RSS Hurricanes Team Notes

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes defeat Flyers, 4-3, in shootout

PHILADELPHIA — The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3, on Saturday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The win is the Hurricanes’ third straight and puts them in sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division.

After allowing two early first period goals, the Canes stormed back to tie the game in the second. Both teams found the back of the net in the third period 20 seconds apart to send the game to overtime, where neither team could capitalize. In the shootout, Jackson Blake netted one for the first time in his career to get the win for the Canes.

Andrei Svechnikov found a wide open Seth Jarvis on the blue line, who missed wide on the breakaway just a minute into the first period.

It didn’t take long for Philadelphia to capitalize on its own opportunity though. A little over 10 minutes into the first, Trevor Zegras delivered a drop pass to Bobby Brink near the blue line, who found the back of the net on a glove-side shot from the top of the circles to give the Flyers an early 1-0 lead.

With just over two minutes left in the period, Philadelphia’s top duo connected. Travis Konecny whipped a cross-crease backhand pass to a cutting Zegras from behind the net, and the Flyers’ leading goal scorer tucked his 12th of the season.

Carolina was outshot 7-5 in the first, including the two goals allowed.

Both teams traded chances to open the second, with the Canes ramping up their offensive pressure.

That pressure paid off when Nikolaj Ehlers fired a pin-point, low glove-side shot from the right circle on a pass from Shayne Gostisbehere to cut the deficit to 2-1 nine minutes in. Gostisbehere intercepted a pass in the neutral zone to jump start the play, helping turn neutral zone possession into offense.

Momentum stayed on Carolina’s side when, five minutes later, Alexander Nikishin fired a slap shot from the point that found the back of the net to knot the game up 2-2. The shot deflected off the foot of Flyers forward Noah Cates.

Philadelphia still tallied more shots than the Canes after two periods, with a 16-13 advantage.

Neither team could find a consistent offensive rhythm in the beginning of the third period.

A little over 12 minutes into the period, Jarvis split the Flyers defense and Svechnikov found him for a breakaway. This time, Jarvis made no mistake on the finish to give Carolina a one-goal advantage.

But the Flyers responded 20 seconds later when Carl Grundstrom ripped a shot past Pyotr Kochetkov to tie the game at 3-3.

With the Canes nor the Flyers breaking the tie, the game went to overtime. Both teams had good chances, but didn’t score, sending Carolina to its second straight shootout.

That’s where Blake proved to be the hero for the Canes with the shootout winner.

The Canes host the Flyers tomorrow in the Lenovo Center at 5 PM, looking to sweep the weekend series.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...2448/hurricanes-defeat-flyers-4-3-in-shootout

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Preview, How to Watch and Game Thread: Hurricanes at Predators

Coming off of four straight wins over Metropolitan Division opponents, the Carolina Hurricanes kick off a three-game road trip on Wednesday night against the Nashville Predators, seeking to notch their fifth win in a row.

It’s a rematch of a December 6 showdown in Raleigh that saw the Hurricanes rout the Predators by a 6-3 margin, but Nashville has won three of its past four games since that night, including a win over the league-best Colorado Avalanche and two blowout victories over the St. Louis Blues.

By doing so, the Predators have jumped the Blues by points percentage to essentially emerge from last place in the Central Division after a second consecutive dreadful start to their season.

Ryan O’Reilly leads Nashville with 26 points on the season, while Luke Evangelista paces the group with 19 assists and Filip Forsberg has the most goals with 14. The Predators are well below league average in every aspect of the game except the penalty kill, where they rank 13th at 81.7 percent.

For the Hurricanes, the big question heading in is once again which of the team’s three netminders will man the crease. Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi split the team’s wins over Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday, and at practice in Raleigh on Tuesday, it was Kochetkov in the starter’s crease with Frederik Andersen working on the other end.

In the last meeting between the two squads, the Canes were able to break through on the power play with goals on the man advantage from Taylor Hall and Nikolaj Ehlers to serve as a confidence boost for the struggling special teams unit.

Carolina leads the Eastern Conference in both points and points percentage, so tonight’s game will mark an opportunity against one of the more vulnerable teams the league has to offer to continue to build up that cushion over the rest of the conference. As of Tuesday night, there’s just a nine-point gap between the Islanders in second in the conference and the Blue Jackets down in 16th.

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Here’s how to check out the action:

Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
TV: FanDuel Sports Network with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Shane Willis, analyst; Hannah Yates, rinkside.
Radio: 99.9 The Fan FM
Line: ML: CAR -184; PL: CAR -1.5 +132

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...rricanes-nashville-predators-game-preview-nhl

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Random Thoughts – 12/16/25

Since we have another day to wait for the next game I thought I would share some of what I have been thinking about for the past couple of days. (deep thoughts)

This Bussi experience reminds me somewhat of a similar situation with Michael Leighton back in 2010, except back then it was the Hurricanes who put the goalie on waivers.

The Canes had traded for Leighton in 2007 providing a 7th round draft pick to Montreal to get him.

Leighton spent most of his career in the AHL and posted good numbers. In 2007-08 he spent most of the season with the Albany River Rats and posted a .931 save percentage. The next season, he worked in Carolina as the backup for Cam Ward. He went 6-7-1, with a .901 SV%.

To start the 2009-10 season, there was a drop off. He started the season 1-4-0 and posted an .848 SV%. The Canes put him on waivers with the hope he would return to the AHL for more work. The Flyers said, “not so fast” and they grabbed him.

Interestingly enough, the Flyers had also fired John Stevens early that season and hired former Carolina coach, Peter Laviolette.

Anyway, Leighton turned his season around and finished with a record of 16-5-2. He had a SV% of .918 and a GAA of 2.48.

Laviolette always seemed to have a knack of when to switch in and out goalies. He successfully moved Leighton in and out of the lineup but after the Flyers fell behind in round two of the playoffs to the Bruins, 3-0, he ended up riding the waiver wire pickup to the Stanley Cup Finals the rest of the postseason, where they eventually lost to the Blackhawks.

This is not a perfect situational match of course, since Bussi has never played in the NHL before, but it is a tale of how waiver wire pickups can be successful, even in goal.

The very next season, Leighton found himself back in the AHL where he spent most of the rest of his career. He was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2025.

Trade activity has picked up in the league and of course the Hurricanes have had their name mentioned.

Supposedly, they made an offer for Quinn Hughes. It would be interesting to know what that offer was. The players are probably interested as well.

