Canes Corner

For 50 minutes the Canes couldn't figure out a way through Lukas Dostal and the Ducks.  Then Andrei Svechnikov scored on the power play and Seth Jarvis got the equalizer with less than a minute to play in regulation to at least get the Hurricanes to overtime.  But, Cutter Gauthier's second goal of the game gave Anaheim the overtime win.  Carolina failed in their attempt to win 3 in a row for the first time since before Thanksgiving when the beat the Senators, St Louis and Philadelphia November 16, 17 and 20th, respectively.  Pyotr Kochetkov allowed 3 goals on 20 shots.

Jordan Staal scored for the 3rd straight game and Dustin Tokarski recorded his first shutout with the Hurricanes as Carolina beat the Canucks, 2-0. It was the second straight win for the Canes who have now won consecutive games for the first time since December 15th (Columbus) and 17th (NY Islanders).  Andrei Svechnikov scored his 14th goal of the season in the second period on a gorgeous individual play coming out of the corner to the right of the Vancouver net as he extends his point streak to 4 straight. Tokarski stopped 14 shots in the win, his 4th in 5 starts for Carolina.

In honor of the team retiring Eric Staal's number 12, teammates, close friends, and broadcasters tell us why Eric Staal was such a special player and person. From an 18-year old rookie, through a stint in the minor leagues to the Captaincy, Eric Staal also sparked a Shock at the Rock. If you are a Caniac, you will love this look back! 

The Canes fell behind 2-0 for the second straight game. And, for the second straight game, ended up winning. This time they win it 6-3, thanks to a Jordan Staal hat trick. Sunday, against the Penguins, they needed overtime. But that 2-0 deficit was well-earned on the part of Carolina. So many players struggled to make plays that you could have played Yakkety Sax in the background. It had a very strong Benny Hill feel to it. Eric Robinson's 10th goal of the season, however, was the most critical piece of tonight's puzzle. His goal, off a rebound of a Ty Smith point shot, gave the Hurricanes hope after a dreadful start. And, when Andrei Svechnikov found Staal in front with 17 seconds after Robinson's marker, the Captain brought the game level. Staal's hat trick was the 5th of his career and the second with the Canes. Jackson Blake's 9th goal of the season ends up being the winner. That is his 5th, tying him with Martin Necas for 1st on the team. Pyotr Kochetkov was excellent tonight, stopping 30 Toronto shots. 

The Canes fell behind Tampa Bay twice, responded with game-tying goals twice, but couldn't recover from Brayden Point's 24th goal of the season. Point's game winner, with less than 1 minute to play in the 3rd period, was the only blemish on an otherwise great performance by Pyotr Kochetkov. Carolina's goaltender made 31 saves, several of them at point blank range, but couldn't prevent Point's game-winner from sending the Hurricanes home with nothing to show for a game effort. Andrei Svechnikov snapped a 9-game goal drought with a 2nd period goal. Jordan Staal scored midway through the 3rd to tie the game at 2. 

Sebastian Aho's 13th goal of the season gave the Canes a 4-3, overtime win over Pittsburgh and capped a rally from a 2-0 firsst period deficit.  Aho's 3rd point of the night was the 600th of his career and helped wash away the taste of being shut out Saturday night by the Minnesota Wild.  Seth Jarvis, who came in having scored just once in his last 13 games, buried a pair (10th and 11th) in the 2nd period as the Canes scored 3 times to turn a 2-deficit into a 3-2 lead entering the third.  Jalen Chatfield's 4th goal of the year tied the game at 2.  Dustin Tokarski made 16 saves for his 3rd win in 4 starts for the Hurricanes.

The Canes lost, 4-0, at home to the Minnesota Wild Saturday night.  The game really started off poorly as Carolina was given a 4-minute power play early in the first period.  But, they did nothing with it, generating just one shot on goal and it wasn't even a deemed a scoring chance by the analytics community.  The Canes two best chances to score in the entire game came just a few minutes apart as Sebastian Aho set up Seth Jarvis in front of Filip Gustavsson, but the Minnesota goaltender turned both aside.  Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves in the loss.  The Hurricanes have not won consecutive games since December 15 (Columbus) and 17 (NY Islanders).

Pyotr Kochetkov was the game's first star as the Canes beat the Panthers, 3-1, in Florida. Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin scored goals for Carolina and Martin Necas iced the game into the empty net with 28 seconds left. Burns' goal came just 35 seconds into the game as his shot banked off Florida captain Alexsander Barkov and went past Sergei Bobrovsky. Then Slavin broke a 1-1 tie at 12:30 of the 3rd when he deposited a rebound of a Scott Walker drive from the right point. The whole play made possible by Jesperi Kotkaniemi's middle lane drive in which he was upended and sent into the crease - and forcibly held there - by Florida's Matthew Tkachuk. Kotchetkov made 25 saves in the win. 

The Canes lost a 3rd period lead in Columbus and ended up losing in a shootout for the second time this year.  This time the score was 4-3 and the Hurricanes actually had a lead in the shootout through an Andrei Svechnikov goal.  But, Pyotr Kochetkov couldn't stop Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli and when Sebastian Aho failed to extend to a 5th round the Jackets had their second shootout win over Carolina this year.  Ty Smith scored his first goal with the Hurricanes -- on the power play -- in the 1st period.  Jack Roslovic and Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored 2:31 apart in the second period to put the Canes in front.  Aho finished with two assists and now has 40 points in 37 games.

The Canes fell behind twice, but scored the final four goals of the game and beat the Devils, 5-2.  Sebastian Aho's 12th goal of the season drew Carolina even at 2-2 early in the 3rd period and then Jackson Blake's 8th of the year put the Hurricanes ahead to stay.  The Aho marker came just 51 seconds after Ondrej Palat put New Jersey on top 2-1, but Aho's shot went off Jake Allen and into the net to level the game.  Blake's goal, a deflection of a Jesperi Kotkaniemi wrist shot, came near the end of a major penalty given to Devils forward Timo Meier who was ruled to have gone knee to knee on Martin Necas.  Meier was given a 5-minute major and a game misconduct and Necas, who needed to be helped off the ice, was able to return.  Jack Roslovic closed out the scoring with his 15th and 16th goals of the year.  The latter into an empty net.  Dustin Tokarski steered aside 21 shots for his second win in 3 starts for the Hurricanes.