Canes Corner

The Canes only needed one point to clinch the home ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs and they got that in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Flyers.  Bradly Nadeau and Nikolaj Ehlers scored in the 1st period.  Brandon Bussi made 21 saves and the Canes dragged the game into overtime.  Jackson Blake could have scored a half dozen times -- including ringing an overtime try off the left post -- but it wasn't his night.  K'Andre Miller also hit the post in overtime as the Hurricanes did everything but score after the first period ended.  Carolina now waits to see who will be the second wild card in the conference between Boston and Ottawa.  Also, Pyotr Kochetkov was activated from the injured list and should start the season finale in New York against the Islanders.

Canes Corner is presented by the Aluminum Company of North Carolina. aluminumcompany.com

The Hurricanes beat the Mammoth in Utah, 4-1, as Freddie Andersen made 26 saves and Jordan Staal scored his 20th goal of the season.  Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho also scored, as Andre's career high 31st goal got Carolina on the board first on the power play.  Aho's deflection of a Shayne Gostisbehere point shot pushed Carolina's lead to 3-1 with less than 5:00 to play in regulation.  Sean Walker scored into an empty net, but it was one of his best -- and feistiest -- games with the Hurricanes.  Carolina is now just 1 point away from clinching home ice throughout the eastern conference playoffs. 

The Canes Corner podcast is sponsored by the Aluminum Company of North Carolina. aluminumcompany.com 

The Canes rested 7 regulars and still battered the Blackhawks, 7-2, at United Center.  Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski scored two goals apiece, Will Carrier had 3 assists, and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves in the win which lowers the Carolina magic number to 3 over the Buffalo Sabres. Stankoven also had an assist on the Taylor Hall goal.  K'Andre Miller and Sean Walker also found the back of the net in the win.  Carolina up to 108 points with 3 games left to play.

The Canes Corner Podcast is sponsored by the Aluminum Company of North Carolina.  aluminumcompany.com

The Canes beat the Bruins, 6-5, in overtime, wrapping up the Metropolitan Division title with 4 games left to play.  The Hurricanes have 106 points, a 4-point lead over Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Montreal in the race for the number one overall seed in the Eastern Conference with 4 games left to play.  It was anything but standard in the Canes' final regular season game at home.  Defensive breakdowns and some shaky goaltending allowed Boston to score 5 times -- three by former Hurricanes forward Morgan Geekie.  But, Boston had their own issues in goal as the Canes scored five times in less than 30 minutes on Jeremy Swayman and Boston pulled him in favor of Joonas Korpisalo who was great in relief.  That is until Jaccob Slavin's first goal of the season won the game for the Hurricanes in OT.  Andrei Svechnikov, K'Andre Miller, Logan Stankoven, Will Carrier and Taylor Hall also scored for Carolina in the win and Brandon Bussi won his 30th game of the season.  The Hurricanes have now won at least 50 games in 4 of the last 5 seasons and they are division champions for the 4th time in the last 6 years.

The Canes Corner Podcast is sponsored by the Aluminum Company of North Carolina. aluminumcompany.com

The Hurricanes had a chance to wrap up the Metropolitan Division with just 1 point in the game at Ottawa.  Alas they lost 6-3.  They scored first through Logan Stankoven on the power play.  Andrei Svechnikov gave them momentum with a great individual effort goal at the end of the opening period in a 2-2 game.  But, that was it as puck management issues and mental mistakes cost them any chance at a win.  The only positive was Taylor Hall's 300th career goal.  

The Canes Corner Podcast is sponsored by the Aluminum company of North Carolina. aluminumcompany.com

The Canes twice fought back from a goal down, but then hung on for a 4-3 win over the Islanders.  The win pushes Carolina to 104 points and gives them a magic number of 1 to wrap up the Metropolitan Division.  That can happen Sunday in Ottawa.  Seth Jarvis scored his first 5-on-5 goal in 24 days as he scored Carolina's first and last goals.  He also set up Sebastian Aho for a go-ahead shorthanded marker in the 2nd period.  That was the Hurricanes' 12th shorty of the season, which leads the NHL.  Jackson Blake's 22nd goal of the year tied the game for the second time.  Brandon Bussi made 13 saves for his 29th win of the year.  

The Canes Corner Podcast is sponsored by the Aluminum Company of North Carolina @aluminumcompany

The Canes raced out to a 3-0 lead after the first period and cruised home to a 5-1 win over Columbus.  The win put the Hurricanes into the playoffs for the 8th consecutive season.  Logan Stankoven scored twice.  Alexander Nikishin registered his first NHL shorthanded goal.  And Andrei Svechnikov's 3rd period  goal extended Carolina's streak to 8 straight with at least one power play goal.  Carolina is 12 for their 25 with the man advantage during the run.  The penalty kill went 3 for 3 and has now erased 19 of the last 20 enemy power plays.  Frederik Andersen made 9 saves in the win.

The Canes Corner Podcast is a service of the Aluminum Company of North Carolina aluminumcompany.com

The Canes scored 3 power play goals and Brandon Bussi made 23 saves as they beat the Blue Jackets in Columbus, 5-2.  The win pushes the Hurricanes to the 100 point mark for the 4th time in the last 5 seasons and lowers their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to 3.  In addition, Carolina has a magic number of 7 to win the Metropolitan Division for the first time in 3 years.  Shayne Gostisbehere, Logan Stankoven and Andrei Svechnikov each scored power play goals and Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and three assists as he set a career high with his 40th helper and tied his career best mark for points in a season with 64.  Among Bussi's 25 saves were several glorious pad saves on Marchenko and Sean Monahan.  

The Aluminum Company of North Carolina is proud presenter of the Canes Corner Podcast. aluminumcompany.com

For the second time in three games the Canes lost a game that they probably should have won.  But, in each, they could not adequately solve Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes and ended up on the losing end.  Last Tuesday in Montreal, the Hurricanes scored the first 2 goals and had more than 60% of the high danger scoring chances only to lose 5-2.  Sunday, at Lenovo Center, it was more egregious as the Hurricanes piled up 100 shot attempts and outchanced the Habs by nearly 3 to 1 only to come away with 1 goal.  Andre Svechnikov scored Carolina's only goal, his 26th -- on a 1st period power play -- that snapped a 5 game goal drought. Freddie Andersen didn't allow a bad goal, and made some very good saves, but has stopped just 29 of 36 shots in going 0-2-0 over his last two outings.

Brandon Bussi's best start since the Olympic break helped the Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the Devils.  Carolina fell behind 1-0 on a first period Timo Meier goal, but they roared back with 3 goals in the 2nd period as Nikolaj Ehlers, Jackson Blake and Jordan Staal each scored.  Ehlers rang up his 13th in 22 games against the Devils.  Blake's gave the Canes the lead they would never give up.  Staal's deflection of an Ehlers pass gave him 19 goals on the year, just one shy of his season high with Carolina.  Shayne Gostisbehere returned from a lower body injury and scored his 12th goal of the season and has 45 points in 46 games this season.  Bussi made 17 saves in winning his 27th game of the year and the win helps the Canes complete a 4-game season series sweep of the Devils.