Finally, it is sad to see Kevyn Adams get relieved of his duties as GM for Buffalo. Obviously, it was time for a change but Kekalainen would not be my first choice to replace him.

Back in 2005, there was a lockout while the union and the NHL tried to come to an agreement. For those of you who have never had to endure a season with no hockey because of this, it is absolute murder.

On what was supposed to be opening night, a group of fans tailgated in the parking lot to commiserate together. During the “festivities”, Adams drove up, joined in, and had a couple of beers with the fans.

Adams is “good people”.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/general/52490/random-thoughts-12-16-25

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Game Recap: Hurricanes hold off Predators, 4-1

The Carolina Hurricanes picked up their fifth win in a row on Wednesday night with a 4-1 win in the Music City over the Nashville Predators.

Jackson Blake got the scoring started with his ninth goal of the season in the first period, as he won a net front battle against Nick Perbix to jam home a loose puck after a shot from Logan Stankoven. Stankoven and Alexander Nikishin both picked up their ninth assists of the year on the tally.

The Hurricanes had several chances to extend their lead later in the first and the second, including one notable look that came when Eric Robinson used his speed and a strong angle to get a break in alone on Saros, who gamely turned aside Robinson’s bid.

Saros was strong all night for the Predators, as he was frequently under siege behind a team that had little success in imposing its will against Carolina’s puck-possession game.

The second period cost the Hurricanes a key player in Jordan Martinook, who did not return for the third period with a lower-body injury.

The Hurricanes finally broke through again early in the third period, when a notably more shot-happy power play found the back of the net when Blake fed Sebastian Aho in the slot, and Aho beat his countryman low to the blocker side to give his team some breathing room.

Seth Jarvis was next to get in on the fun when he hammered home a feed from Aho on a quick passing play that Nikolaj Ehlers figured into with a secondary assist.

While he wasn’t called upon often, Pyotr Kochetkov was able to stay in his rhythm and come up big when Nashville did breach the Canes’ structure to create a chance.

The Predators finally broke through in the third period when Filip Forsberg swept home a rebound to get his team within two.

The goal clearly gave Nashville some jump, as the home team started to ramp up the intensity and found ways to test Kochetkov, who came up with several big saves to keep the lead at two.

Aho put home the empty-netter to salt the game away and wrap up a much-needed three-point night for Carolina’s first-line center.

The Hurricanes will have a travel day before kicking off a back-to-back in Florida to close out the week. Carolina will take on the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Friday before visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...a-hurricanes-hold-off-nashville-predators-4-1

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes allow comeback, fall to Panthers, 4-3, in shootout

The Carolina Hurricanes allowed three straight goals in the third period in a 4-3 shootout loss to the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in South Florida on Friday night.

After having a three goal in lead in the third period with around 10 minutes remaining, the Panthers stormed back to tie the game with less than a minute left.

The Canes got on the board first courtesy of Jordan Staal, who buried his 10th of the year to cap off a flurry of net-front chances following a shot from the point by Shayne Gostisbehere. After scoring 13 goals in 75 games last season, the captain has found his scoring touch to start the season.

Both teams had chances the rest of the period, but the Hurricanes took their 1-0 lead into the second.

Throughout the second, Bussi continued to keep Florida off the board with a couple of huge stops, including a sprawling pad save on Sam Bennett.

The Hurricanes extended the lead less than two minutes into the third period when Sebastian Aho made no mistake, beating Sergei Bobrovsky five-hole on a breakaway. Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov both picked up assists on the goal.

Aho added his second of the night just six minutes later on the power play, ringing it post-and-in off a rebound. The goal marked Aho’s second consecutive multi-goal game, giving him 13 on the year.

It didn’t take long for Florida to answer and get on the board, with Brad Marchand finding the back of the net to cut the lead to two a little less than three minutes later.

Florida, with an empty net, added their second straight goal off a rebound from Bennett with a little over two minutes left in the game.

With the momentum on the Panthers side, Marchand found Sam Reinhart all alone in the slot. Reinhart’s shot trickled past Bussi to tie the game with less than a minute to go and send the game to overtime.

Jarvis went down early in overtime and headed to the locker room after a trip caused him to collide with the net.

Bussi came up big, making a couple timely saves to force the game to a shootout, Carolina’s fourth in five games.

Needing a goal to extend the shootout, Nikolaj Ehlers failed to beat Bobrovsky, who made a stick save.

Carolina will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night at 7 PM in the second of back-to-back road games in Florida, looking to bounce back.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...low-comeback-fall-to-panthers-4-3-in-shootout

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes @ Panthers – Preview and Game Thread

The Carolina Hurricanes (22-9-2) are visiting the Sunshine State as they prepare for a game against the Stanley Cup Champion, Florida Panthers (18-13-2) on Friday night. Game time is 7 P.M. and the television broadcast will be on the Fanduel Sports Network.

Don’t look now but the Canes are one of the hottest teams in the league. They are winners of five straight games and have an 8-2-0 record over their last 10.

The team is currently in first place in the Eastern Conference by four points.

After a slow start, the Panthers have now won three straight and have a 6-3-1 record over their last 10.

While Jaccob Slavin’s minutes have been closely watched since his return to action, (limited to about 15 minutes a game), his presence has been noteworthy. Look for the same Friday night.

Alexander Nikishin has a current team best four game point streak going, (1G 3A). Who would have possibly thought that putting him on a powerplay unit would increase scoring?

There was no word at the time of this article whether or not Jordan Martinook would be able to play in this game. Martinook left the game early against Nashville with an unknown ailment.

Also, as of 12:30 there is still no word on who will start in net for Carolina. It should be Brandon Bussi but could be Fred Andersen. We will see.

The rest of the lineup should be the same as from recent games.

((Update)) According to this Brind’Amour interview after the pregame skate, Kotkaniemi should be back in the lineup and Martinook is out.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/6ram...3&rlkey=rh0idm3wh7jn0klpj642oevea&st=zbtqjyxn

Still nothing official about the starting goaltender.

The Panthers are still missing Barkov and Tkachuk but Bobrovsky will be in net, who is always a challenge for Carolina. Look for their lines to be something like this.

Luostarinen – Lundell – Reinhart
Verhaeghe – Bennett – Marchand
Samoskevich – Rodrigues – Greer
Gregor – Kunin – Boqvist

Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Jones
Balinskis – Petry

Paul Maurice had a press conference prior to the game.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...3/hurricanes-panthers-preview-and-game-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Another Three Goal Lead Wasted – Lightning 6, Hurricanes 4

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of reasoning, it was the age of foolishness.” etc. etc. etc.

