Carolina Hurricanes Find Offensive Rhythm in 4-3 Win Over Los Angeles Kings

In a game filled with rough play and lots of penalties, it was the Carolina Hurricanes who came out on top over the Los Angeles Kings.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR Goal (3:31) – Brett Pesce (1), assisted by Brad Malone (3)

Jay McClement got kicked out of the faceoff circle, but Malone stepped in and won the offensive zone draw to Pesce, and he blasted home his first goal in the NHL.

2nd Period

CAR Goal (1:48) – Jeff Skinner (4), assisted by Kris Versteeg (10), Brett Pesce (2)

Skinner banked the puck off of Jonathan Quick from behind the goal line, and it went on in to make it a 2-0 game early in period two.

CAR PP Goal (4:26) – Justin Faulk (7), assisted by Elias Lindholm (1), Kris Versteeg (11)

After a scrum in front, the puck bounced back to Justin Faulk at the point, and he sent a wicked wrister top shelf on Quick to make it 3-0.

LAK PS Goal (13:02) – Dustin Brown (2)

Noah Hanifin used his hand to cover the puck in the Canes crease, which gave Brown a penalty shot opportunity. He didn’t make any mistake as he walked in and sniped it past Cam Ward.

LAK Goal (14:00) – Anze Kopitar (6), unassisted

Justin Faulk’s only mistake of the day came on a bad breakout pass that was intercepted by Kopitar, and he walked in and wristed it past Ward it make it a 3-2 game.

CAR PP Goal (17:46) – Justin Faulk (8), assisted by Noah Hanifin (3), Victor Rask (7)

Faulk threw a shot on Quick from the boards, and the rebound was knocked into the net by Kings defenseman Alec Martinez. That goal made it a 4-2 game.

3rd Period

LAK PP Goal (9:15) – Anze Kopitar (7), assisted by Drew Doughty (10), Jake Muzzin (9)

The Kings put the pressure on the Canes in period three with a powerplay goal from Kopitar. It was his second goal of the game, and it made it 4-3 hockey game.

Three Stars

1st Star – Brett Pesce (CAR) – 1st NHL goal, 1 assist, +2, 3 shots, 2 hits, 18:06 TOI

2nd Star – Justin Faulk (CAR) – 2 goals, 6 shots, 3 hits, 25:22 TOI

3rd Star – Kris Versteeg (CAR) – 2 assists, 16:04 TOI

Recap

This Sunday afternoon game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angeles Kings was chippy and physical, a style of play that the Kings tend to dominate, but the Canes squeezed out a big win to end their homestand and their 5-game losing streak.

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The young defensive core for Carolina led the way in this one. Pesce and Faulk led the offensive charge while also playing noticeably well in their own end. In his 2nd NHL game, Jaccob Slavin also played well despite not getting on the score sheet. He had 3 blocked shots and a hit in 14:39 of ice time.

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Offensively, the standout player for Carolina was Elias Lindholm who played his best game of the season. Especially in the first 2 periods, Lindholm was a force offensively. He got into the dirty areas and made quality skill plays in order to create chances. He had an assist to show for his efforts. He also delivered a team-high 5 hits and led all Canes forwards with 4 shots on net.

The physical nature of this game definitely took a tole on the Hurricanes. Justin Faulk, John-Michael Liles and Nathan Gerbe all had to go to the locker room at points in the game due to injury. Gerbe was the only player that did not return to the game. He was spotted leaving the PNC Arena in a walking boot. It appears to be an ankle injury for him. Bill Peters had no update in regards to that injury after the game.

Cam Ward played extremely well in big moments for the Canes. He made great saves when the team truly needed it, and he proved to be a big difference maker on Sunday. However, expect Eddie Lack to get the nod on Monday night against the Flyers.

It was a tight, physical game between the Hurricanes and Kings on Sunday. The Canes were able to actually capitalize on scoring chances, and that was the difference there. Carolina scored 4+ goals for just the 2nd time this season, and they will look to keep the offense rolling on Monday against the Flyers.

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The Canes and Flyers will face off at 8:00 pm on Monday. It will be Rod Brind’Amour night in Philly with a ceremony scheduled prior to opening faceoff.