Tommy Novak had a shot saved by (Hurricanes goalie) Antti Raanta, a goal was scored by (center) Juuso Parssinen. The puck went through Raanta’s legs & trickled over the line, before Pesce could knock it away. A little more than 3 minutes after that goal, the Hurricanes earned a power play, when (defenseman) Alexandre Carrier was called for hooking.
The Hurricanes had an early shot on goal from (defenseman) Tony DeAngelo, but he would contribute later in the power play. Drury skated around, until he found Nečas. He & DeAngelo passed the puck back & forth, then Nečas passed back to Drury, who shot the puck. Noesen tipped it in past (Predators goalie) Kevin Lankinen to tie the game with a power play goal. Less than 2 minutes later, the Hurricanes earned another power play, when (Predators center) Yakov Trenin was called for tripping. After a face-off, (Hurricanes left winger) Michael Bunting battled for a loose puck & fed DeAngelo for an 8-second power play goal.
The Predators earned a power play, near the end of the first period, as Burns was called for holding. However, the period ended with the Hurricanes leading 2-1 & the Predators with only 10 seconds of power play time left.
As the second period began, the Predators had their power play expire with no shots on goal, but they would quickly tie the game early in the period. It started with (left winger) Gustav Nyquist passing to (defenseman/captain) Roman Josi on a wrap-around. Josi quickly passed it back to Nyquist, who passed to (center/alternate captain) Ryan O’Reilly. Seeing Josi, O’Reilly passed it off to him, so he didn’t turn the puck over. Josi forced Staal & Martinook to collide, then scored a wrap-around goal on Raanta.
However, the Hurricanes regained the lead, 57 seconds later. It started with (defenseman) Jalen Chatfield retrieving a loose puck in Carolina’s defensive zone. He passed to (defenseman) Dmitry Orlov, who tried to pass to Kotkaniemi (who was trying to get off of the ice), but Bunting covered him & passed to Martinook. When some more Hurricanes (including Kotkaniemi) entered the offensive zone, Martinook passed the puck back to Bunting.
He shot, then Chatfield redirected the puck for a goal. Just 19 seconds later, the Hurricanes scored again. Burns poke checked the puck away from Novak. Noesen recovered it & passed to (center/alternate captain) Sebastian Aho. After an exchange with (center) Seth Jarvis, Aho fired a rocket past Lankinen. While Jarvis assisted with that goal, he was called for goalie interference, 3 1/2 minutes later.
The Predators only needed 45 seconds for the power play. It started with (left winger) Filip Forsberg having his shot blocked by Slavin, but (center) Colton Sissons & Nyquist were able to chip the puck to Josi. He set up Forsberg for a laser shot that was saved by Raanta. However, O’Reilly (who was in the front of the net) got a rebound & scored a power play goal. Unfortunately for the Predators, the Hurricanes responded 25 seconds later. It started with (Predators defenseman) Jérémy Lauzon making a long pass to Parssinen.
While having Skjei defend him, Parssinen lost his stick, but (center) Cody Glass was able to get a shot, although it went wide. The puck caromed all the way to Nashville’s defensive zone. Carrier retrieved the puck & tried to pass to Parssinen. However, he lifted his skate & Nečas fired a shot past Lankinen. This time, the Predators had a quick response. After (defenseman) Luke Schenn & (center) Michael McCarron won a puck battle against Jarvis, Schenn passed to (center) Philip Tomasino.
Seeing an odd-man rush developing, Tomasino passed to (left winger) Cole Smith, who quickly passed to (defenseman) Tyson Barrie. Knowing he had open ice, Barrie picked his spot & scored on Raanta. Over 5 1/2 minutes later, Staal was called for hooking. In the first 33 seconds of the power play, the Predators had 3 shots on goal. The power play would abruptly end, when the Predators had too many men on the ice. The period ended with shot blocking from both teams, during 4-on-4 & Carolina’s power play. The Hurricanes led 5-4.
In the third period, there were shots on goal & blocked shots from both teams in the first 11 minutes. However, the Predators would ultimately be rewarded with about 9 minutes remaining in regulation. Novak poke checked the puck away from Aho & led an odd-man rush. He passed to Parssinen, who passed to (right winger) Luke Evangelista. He set up Lauzon for the tying goal. Directly after that goal, Slavin nearly regained the lead, after Staal won a faceoff. The blocking for the Predators was on display for the remainder of the game, as the Hurricanes rarely got a shot on goal, since Slavin’s near goal.
The game ended 5-5 in regulation. Overtime only took 35 seconds. While Josi was behind Lankinen’s net, he tried to pass to O’Reilly, but he & Slavin simultaneously popped the puck in the air. Forsberg caught it, slipped past Burns, & scored the goal to give the Predators a 6-5 overtime victory.