If Charles Dickens had to write this game recap, how would he do so?

On one side of the story, the Hurricanes were able to jump out to a 3-0 lead, which is good stuff.

But much like the previous night against the Florida Panthers, they were unable to hold it.

The Canes came out with jump to start the game and scored early and often.

Just two minutes and change into the contest, Eric Robinson got things started off a pass by Jordan Staal.

One minute later, Jackson Blake tipped in a Nikolaj Ehlers pass to make it 2-0 and the visitors were cooking. It was a powerplay tally for Carolina.

The Hurricanes were awarded another powerplay and they took advantage when Bradly Nadeau buried a pass by Logan Stankoven to make it 3-0, and it looked like the Canes might have mentally gotten over the debacle from the night before.

But the second period was another story.

The Lightning scored three straight goals to tie things up and both teams went to the dressing room for the second intermission tied at three goals each. The Canes were outshot 14-6 in that period.

Andrei Svechnokov notched a pretty goal off a nice pass by Mark Jankowski to start off the third period, but again the lead was short-lived.

Less than a minute later, Ryan McDonagh scored on a breakaway and the home team did not look back.

They would score again three minutes later when Jake Guentzel out battled Mike Reilly from in close then Guentzel scored again on an empty-netter to close it out.

After the game, Jordan Staal said his team had a “meltdown”.

Rod Brind’Amour called the second period “terrible”. He went on to say that “(We made) stupid plays that you cannot win a hockey game doing.”

On one hand, the Hurricanes are still in first place in the East as well as the Metropolitan, but they lost to two teams, one of which they would most likely face in the upcoming playoffs, two teams they have had issues with before.

This game was not as frustrating as the night before when they coughed up three goals in the last 11 minutes of the game, but to blow another three goal lead is not good.

This reminds me a bit of last season when the Hurricanes lost back-to-back games against the Panthers.

First, they lost at home, 6-3, then they went to Florida for redemption and got manhandled, losing 6-0 the following night.

Don’t hold your breath for any type of “retribution” on Tuesday night, but we will see.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020557.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020557.HTM

Interviews –

AUDIO: Rod Brind'Amour addressed the media following Carolina's 6-4 loss on Saturday night in Tampa. https://t.co/KZqhhQcgIi

The Hurricanes will not practice on Sunday.

— Hurricanes PR (@CanesPR) December 21, 2025

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...ree-goal-lead-wasted-lightning-6-hurricanes-4

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Game Preview and Thread: Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Carolina Hurricanes (22-9-3) are back in action tonight to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning (18-13-3) at 7 PM in the second of back-to-back road games in Florida.

Carolina is coming off a tough performance in the third period last night against the Panthers, where they allowed three unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes before eventually losing in the shootout.

Despite the bad loss, the Canes still hold the best record in the Eastern Conference and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. One of the bright spots last night was Sebastian Aho, who netted two goals for his second straight multi-goal performance.

But the Hurricanes won’t be without one of their top liners tonight in Seth Jarvis, who exited last night’s game in overtime with an injury after being tripped into the net. He is expected to be out for a decent amount of time as a result. So far this season, Jarvis leads the Canes with 19 goals in 34 games.

Carolina doesn’t get any time off though as they prepare to face another Atlantic Division contender in the Lightning tonight.

Tampa Bay has gone cold as of late, losing three straight and posting a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games. Similar to the Canes early in the season, injuries have plagued the Lighting this year. Tonight will be no different, as they will be without a few of their top pieces.

Leading scorer Brandon Hagel, who has 18 goals in 32 games, will be out with an upper-body injury. Tampa Bay also won’t have star veteran defenseman Victor Hedman, who was placed on IR after having surgery on his elbow in mid-December. Hedman has put up 12 points in 18 games this season. Nikita Kucherov, who is ninth in the NHL with 42 points, will be a game-time decision with an illness.

Starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who returned from injury in Tampa Bay’s loss to the Kings on Thursday after missing seven games with an injury, has posted a 2.30 GAA and .917 save percentage in 20 games this season.

The Canes are looking to bounce back tonight and extend their point streak to seven games with a win, which should be in reach facing an injury-riddled Lightning team.

Here’s how to catch tonight’s game:

Time: 7 PM

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network App/ESPN

Radio: 99.9 The Fan

Odds: Hurricanes +102 Moneyline, Hurricanes +1.5 at -260

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...ad-carolina-hurricanes-at-tampa-bay-lightning

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Game Preview and Thread: Panthers at Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes return home on Tuesday night from a three-game road trip that saw them visit three other Sun Belt franchises.

The Canes went 1-1-1 in three games against the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, maintaining their edge atop the Metropolitan Division standings despite some bad injury news and concerning blown leads in the latter two games.

Carolina gave up three-goal leads against both Tampa Bay and Florida, letting excellent first-period efforts go to waste without being able to come up with some key plays down the stretch in both games.

In the process of coughing up a 3-0 lead to the Panthers in Sunrise, the Hurricanes lost stars Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis to injuries. Playing without Slavin is nothing new to this year’s iteration of the club, as he’s made just five appearances to this point, but it’s disheartening nonetheless.

Jarvis, on the other hand, is having a season ripped straight out of the Final Destination series. There was the concern over a long-term injury when he took a hard shot to the foot/lower leg, the near-miss when he took a high stick directly to the eye, and now he’s crashed full speed into a goalpost after a blatant uncalled trip, suffering what seems to be a rib injury.

It’s a testament to the star winger that despite the prior two ailments, he’s scoring at the best pace of his career and gutting it out to help both Carolina and his chances at making Team Canada at the Winter Olympics. I’m not going to wade too far into the politics of Hockey Canada’s roster decisions, but they’d be fools not to take him to Milan— especially given some of the other names reportedly under consideration.

As for Tuesday night, it will be interesting to see how, if at all, the Canes respond to the plays from Friday night that took out two of their very best.

The Panthers continue to be without their two best forwards in Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, but they’re still hanging around the playoff race anyway. Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart lead the team with 40 and 35 points, respectively.

Sergei Bobrovsky’s numbers aren’t stellar, but the seemingly ageless Russian netminder is winning Florida more games than he’s losing them.

With Jarvis out, this figures to be another crucial stretch for Jackson Blake, slated to get another chance on the top line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Sebastian Aho. The 22-year-old has 22 points in 35 games, including four in his past four after a four-game stretch in which he was blanked.

