Canes Corner

The Canes fell in Jersey, 4-2, as Jakob Markstrom made 29 saves -- several of them spectacular -- sending Carolina to their 3rd loss in their last 4 games.  Carolina is now 5-8-0 in their last 13 games and will skate with the same Devils team Saturday night in Raleigh.  Eric Robinson gave the Hurricanes the lead with his 9th goal of the season in the middle of the 1st period.  But, New Jersey scored twice, 42 seconds apart, late in the period to turn the game in their favor.  Brent Burns' 3rd of the season, 22 seconds into the 2nd and just after a power play expired, brought the Canes back level.  But, about 4 minutes later, Luke Hughes pounced on a rebound and the Hurricanes found themselves trailing again.  

The Canes spotted the Predators a 4-0 lead, fought back with two goals to close the gap, but couldn't get closer and lost 5-2 in Nashville. Dustin Tokarski allowed 4 goals on 25 shots, but was the least of Carolina's problems. The Hurricanes had trouble sustaining any offensive pressure on Nashville goaltender, Juuse Saros - at least until the Preds were already ahead by 4 goals. And, by then, it was too late. Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho had the goals for the Hurricanes. 

The Canes beat the Rangers, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden thanks to a stellar performance from goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov.  Coming off a 3-1 loss in Washington in which Kochetkov allowed a soft, late-second period goal, Carolina's goalie was the game's first star.  He gave up a Jimmy Vesey goal just 17 seconds into the game, but turned out the lights on Broadway the rest of the way.  And, if you throw away the bad goal allowed to the Caps, Kochetkov has been outstanding the last three games.  William Carrier and Jack Roslovic each scored goals that could be attributed to Carolina's power play.  Carrier's came just a few seconds after it expired. Roslovic's at the very end of a 4-minute double-minor that he drew when Alexis Lafreniere rearranged his dental work in the middle of the 2nd.  Sebastian Aho added an empty net goal as the Canes have now taken the first two games of the season series with New York.

Two late period goals doomed the Canes in their 3-1 loss to the Capitals. Aliaksei Protas scored with 43 seconds left in the 1st period. Then, his net-front screen allowed Connor McMichael to make it 3-0 with 27 seconds left in the 2nd. In between Jakub Vrana scored his 5th of the season. Charlie Lindgren stopped 24 of 25 shots on goal. The one he didn't was Seth Jarvis' 9th goal of the season. That goal snapped a 5-game goal drought. 

Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 32 shots for his first shutout of the season as the Canes ran away from the Islanders, 4-0, at Lenovo Center. Kochetkov's best performance of the season featured nearly a dozen excellent saves as he allowed the Hurricanes to find their game and cruise to victory. Andrei Svechnikov opened the scoring on the power play in the first period. Jordan Martinook made it 2-0 less than 3 minutes later putting home a rebound of a Jordan Staal shot. Then Tyson Jost and Sebastian Aho scored in the 2nd period for the final margin. Aho's goal, on a 2-on-1 rush with linemate Eric Robinson, came with 17 seconds left in the period, was the dagger that sent the visitors to the canvas. Shayne Gostisbehere had 2 assists on the night and has 27 points in 31 games. The Hurricanes were 1 for 2 on the power play and killed off New York's lone man advantage opportunity. 

Dustin Tokarski made 27 saves and the Canes got a huge shorthanded goal from Sebastian Aho in a 4-1 win over Columbus.  Tokarski, a 35-year old journeyman netminder starting an NHL game for his 6th different team, starred in his Hurricanes debut and his new teammates played a solid game from start to finish in the win.  The Canes were really led by the Captains line as Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook and William Carrier combined for 5 points in the win.  Staal assisted on two goals while Martinook and Carrier each snapped 13-game goal droughts in the victory.  Jesperi Kotkaniemi's 5th closed out the scoring on the night.  Also worth noting that for the first time -- I think since the earth cooled -- the Hurricanes came out on the good end of a goaltender interference challenge as Martinook's 2nd period goal was upheld after video review.  Of course, they did have a goal ruled out for a hand pass on the ensuing power play, so the world can continue to spin on its axis.

The Canes were shut out by the Senators, 3-0, at Lenovo Center as Linus Ullmark did something he had never done before in his NHL career. As a starter for Buffalo and then Boston, Ullmark had appeared in 9 games against the Canes in the regular season and payoffs combined without ever recording a win. 32 saves later, Ullmark had his first against Carolina. Shane Pinto scored twice, his first two goals since opening night, and Nick Jenson added another, as the Hurricanes fell to 2-5-0 in their last 7 games. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 19 shots in the loss. Carolina was 0-2 on the power play. 

* Adam is joined on the podcast by special guest, former PGA Tour golfer, Brad Fritsch, to discuss the game. 

The Canes scored twice in the 3rd period, rallying to beat the Sharks, 3-2. Carolina was borderline lifeless for 40 minutes, but woke up and put on a very Canes-like display in the 3rd, scoring twice and dominating possession in the win. Brent Burns and Jalen Chatfield scored the goals and Pyotr Kochetkov overcame a rough first two periods to make some very good saves in the win. The Canes had just 13 5-on-5 goals over their last 9 games, but scored 3 times at normal strength. All three goals came through the blue line as Shayne Gostisbehere scored his 6th of the season to open the scoring. Burns' 2nd and Chatfield's 3rd provided the comeback. Kochetkov made 21 saves for his 12th win of the season. 

Adversity has arrived at Lenovo Center as the Canes lost to the Kraken, 4-2. It was their 3rd loss in a row. Martin Necas had a goal and an assist in the loss and he nearly added a second assist as it was his pass to Jack Drury that lead to an apparent goal that gave the Canes a 3-2 lead in the 3rd period. But, that goal was waved off for goaltender interference. But, the better team tonight won the game. Carolina was held to a season low 18 shots on goal and just 2 in the 2nd  period. It was the first time in more than 2 seasons that Carolina was held to as few as 2 shots on goal in a complete period. Pyotr Kochetkov allowed 4 goals in his first game since November 23.

For the first time this year the Canes lost consecutive games.  One night after losing at home to the Panthers, 6-3, Carolina fell apart in the 3rd period in a 6-0 setback.  Spencer Martin yielded 5 goals for the 2nd straight night, the sixth was allowed by rookie Yaniv Perets who came on in relief after Adam Boqvist made it 5-0.  Carolina has now been outscored 9-0 by the Panthers in the last 4 periods.