Carolina Hurricanes Update
They say there’s no place like home. In January, that has been true for the Carolina Hurricanes. For the last few games, they have been lighting the lamps at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. As this 6-game homestand ends with the Minnesota Wild, let’s take a look at how it has gone, so far.
It started on Jan. 6th, with a 2-1 loss (after a shootout) to the St. Louis Blues. Both regulation goals were in the first period. The Blues scored the first goal, courtesy of (left winger) Nathan Walker, with assists from (center) Oskar Sundqvist & (defenseman) Torey Krug. The Hurricanes tied the game, thanks to a power play goal from (left winger) Teuvo Teravainen, with an assist from (center) Jack Drury.
In the shootout, (Hurricanes defenseman) Brent Burns & (Blues center/alternate captain) Robert Thomas failed to get a goal in round 1. In round 2, (Hurricanes right winger) Andrei Svechnikov & (Blues left winger) Pavel Buchnevich didn’t get one. After Teravainen failed to get a goal in round 3, the Blues had a chance to win with (center) Jordan Kyrou. However, he failed to get a goal, causing it to go to tiebreaker rounds.
In round 4, (Hurricanes center/alternate captain) Sebastian Aho got a goal against (Blues goalie) Jordan Binnington. However, (Blues left winger) Jake Neighbours managed to get a goal against (Hurricanes goalie) Antti Raanta, to force a round 5. After (Hurricanes left winger/alternate captain) Jordan Martinook failed to get a goal, (Blues center/captain) Brayden Schenn got a goal against Raanta for the win.
On Jan. 11th, the Hurricanes defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 6-3. Ironically, this was the same score that the Ducks defeated the Hurricanes by, in November. The Hurricanes scored twice against (Ducks goalie) John Gibson in the first period. The first goal was from (defenseman) Brady Skjei, with assists from (centers) Seth Jarvis & (captain) Jordan Staal. Svechnikov had the other goal (15 seconds later), getting assists from Aho & Teravainen.
In the second period, each team scored 3 goals. Just 25 seconds into the period, the Ducks got on the board, as (center) Isac Lundeström scored a goal against (Hurricanes goalie) Pyotr Kochetkov, with assists from (right winger) Brett Leason & (left winger) Brock McGinn. The Hurricanes extended their lead, as Martinook scored with an assist from Jarvis. The Ducks would score the next 2 goals to tie the game. After (center) Ryan Strome scored with an assist from (right winger/alternate captain) Troy Terry, (right winger) Frank Vatrano scored on a power play goal, 47 seconds later. Shortly after the game was tied, a collision with Lundeström would end Kochetkov’s night, allowing Raanta to replace him.
The Hurricanes would regain the lead, thanks to a goal from (right winger) Stefan Noesen, with assists from (left winger) Michael Bunting & (center) Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Drury would score a power play goal with assists from Noesen & Teravainen. A few moments later, Gibson would leave the game with an injury & was replaced by (Ducks goalie) Lukas Dostal. The last goal would be scored in the third period by Jarvis with assists from Burns & Martinook.
On Jan. 13th, the Hurricanes had a 3-2 overtime victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Just like the Ducks game, the Hurricanes had 2 first period goals against (Penguins goalie) Tristan Jarry. The first was from (defenseman) Brett Pesce with assists from Aho & Svechnikov. The other was from Martinook with an assist from (defenseman) Jalen Chatfield. The Penguins came alive in the third period, as they scored 2 goals against Raanta. The first came from (left winger) Jake Guentzel with assists from (center/captain) Sidney Crosby & (right winger) Bryan Rust. With 53 seconds remaining in regulation, Rust tied the game with a goal, assisted from (defensemen) Erik Karlsson & (alternate captain) Kris Letang. Just 1:41 into overtime, Pesce scored his 2nd goal of the game (with assists from Teravainen & Jarvis) for the win.
On. Jan 15th, the Los Angeles Kings came to town & crowned the Hurricanes, 5-2. This avenged a 6-5 loss (after a shootout) between these teams, in October. The Kings had the only goal of the first period, as (left winger) Trevor Moore scored on Raanta, with assists from (center/alternate captain) Phillip Danault & (defenseman) Vladislav Gavrikov. In the second period, Martinook tied the game by scoring on (Kings goalie) David Rittich, getting assists from Jarvis & Burns.
In the third period, the Kings busted the game open with 3 goals in the first 5:20. Danault scored 1:01 into the period, with assists from (defensemen) Matt Roy & Gavrikov. Just 1:20 later, (right winger) Alex Laferriere scored, with assists from (defenseman) Mikey Anderson & (center) Pierre-Luc Dubois. Then, 2:59 later, Dubois scored, with assists from (center) Jaret Anderson-Dolan & Anderson. Drury tried to spark a comeback with a goal, assisted by Noesen & Chatfield. With less than a minute & a half remaining in regulation, Moore scored his 2nd goal of the night, a short-handed empty-net goal (assisted by Danault & Roy).
Friday night, the Hurricanes earned a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. First period goals were scored early by both teams. The Red Wings scored 2:27 into the game, as (left winger) Klim Kostin scored on Raanta, getting assists from (center) Joe Veleno & (right winger) Daniel Sprong. Martinook tied the game, 47 seconds later, as his goal against (Red Wings goalie) Alex Lyon was assisted by Burns & Staal.
While first period goals came early, second period goals came late. The Hurricanes took the lead with 3:35 remaining in the period, as (center) Martin Nečas scored a goal, assisted by Bunting & (defenseman) Dmitry Orlov. With 53 seconds remaining, the Red Wings tied the game on a power play goal from (center/left winger) JT Compher, that was assisted by (center/captain) Dylan Larkin & (defenseman) Shayne Gostisbehere.
In the third period, Svechnikov regained the lead for the Hurricanes by scoring a power play goal, assisted by Bunting & Aho. To wrap the game up, Aho scored an empty-net goal with 1:16 remaining in regulation, getting assists from Nečas & Svechnikov.