This is the last game before the holiday freeze, and after the way the last two losses went down, you can bet the Canes will be extra motivated to set a better mood heading into the break.

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Here’s how to check out the action:

Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Lenovo Center – Raleigh, NC
TV: FanDuel Sports Network with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Shane Willis, analyst; Hannah Yates, rinkside.
Radio: 99.9 The Fan FM
Line: ML: CAR -154; PL: CAR -1.5 +158

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/genera...-florida-panthers-nhl-game-preview-discussion

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes blow another lead to Panthers, fall 5-2

Looking to go into the holiday break on a positive note after two gut-wrenching losses in Florida last weekend, the Carolina Hurricanes laid another egg in Raleigh on Tuesday, falling 5-2 to the Florida Panthers after one of the more dismal periods of hockey the team has played under Rod Brind’Amour.

Just as they did in Sunrise on Friday, the Hurricanes got the scoring started when Eric Robinson buried a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky off a patient feed from Sebastian Aho early in the first period.

Carolina got to its defensive game for the rest of the first period, ensuring that Frederik Andersen only faced three shots in his first 20 minutes of action since December 4.

Defense led to offense in the second period when right after a successful penalty kill, captain Jordan Staal fired off a perfect stretch pass to send Andrei Svechnikov in on a breakaway right out of the box. Svechnikov sold the high shot and slid the puck past Bobrovsky low to give Carolina a 2-0 lead that would stand up through 40.

It all unraveled from there, both for the team’s defensive structure and for Andersen between the pipes, as the Panthers put together the sort of run that used to win Roy Williams’ UNC teams national championships.

Niko Mikkola got it started from distance to cut the deficit to 2-1. Less than three minutes later, Luke Kunin hammered home a feed from Noah Gregor to tie things up with his second tally of the season.

Just 53 seconds after that, Florida took its first lead of the game on a similar-looking play to the previous goal when Sam Reinhart found Anton Lundell in the slot. Lundell, admirably filling the Aleksander Barkov role in the latter’s absence, sold Andersen on glove-high and then went stick-high after the Danish goalie bit hard.

Sam Bennett added an insurance goal to make it 4-2, though the Hurricanes had given up by that point. Seth Jones added another on a power play with just under five minutes remaining to make it 5-2.

Now with three straight losses after multi-goal leads to the Florida teams, the two teams in the East you really worry about in a playoff series, the holiday break has to become a time for introspection for Brind’Amour and the team.

The Canes will take the ice in Raleigh on December 27 against a surging Detroit Red Wings team that just earned a dramatic win on its home ice on Tuesday.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...nes-blow-lead-florida-panthers-game-recap-nhl

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Happy Christmas and Merry Holidays!

For all of you who celebrate, I want to wish you a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season!

A big thank you to my fellow writers here on the site, Al, Kyle, Evan, and Brian. I really appreciate your hard work.

And of course a heartfelt thank you to all you Canes Country readers, lurkers, and commentors out there from around the world who help make this site successful. It is really gratifying to see so many fans gather here to exchange ideas. Some new fans some old, some former players, some who have never played. For the most part everyone treats everyone with courtesy and respect even if we disagree and I thank you all for that.

We will be taking a couple of days off here but will return for the preview before the Detroit game coming up.

Well wishes!

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/general/52566/happy-christmas-and-merry-holidays

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Red Wings @ Hurricanes – Preview and Game Thread

After taking a holiday break, the Carolina Hurricanes (22-11-3) are back in action as they take on the Detroit Red Wings (22-13-3) tonight at the Lenovo Center. Game time is 7 P.M. and the game will be broadcast by the FanDuel Sports Network with a special simultaneous local broadcast by WRAL.

The Canes will be hoping to put their recent failures in the rear view mirror as they have lost three games in a row, all by giving up leads in the third period. They are 6-3-1 in their last 10.

The Hurricanes hold first place in the Metropolitan Division and hold a narrow, winning percentage advantage in the Eastern Conference. The Wings will be looking to change that tonight.

The Red Wings are coming in red hot and currently sit in first place in the Atlantic Division. They have won three games in a row which include two wins over the Capitals and one over Dallas. They are 8-2-0 in their last 10.

At Carolina’s morning skate, Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller, and Seth Jarvis did not take the ice.

Brandon Bussi was back in the starter’s net for the home team.

Cory Lavalette posted the line rushes as follows:

Line rushes this morning:

Svechnikov-Aho-Stankoven
Ehlers-Kotkaniemi-Blake
Carrier-Staal-Martinook
Hall-Jankowski-Robinson
Nadeau

Nikishin-Walker
Gostisbehere-Chatfield
Reilly-Nystrom

Bussi
Kochetkov

— Cory Lavalette (@CoryLavalette) December 27, 2025

Perhaps the experiment with Stankoven playing center is finally over?

Alexander Nikishin is in the first pairing, in this economy?

Wings goalie, John Gibson, has won eight games in a row and has allowed just 17 goals during that span. I would expect to see him tonight.

Look for Detroit’s lines to be as follows:

Emmitt Finnie — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond

Alex DeBrincat — Andrew Copp — John Leonard

Marco Kasper — Nate Danielson — Mason Appleton

Michael Rasmussen — JT Compher — James van Riemsdyk

Their pairings:

Simon Edvinsson — Moritz Seider

Ben Chiarot — Axel Sandin-Pellikka

Albert Johansson– Jacob Bernard-Docker

This is from Kevin Allen, former USA Today writer and now Wings beat reporter.

Winner will be No. 1 in the Eastern Conference:
Red Wings at Hurricanes: Notes, Lines, Goalies, How to Watch https://t.co/3To0dK1gSw

— Kevin Allen (@ByKevinAllen) December 27, 2025

It should be a good one tonight. See everyone in the game thread later.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli.../red-wings-hurricanes-preview-and-game-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes 5, Red Wings 2

The Carolina Hurricanes put an end to their losing streak with a dominating, 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at the Lenovo Center.

The win kept the team in sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division.

Goaltender, Brandon Bussi earned the win and stopped 18 of the 20 shots he faced.

Bussi is now an amazing 12-1-1 in his first career 14 NHL games.

Andrei Svechnikov and Shayne Gostisbehere each had a goal and two assists to lead the team.

The Wings jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period even though the Canes were dominating. The home team had several close chances but couldn’t light the lamp yet.

