Carolina Hurricanes 6 game road trip
After a 2-1 record during their stay in California, the Carolina Hurricanes finished off their 6-game road trip with 2 more games out west & a game east. Unfortunately, a strong start to the road trip finished with an early-season skid.
It started last Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, as the Hurricanes played the Seattle Kraken. Over 7 minutes into the game, (Kraken center/alternate captain) Yanni Gourde started the scoring against (Hurricanes goalie) Antti Raanta. Just 19 seconds later, (Hurricanes right winger) Jesper Fast tied the game, as he scored against (Kraken goalie) Joey Daccord.
Past the 12-minute mark, (Hurricanes right winger) Stefan Noesen was called for holding. The Kraken made Noesen pay, as (left winger/alternate captain) Jaden Schwartz scored 6 seconds into the power play. Late in the period, (Kraken defenseman/alternate captain) Adam Larsson was called for holding. However, the Kraken would score a short-handed goal, thanks to (center) Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
The Kraken took a 3-1 lead, at the end of the 1st period. Over 2 minutes into the 2nd period, (left winger) Teuvo Teravainen was called for tripping. The Kraken scored their 2nd power play goal, as (defenseman) Vince Dunn scored in 30 seconds. The Hurricanes made a goalie switch, as Pyotr Kochetkov replaced Raanta. That was the only goal of the period, as the Kraken led 4-1, at the end of the 2nd period. Over a minute into the 3rd period, (Hurricanes center) Seth Jarvis finally got a puck past Daccord. Nearly 5 minutes later, the Hurricanes cut the lead to 1, as (center) Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored.
About 6 minutes later, the Kraken finally scored on Kochetkov, thanks to (center) Jared McCann. The Kraken scored another goal, 18 seconds later, courtesy of (left winger) Tye Kartye. Late in the period, Kartye was called for roughing, then he & (Hurricanes left winger) Brendan Lemieux were fighting. Jarvis scored 37 seconds into the power play. However, the Kraken got the last word, as (right winger) Oliver Bjorkstrand scored an empty-net goal, 55 seconds later. The Kraken were victorious, 7-4.
Then, the Hurricanes went to the Mile High City on Saturday. They were at Ball Arena in Denver, CO to play the Colorado Avalanche (who went into this game undefeated). Over 16 minutes into the game, Kotkaniemi scored the first goal of the game against (Avalanche goalie) Alexandar Georgiev.
With 20 seconds left in the period, (Hurricanes left winger) Jordan Martinook was called for slashing. It took 14 seconds for the Avalanche to tie the game, as (center) Ryan Johansen scored a power play goal against Kochetkov. The 1st period ended in a 1-1 tie. Just 54 seconds into the 2nd period, (Avalanche defenseman) Bowen Byram was called for tripping. Once again, the Hurricanes surrendered a short-handed goal, this time to (Avalanche right winger) Logan O’Connor. Later in the period, (Avalanche defenseman) Cale Makar was called for interference.
With less than 30 seconds left in the power play, (Hurricanes defenseman) Brent Burns tied the game. About a minute & a half later, the Hurricanes regained the lead, thanks to (left winger) Michael Bunting. Over a minute & a half later, (Avalanche center) Fredrik Olofsson tied the game. A minute after Olofsson’s goal, (Hurricanes defenseman) Brady Skjei was called for interference. It took the Avalanche just 33 seconds to regain the lead, as (left winger) Artturi Lehkonen scored a power play goal. Nearly 2 minutes later, the Avalanche extended their lead, thanks to a goal from (center/alternate captain) Nathan MacKinnon. With 38 seconds left in the period, Bunting was called for holding.
The Avalanche scored their third power play goal of the game (and second of the period), as (right winger/alternate captain) Mikko Rantanen scored just 13 seconds into the power play. The Avalanche ended the 2nd period with a 6-3 lead. In the 3rd period, the only action of note was the Hurricanes scoring a goal from (defenseman/alternate captain) Jaccob Slavin. Despite Kochetkov being pulled for the final 3 minutes of the game, there were no goals scored by either team. The Avalanche remained undefeated with a 6-4 victory.
The Hurricanes had one final stop on their road trip. Tuesday, there were at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, as they played the Tampa Bay Lightning. We nearly had scoreless 1st period, but a lack of discipline from the Hurricanes would cost them, as (center) Martin Nečas was called for high-sticking with 1:08 left in the period. The Lightning only needed 14 seconds to make him pay for that mistake, as (center) Brayden Point scored a power play goal against Kochetkov.
The Lightning ended the period with a 1-0 lead. In the 2nd period, the Hurricanes were turning up the heat, but (Lightning goalie) Jonas Johansson was denying shot attempt after shot attempt. However, the Lightning would strike with another late goal, this time from (center) Alex Barré-Boulet. Tempers started flaring with 1:10 left in the period, as Kotkaniemi & (Lightning defenseman) Erik Cernak got into some roughing. The Lightning ended the period with a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd period, the Hurricanes against came out firing, especially on their power play attempts, but Johansson was determined to shut them down.
However, Kochetkov wasn’t as lucky, as (Hurricanes left winger) Nick Paul scored a goal on him. However, after Paul’s goal, (Hurricanes defenseman) Dmitry Orlov & (Lightning left winger) Brandon Hagel got into some roughing, earning game misconducts for both men. Exactly one minute later, Paul & (Hurricanes center) Jack Drury found themselves fighting.
Despite having a power play thanks to Barré-Boulet being called for high-sticking & pulling Kochetkov, the Hurricanes found themselves being shutout by Johansson. The Lightning ended the game with a 3-0 victory.
The second half of this Hurricanes road trip was a total disaster, as they lost all 3 games in regulation. They were outscored 16-8 by their opponents. They gave up 6 power play goals & 2 short-handed goals, while only scoring 2 power play goals & 1 short-handed goal. While 11 Hurricanes contributed to scoring, only Jarvis & Kotkaniemi scored more than 1 goal in the second half of the road trip.
The most telling number is 13…the number of penalties that the Hurricanes had in these 3 games. While is it down from the 15 they had in the California games, it’s a big reason why they’re among the most penalized teams in the NHL and lead the league in penalty minutes. The Hurricanes need to stay out of the penalty box, if they want to avoid climbing out of an early-season hole. Thankfully, they will have a chance to rejuvenate, as their next 2 games are at home. Hopefully, being back on the ice at PNC Arena & hearing the “Caniacs” will help them rally in Raleigh and get back on a winning track.
