Canes Corner

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.  

The Canes dropped the final game of the holiday home stand, 6-3, to the Florida Panthers.  The day after Thanksgiving didn't treat Carolina well.  Too many turnovers and suspect goals allowed by Spencer Martin spoiled a perfect week at Lenovo as the Hurricanes' 9-game home winning streak came to an end.  Seth Jarvis scored on the power play in the 1st period.  Sean Walker and Eric Robinson get the Canes even at 3-3 in the 2nd.  But, too many turnovers in the 3rd led to goals from A.J. Greer and Anton Lundell -- the latter the Panthers' 7th shorthanded goal of the season -- and the Hurricanes could not dig out of the hole.  The same two teams will play Saturday afternoon in Ssunrise, Florida.

The Canes scored twice in a 2:07 span of the 3rd period to beat the Rangers, 4-3, at Lenovo Center. Jesperi Kotkaniemi's 3rd goal of the season - a wraparound bid that he stuffed (like a turkey) between the pads of New York goalie Igor Shesterkin - tied the score at 3. Just over two minutes later, with former Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck in the penalty box, Jackson Blake took a pass from Jack Drury and wristed the Canes into the lead. It was Blake's 7th goal of the season, 2nd most among NHL rookies. Drury opened the scoring with his 3rd goal of the season - quite possibly off the mask of Shesterkin - just short of the 5-minute mark. Seth Jarvis scored on the power play early in the 2nd period to give the Canes a 2-1 lead. Spencer Martin won his 2nd straight game with 20 saves. Carolina wakes up on Thanksgiving Day with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 16-5-1. 

The Canes scored five times in the 3rd period to rally past the Stars, 6-4, as they opened this 3-game home (for the holiday) stand in style. Sebastian Aho, Brent Burns, Shayne Gostisbehere, Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov each tallied in the final frame for the win. Carolina entered the third period trailing 3-1 having turned the puck over on each of Dallas' goals. The one bright spot was the penalty kill, which provided the only goal to that point as Seth Jarvis' stellar play started a breakout that he finished to tie the game at 1-1 in the 1st period. On the night, the Canes would be +3 on special teams as they scored twice on the power play and shut down the Stars three different times. Spencer Martin made 14 saves in the win. Carolina outshot the Stars 15-6 in the third period. The holiday festivities continue Wednesday against the Rangers. 

The Devils scored twice on the power play and beat the Canes 4-2 in Newark. Carolina's 3-game win streak is over. Jack Roslovic and Andrei Svechnikov each scored for the Hurricanes, the latter coming just 12 seconds into the 3rd period to tie the score at 2. But, Spencer Martin misplayed a puck behind his own net and that led to Dougie Hamilton's go-ahead goal. Jesper Bratt's second goal of the game - on the power play - gave the Devils their final goal. Martin Necas assisted on the Svechnikov goal, his 20th helper of the year. 

The Hurricanes scored three times in 5:54 early in the 3rd period to race away from the Flyers in  a 4-1 victory. The win was Carolina's 3rd in a row and moved them back to the top of the Metropolitan Division with a 14-4-0 record. Their 28 points are 1 better than Washington (13-4-1). The Canes will play at 3rd place New Jersey (12-7-2) Thursday night in Newark. Jalen Chatfield put the Hurricanes in front just 30 seconds into the 1st period with his first goal of the season. Sebastion Aho broke a 1-1 tie at 1:03 of the 3rd with his 5th of the year. Remarkably, it was the first goal of the season for Aho at 5-on-5. Jordan Staal redirected a Dimitry Orlov shot five minutes later that found its way into the Philly net for a 3-1 score. Then Jack Roslovic's 10th goal of the season followed 55 seconds later to make it 4-1. Aho's goal was the game-winner, the 58th such goal of his career, moving him past legend Ron Francis into first place on the franchise all-time list. Staal's goal was the 23rd in his career against the Flyers, more than against any other opponent in his career. Pytor Kochetkov made 18 saves in the win, his 10th of the season. 

Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 29 shots and Martiin Necas had 2 goals and 2 assists as the Canes gave St Louis the blues to the tune of a 4-1 victory Sunday night.  Kochetkov, who left last week's game in Utah with a lower body injury returned to the lineup and was outstanding, turning aside all but one of about a dozen great St Louis scoring chances.  Meanwhile, Necas extended his points streak to 13 straight games with two goals and two assists -- yes, he factored in on every Carolina goal.  Necas is now 3rd in the NHL in scoring with 30 points in 17 games.  And, those numbers represent the most productive start in Hurricanes history, surpassing the 29 points in 17 games by Eric Staal -- accomplished in the 2005-2006 season.  Eric Robinson scored his 5th goal of the season and added two assists as well.  Andrei Svechnikov's power play goal tied the game at 1 late in the first period as the Canes scored with the man advantage for the 3rd straight game.  The Canes are 13-4-0 and tied for first in the Metro with the Devils.

Spencer Martin stopped 24 shots and Sebastian Aho got back into the goal-scoring business as the Canes shut down the Senators, 4-0.  It was the first of a brief back-to-back homestand as Carolina will welcome the Blues Sunday afternoon.  Jordan Martinook's 6th goal in as many games staked the Canes to a 1-0 lead in the first period.  Aho's late second period power play goal gave the Canes a 2-0 lead not to mention a ton of momentum heading into the locker room.  It was also his first goal in regulation since scoring an empty net goal to close out the win over the Devils in the 2nd game of the season.  Jackson Blake scored a power play goal early in the 3rd to make it 3-0 and William Carrier closed out the scoring into an empty net with about 5 minutes to play.  

Karel Vejmelka made 49 saves as the Canes lost to the Utah Hockey Club, 4-1. Not only did the Hurricanes pump 50 shots at the Utah goaltender, but they also wasted 11 minutes of 3rd period power play time. Pyotr Kochetkov takes the loss allowing 3 of the 4 Club goals. It was his first "L" in 3 weeks having won his last 7 starts. Worrying is that it appeared he might have injured himself on the goal that gave Utah the lead for good in the 3rd period. Martin Necas scored his 9th goal of the season and extended his point streak to 11 games. 

The Canes jumped out to a 4-0 lead through two periods and coasted home to a 5-2 win over Vegas. Carolina bounces back from Saturday's loss which ended their 8-game winning streak. Pyotr Kochetkov made 31 saves and five different skaters scored goals as the Hurricanes moved to 11-3-0 on the season, back on top of the Metropolitan Division with 22 points in 14 games. Eric Robinson, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Staal, Tyson Jost and Jordan Martinook all scored. For Martinook, it was his 4th straight game with a goal and his 5th in that streak. Jost scored in his Hurricanes debut. Staal's came while shorthanded just 3 1/2 minutes into the second period. As for Robinson's and Kotkaniemi's, they were in part created by Martin Necas - who also extended his point streak to 10 in a row (7g, 14a) - and as a line, they have been excellent. Since uniting 10 games ago, KK and Robinson each have 7 points while Martinook has 7 goals and 14 assists.