In the second period, the Canes were able to get pucks by John Gibson.

First, Jackson Blake tipped in a Gostisbehere shot to tie the score, just 3:22 into the second.

A minute and change later, Eric Robinson knocked in a loose puck to give the home team the lead. It was Robinson’s 9th goal of the season.

Later in the period, Gostisbehere took a nice pass from Jalen Chatfield and roofed in a perfect shot in the top corner of the net to make it, 3-1.

The Wings would make it 3-2 with a powerplay tally in the third but Svechnikov stole the puck and put his team back up by two about 10 minutes later.

He would feed teammate Jordan Martinook for an empty net goal to close things out. It was Martinook’s 100th career goal.

In all, the Hurricanes outshot the Wings 38-20 for the game.

Alexander Nikishin led all skaters with 24:59 of ice time.

William Carrier had a team high five hits.

The Canes will next take on the Rangers at home on Monday night.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020593.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020593.HTM

Interviews – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/um8w...nxdzs3irlltm6zx0p499&subfolder_nav_tracking=1

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-11-carolina-hurricanes-game-recaps/52575/hurricanes-5-red-wings-2

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Game Preview: Hurricanes vs. Rangers

After a head-scratching three-game stretch, the Carolina Hurricanes got back to their game against Detroit Saturday night.

Tonight, the Canes seek to keep it going versus the New York Rangers.

The Rangers are in the midst of a six-game road trip that concludes with the Winter Classic. With four road games against divisional opponents and an outdoor spectacle in South Florida on Friday, how much does that factor into the team’s mindset?

New York is just barely above .500 this month and has not gained any ground on Metropolitan opponents, sitting in the seventh spot in the division since December 4.

Despite the struggle in breaking through in the standings, New York is in a tough battle for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers need a bounce-back victory after a shutout loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday and a trip to Washington on New Years’ Eve.

Even though this six-game road trip is grueling, New York has played well on the road this season. And they needed to be road warriors based on their abysmal play at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers did not earn a home victory until November 10.

New York is 14-7-1 on the road with a 68-50 goal differential. To put that goal margin in perspective, the Rangers have an overall -3 goal differential this season and rank second-to-last in goal scored per game this season.

And one of those road victories is against the Hurricanes. On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, the usual suspects shone for the Rangers. Artemi Panarin scored the go-ahead goal, and Igor Shesterkin turned away 36 of 38 shots enroute to a 4-2 win.

An obvious focus tonight is the Breadman. Panarin leads the Rangers in goals (14), assists (24), points (38), and shots (121), and has 30 points in 33 career regular season games against Carolina.

Another player to always watch is Mika Zibanejad. He leads the Rangers in power play goals (7), ranks second in goals (12) and points (29), and has 17 points in his last 17 games.

Zibanejad has earned his keep on the power play this season, ranking 10th in the NHL in power play goals. However, the Rangers have just one road power play goal in December, and have scored just eight away from New York City.

Based on the latest reports, Adam Fox and Sam Carrick are game-time decisions. Carrick will likely draw back due to his full participation in the morning skate, and Fox has not been fully ruled by head coach Mike Sullivan.

J.T. Miller remains on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury, and Adam Edstrom is on Long-Term Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury.

Shesterkin is between the pipes for New York and is making his 11th start of the month. Shesterkin has played 31 games this season, and is 16-12-3 with a 2.51 goal against average and .910 save percentage.

---

Rangers projected lineup

Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Alexis Lafreniere

Will Cuylle — Vincent Trocheck — Gabe Perreault

Conor Sheary — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh

Brennan Othmann — Jonny Brodzinski — Matt Rempe

Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider

Carson Soucy — Will Borgen

Matthew Robertson — Scott Morrow

Igor Shesterkin

Jonathan Quick

Scratched: Urho Vaakanainen, Conor Sheary

Injured: Adam Fox (upper body), Adam Edstrom (lower body), J.T. Miller (upper body), Sam Carrick (illness)

---

The Hurricanes got a lead and kept it Saturday night, a welcome departure from their previous three games. Even better, Carolina did it against the team tied with them for the lead in the Eastern Conference.

The task for the Canes is to build off that performance and finish the three-game homestand strong.

There was no morning skate for Carolina, but the practice on Sunday provided a couple of updates for this game.

Expect Pyotr Kochetkov to be in the net tonight. He had the starter’s role in practice, and he always plays well when another Russian is in the opposing crease. Kochetkov’s first game of the season was a shutout victory over the Rangers.

K’Andre Miller was injured on December 23 and did not play against the Red Wings. He was a full participant in practice and may draw back into the lineup tonight.

The Canes remain without Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis. Jarvis scored a goal in each of the previous matchups this season against New York.

Eric Robinson and Andrei Svechnikov are both on three-game goal streaks. For Robinson, he is on pace for another career year. For Svechnikov, he is on a five-game points streak and is playing particularly well, which is especially important in Jarvis’s absence.

Shayne Gostisbehere’s three-point night against Detroit vaulted him back into the top 10 of points scored by a defenseman. His 25 assists are seventh-best among all defensemen.

Besides Miller, no other lineup changes are expected.

---

Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Logan Stankoven

Nikolaj Ehlers — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Jackson Blake

William Carrier — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook

Taylor Hall — Mark Jankowski — Eric Robinson

Alexander Nikishin — Sean Walker

Shayne Gostisbehere — Jalen Chatfield

Mike Reilly — Joel Nystrom

Pyotr Kochetkov

Brandon Bussi

Scratched: Bradly Nadeau, Frederik Andersen

Injured: Seth Jarvis (upper body), Jaccob Slavin (upper body), K’Andre Miller (foot)

---

Here’s how to check out the action:

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Location: Lenovo Center – Raleigh, NC

TV: FanDuel Sports Network with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Shane Willis, analyst; Hannah Yates, rinkside.

Radio: 99.9 The Fan FM

Line: ML: CAR -185; PL: CAR -1.5 +145

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...anes-vs-new-york-rangers-nhl-december-29-2025

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes 3, Rangers 2 – OT

It was a busy day for the Carolina Hurricanes.

First off, they claimed center Noah Philp off the waiver wire then they announced that goalie, Pyotr Kochetkov would undergo surgery, which would probably knock him out for the rest of the season.

Next up, they had to take on the New York Rangers who were looking to improve their excellent record on the road.

After a hard fought, tight game throughout, the Canes eventually pulled out the win, 3-2 as Jackson Blake tipped in the game-winner with just 12 seconds left in the extra period.

The game started out with New York getting a couple of odd man rushes that goalie Brandon Bussi was able to stop.

Bussi played another excellent game and it sure appears he is the team’s undisputed, number one goalie at this point.

The win moved him to a 13-1-1 record. He has an NHL best 2.08 GAA and a save percentage of .911.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead during a powerplay opportunity just a minute and change into the game.

The Canes tied it up with a Sebastian Aho powerplay goal later in the period. It was Aho’s 14th goal of the season. He leads the team with 35 points in 38 games played.

The Rangers would take the lead once again in the second but Jordan Martinook deflected a shot in front of the net to tie things up in the third.

The Canes drew a penalty in the overtime period and Brind’Amour put four forwards out to get the job done.

It took them until 12 seconds were left, but Blake tipped in an Aho shot for the win.

The win kept the Hurricanes at first place in the East with a 24-11-3 record good for 51 points.

They traveled to Pittsburgh right after the game and will battle the Penguins on Tuesday night.

Brind’Amour has shaken up the lines a lot due to the multiple injuries.

Alexander Nikishin had been paired with Sean Walker the past two games and again had a team high ice time. This game it was 24:17

The coach also moved Logan Stankoven from second line center, to first line winger while Jesperi Kotkaniemi moved to second line center.

Brind’Amour switched Stankovan with Eric Robinson in the third period.

When asked about the change after the game, the coach said “The speed and the size, he’s effective.”

I asked coach about changing Stankoven to the wing position from center and apparently it is just a temporary change.

“Well, we’re missing ”Jarvy”. Obviously, he’s a very talented player. It makes sense to put him in that spot, somewhere. And obviously we are shuffling all the time but I see him as being center here once everyone is healthy.“

Check out the post game interviews here-

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/zpcg...u15q80oea5wgt89a80y9&subfolder_nav_tracking=1

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020608.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020608.HTM

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-11-carolina-hurricanes-game-recaps/52587/hurricanes-3-rangers-2-ot

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes @ Penguins – Preview and Open Thread

The schedule really starts to heat up now as the Carolina Hurricanes (24-11-3) visit the Pittsburgh Penguins (16-12-9) for a game tonight at PPG Paints Arena. Game time is 7 P.M.

This will complete the second half of a back-to-back situation for Carolina as they are coming off a 3-2 overtime win last night against the Rangers.

The Canes have opened up a five point lead in the Metropolitan Division and still hold a two point lead in the Eastern Conference over Detroit.

After finding out yesterday that goalie, Pyotr Kochetkov was scheduled for surgery and would probably be out the rest of the season, the Hurricanes look pretty smart for carrying three goalies on their roster.

Look for Fred Andersen (5-8-2) to be in net tonight for them. Andersen is still trying to regain the form that put him in the number one spot for goaltenders in Carolina for the past several seasons.

Carolina did not have a morning skate but I would look for similar lines that started the game yesterday.

Stankoven – Aho – Svechnikov

Blake – Kotkaniemi – Ehlers

Martinook – Staal – Carrier

Robinson – Jankowski – Hall

Coach Brind’Amour exchanged Stankoven with Robinson in the third period so that is a possibility going forward as well.

Gostisbehere missed last night’s game so it is an assumption he will miss tonight. The pairings would be –

Nikishin – Walker

Miller – Chatfield

Reilly – Nystrom

The Hurricanes are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and are currently riding a two game win streak.

It has been confirmed that newly acquired, Stuart Skinner will be in net for the Penguins. Skinner’s record is 11-11-4, most of which has been earned with his former team, the Edmonton Oilers.

Sid Crosby leads his team with 20 goals and 39 points in the 37 games he has played.

Bryan Rust is next up with 32 points.

According to the Daily Faceoff, https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/pittsburgh-penguins/line-combinations their lines should be as follows:

Rakell – Crosby – Rust

Mantha – Novak – Brazeau

McGroarty – Kindel – Koivunen

Dewar – Lizotte – Acciari

Wotherspoon – Karlsson

Letang – Kulak

Shea – Ivany

The Penguins are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games and they are struggling to stay in the playoff picture.

Here’s how to check out the action:

Time: 7:00 PM
Location: PPG Paints Arena
TV: FanDuel Sports Network with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Shane Willis, analyst; Hannah Yates, rinkside.
Radio: 99.9 The Fan FM

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...4/hurricanes-penguins-preview-and-open-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Penguins 5, Hurricanes 1

It was one of those games for the Carolina Hurricanes as they fell behind early and ended up with a lackluster, 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

Three minutes and change into the game, Sidney Crosby scored his 21st of the season.

Before the end of the first period, it was 3-0 and the Hurricanes had no answer.

With the score 5-0, Mark Jankowski finally got Carolina on the board late in the second with a nice shot but that would be it for the rest of the game.

It was Jankowski’s second goal of the season in 28 games played.

Fred Andersen took the loss in net as he made 23 saves on the 28 shots he faced. The goalie now has a 5-9-2 record with a GAA of 3.38 and a SV% of .865.

For the third game in a row, Alexander Nikishin led the team in ice time, this time playing 22:39. Like the rest of the team, he did not have his best game though and finished at (-2).

Will Carrier had a team best six hits.

Logan Stankoven was moved back to center midway through the game and won 5 of 9 faceoffs.

The Canes will need to put this game behind them quickly as they face Montreal at home on Thursday night, (New Year’s Day) and then will have another back-to-back challenge this weekend against Colorado and New Jersey.

Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS020619.HTM

Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES020619.HTM

Interviews – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/8xcv...5n9xwb73v6y8dv2ogo77h56c&e=1&st=snip4pwp&dl=0

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-11-carolina-hurricanes-game-recaps/52598/penguins-5-hurricanes-1

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Seth Jarvis left off Canadian Olympic Roster

The Butterfly Effect Continues.

While not cited as the reason, the 4-3 shootout loss to Florida on December 19th claimed another victim in the Olympic hopes of Seth Jarvis.

You’ll recall that after giving up a 3-0 lead to the Panthers, the Carolina winger was heading down on a breakaway in the 3-on-3 overtime set before being taken out by Evan Rodrigues in a play that wasn’t called as a penalty. Jarvis smashed hard into the post, and has been out since in a “week to week” injury.

Carolina has had a hard time recovering from that. They went on to lose the shootout in that game, their first of three losses in a row. They recovered enough to beat Detroit and the Rangers, but looked listless in a 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh last night.

Now the injury has seemingly been a deciding factor in the Team Canada roster for the 2026 Winter Games. Despite playing for the 4 Nations last year and breaking out with his charm and marking efforts during the game and during the Amazon Prime series this summer, and then leading the Hurricanes in goals with 19 this season, when the roster was announced on Thursday Seth Jarvis wasn’t on it.

Jarvis wasn’t the only controversial name left off. Perhaps the biggest name that Canadians were expecting was Connor Bedard, the electric youngster who also has 19 goals for the Chicago Blackhawks in his third season, well above the pace he set in his first two. The steadying hand of Sam Bennett was also left off, though many feel Tom Wilson is his replacement.

Instead Canada went with Macklin Celebrini, the second year player for the Sharks who already has 21 goals and is a big reason why San Jose has been in contention this season despite many thinking it was another rebuilding year.

The argument for Jarvis’ inclusion was strong. Team Canada trusted him last season and though he was an extra for one game, he was playing when Canada won the 4 Nations last year, being name checked by none other than Brad Marchand. Jarvis responded this season playing on the top line scoring 19 goals, and having arguably his best season to date before the injury. Once the news broke, the great PR man for the Canes Mike Sundheim summed up the reason Jarvis should have expected to be on the roster:

Seth Jarvis is currently eighth among Canadian forwards in goals per game this season, tied for second in short-handed goals and tied for fifth in even-strength goals https://t.co/R2e84YB8Aw

— Mike Sundheim (@MikeSundheim) December 31, 2025

Yet he sits.

That said, it’s possible Jarvis will still head to the Olympics. He’ll need to get back on the ice in the next couple of weeks to show he’s in good shape to play, but between now and the Olympics next month if a winger named to Team Canada suffers an injury, chances are he’ll be high on the list of those to be called up. He should find out soon enough as someone on the reserve list is subject to the same Drug Testing requirements of the IOC.

The worst case scenario though may be the best case for Canes fans. Having a guy bordering on superstar level like Jarvis getting three weeks off and being able to play the back half of the season rested and refreshed can only help Carolina in their quest for the Stanley Cup. It’s of small comfort to Jarvis who actually talked about his exclusion from Team Canada in the Prime series.

We should find out other Olympians by the end of the week, including whether the US plans to go ahead and name Jaccob Slavin despite his injuries.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/latest-news/52603/seth-jarvis-left-off-canadian-olympic-roster

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

How to Watch Hurricanes vs Canadiens: Preview and Game Thread

Merry New Year! Here’s hoping 2026 welcomes each of you with a smile and it brings you health and happiness.

The Hurricanes certainly are hoping to get the year off to a great start as they host Les Habitants from Montreal. Considering 2026 ending with one of the most listless performances of the season, it’s appropriate that today can mark a fresh start.

In case you forgot thanks to your New Year’s revelries, the last time this Canes squad took the ice was Tuesday Night in a game that was basically over from the puck drop. The 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh was just horrid from start to finish, including a sinking feeling about goalie Frederik Andersen. Once the first goal went in, it seemed as if the team in front of him had just lost any sort of confidence about him.

Carolina will try to bounce back tonight with their now clear number one goalie Brandon Bussi in net. The Canes remarkable find is now 13-1 with a 2.08 GAA and .912 save percentage. He was solid in their overtime win over the Rangers on Monday, and the team in front of him has been playing with the confidence that he can make a crucial save.

There was also some good news in the morning skate as it appears at least one player who has been injured long term is closer to getting back out for a game.

Happy New Year, all.

As the #Canes filter onto the ice for morning skate ahead of tonight’s matchup against Montreal, Seth Jarvis (rib injury) is with the group in a yellow, no-contact sweater.

Great to see him out there for the first time since Dec. 19. pic.twitter.com/JUL1YhX3Y9

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) January 1, 2026

As can be expected following the rough outing on Tuesday mixed with the team still dealing with injuries, the morning skate lines had a few changes to them.

Ehlers-Aho-SvechRobinson-Stankoven-BlakeCarrier-Staal-MartinookHall-Jankowski-KotkaniemiPhilp, JarvisNikishin-WalkerMiller-ChatfieldReilly-NystromBayreutherBussiAndersen

— Cory Lavalette (@corylav.bsky.social) 2026-01-01T15:34:07.487Z

Much is made of the missing Jarvis and Slavin, but the key injury in the short term may be Shayne Gostisbehere. Ghost has taken his game to another level this season, and while he only has four goals, anyone who has watched him on the ice knows that he’s been a huge spark plug on the ice in both the Power Play and in general. His last game before this most recent injury had him with three points against the Red Wings, and his absence the last two games has absolutely been noticeable.

On the other end, the Canadiens have been looking to build off their playoff appearance last season, and have stayed in the hunt in the crowded Atlantic Division. They have points in six straight, and are coming off their own encounter with the Florida Panthers and Brad Marchand. The Panthers won 3-2 in overtime but the reason for the win was an elbow to the head of Mike Matheson delivered by Marchand. He was given a penalty that resulted in the goal, but despite the shot, Marchand won’t face any other discipline.

Surely this decision couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that Florida is due to host the state’s first Winter Classic tomorrow? Nah, of course not, the NHL knows discipline and so of course there’s no conspiracy to make sure one of their known stars is out on the ice.

So while the two organizations have had some back and forth over the last few years, they can bond over the fact that Florida seemingly continues to get away with taking out key players. They won’t commiserate for long, as every point will matter for both squads. That starts in net as the Canadiens have been dealing with a horrid start from their starter last year in Sam Montembeault. It was bad enough to where he was sent to the AHL, but he made his first start after that stint Tuesday—getting the win in Florida. With the Habs facing the same three games in four days stretch—but all on the road—there were decisions in net to be made. The choice for tonight appears to be Jakub Dobes. Dobes hasn’t played since December 21st against the Penguins, but he has stepped up with a 12-5 record and a 2.90 GAA. His save percentage though is under the .900 line at .894, so there’s a chance for the Canes to get off to a fast start against a goalie with some rust on him.

Whenever Montreal is on the ice you’ll want to keep your eye on the top pair of Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield. Expect the Jordan Staal line to be matched up against that top line as those two have combined for 32 goals, and 83 points so far on the season. That said, keep an eye on their second line containing their third and fourth leading goal scorers Juraj Slafkovský and Oliver Kapanen. Yes, Kapanen. He’s a nephew of the former Canes’ great Sami, and cousin to Sami’s son Kasperi. Expect the Aho/Ehlers line to face off against this one, and it should provide for some good bak and forth.

It should be a good battle tonight in Raleigh. If you aren’t going to be in the arena, here’s how to watch:

Time: 7 PM

TV: FanDuel Sports Network. Mike Maniscalco will handle play-by-play alongside Tripp Tracy doing color. Hanna Yates and Shane Willis will provide off-ice reports as well as host pregame starting at 6:30 and postgame that will run for about 30 minutes after the conclusion.

Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network App for fans in the Carolinas. Outside of the area, the ESPN app has you covered, for tonight as the game will not be on the NHL Network.

Radio: The pregame on 99.9 The Fan starts at 4:30. At 5PM the Hurricanes Radio Network (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) picks up the FDSN feed. You can also stream the call on the Hurricanes app.

Odds: Hurricanes -182 Moneyline, Puckline Hurricanes -1.5 at +136/Jets +150 Moneyline, Puckline +1.5 at -168, O/U 6.5 (+112 Over/-138 Under)

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/caroli...rricanes-vs-canadiens-preview-and-game-thread

 

[Carolina Hurricanes]

Hurricanes blow two goal lead, drop 7-5 result to Montreal

One thing that’s been remarkable about this season for the Carolina Hurricanes is that despite the mountain of injuries they have faced, there have been few nights when it was truly apparent they were missing some really important players. Thursday night, though, hoping to put a horrible game in Pittsburgh behind them, it pretty clearly showed that they were missing Jaccob Slavin, Shayne Gostisbehere and Seth Jarvis. In a game that would be called a game of runs if it were basketball, the Montreal Canadiens had the last one to notch a 7-5 win over the Canes.

The first period seemed to be a continuation of the rough game in Pittsburgh. Just four minutes in the Canes were down 2-0 thanks to goals by Nick Suzuki and Oliver Kapanen. Suzuki’s goal came when the Canes coudn’t clear the zone and the Montreal Captain picked it off the blue line and sniped it past Brandon Bussi. The second was a complete breakdown as Sean Walker left Kapanen to follow the puck in front of the goal. Ivan Demidov was able to feed the pass straight to Kapanen who slammed it home.

The good news for the Canes though is that unlike Tuesday, the team was able to quickly respond. It began on a Power Play started by Nikolaj Ehlers taking a stick in a…sensitive area. He was able to get back on the ice during the man advantage, taking a feed from Alexander Nikishin to skate through the dot and score past Jakub Dobes.

View Link

The success on the Power Play seemed to wake the team up as they carried play for the rest of the first period. Less than two minutes later Sebastian Aho—who had the other assist on the first goal—was able to deflect a Joel Nystrom shot past the Montreal goalie to knot the score at two.

View Link

Less then three minutes after THAT the Canes continued their dominance of play and dog piled on Dobes. Andrei Svechnikov was able to stay patient for a rebound, and poked it past the Montreal goalie to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead going into the first intermission.

View Link

Aho was given another assist on the play, meaning that he ended the period notching a point on each goal, and Svechnikov’s score was his second point as he was credited with the secondary assist on Aho’s goal.

The good vibes continued at the start of the second period when the Canadiens were called for a hold, inducing another Power Play. This time fans got to see the booming shot of Alexander Nikishin, as he blasted a 90+ mph shot from the blue line past Dobes and was able to extend the lead for the Hurricanes 4-2.

View Link

Sebastian Aho was once again credited with an assist, giving him a point on all four goals on the night and Svechnikov notched his third point along with Nikishin. It seemed like the Canes were rolling, but that ended up being the end of the good vibes for a while.

The turn started when Arber Xhekaj slashed Svechnikov on a breakaway, and then as that shot was missed Xhekaj shoved Svechnikov hard into the boards once he had come to a stop. The officials only called the slash, the Canadiens were able to keep the Canes off the scoreboard on the Power Play, and then Montreal got back to their game. It resulted in them scoring the next four goals on Bussi.

The first came about a minute after the end of the Power Play when Sammy Blais was able to get ahead of the Mike Reilly and Joel Nystrom pairing, splitting them and going in alone to get the shot past Bussi and bring the score to 4-3. Then in just a 23 second span, Cole Caufield notched his 20th and then Josh Anderson scored to give Montreal the lead back at 5-4. The air completely left Lenovo Center. The fifth goal came from perhaps the worst pass you could imagine by Ehlers to a wide open Anderson.

Things didn’t get much better for the majority of the third. Carolina had several chances, but Montreal also had a few close. Then, Juraj Slafkovský just skated up the ice off a puck capture and flung the puck at the net while being shadowed by Nystrom. Bussi didn’t close up the short post in time and the puck snuck in. Montreal had a 6-4 lead, and for the first time since the magic ride began, it was fair to wonder if the league had figured the waiver wire pickup out.

Things seemed without hope but then on an offensive zone draw Rod Brind’Amour pulled Bussi and Carolina took advantage almost immediately. The Canes put the top line on the ice that provided all the early magic and Ehlers pushed a shot toward the net that trickled in with Sebastian Aho up front. Aho tipped it in, and ended up having a hand in all five goals for the night.

View Link

The five point night though would go to waste as a faceoff on an icing saw Brind’Amour pull Bussi again. The Canes lost the faceoff, never really recovered and Lane Hutson flinged the puck from the opposite goal line into the empty cage, providing the final score for the 7-5 result.

The Canes now are staring at a back-to-back this weekend with the best team in the league coming into their barn Saturday, just to turn around and play the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Sunday. Both Goalies have now given up five or more goals in their most recent starts, and with only Jarvis skating on Thursday in a yellow jersey, there’s no sign that any of the other injuries are on deck to be healed any time soon.

A good result for the Canes was the Islanders losing earlier in the day, so they ended Saturday still with a three point lead on them and the Flyers in the Metro, and four on the Capitals. Montreal inched to within a point of the Red Wings atop the Atlantic who snatched a point in Pittsburgh earlier in the evening.

Next up for Carolina is Colorado on Saturday Night. It’s a return of the Nordiques vs. Whalers, this time in front of the Raleigh crowd. It’ll also be the return of Brent Burns, Martin Necas, and Jack Drury to Raleigh. Expect emotions to be high.

Source: https://www.canescountry.com/2010-1...low-two-goal-lead-drop-7-5-result-to-montreal