Despite a big game from goalie Cam Ward, the Carolina Hurricanes could not find the offense necessary to beat the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The Canes fell to the Jets 3-1.
Scoring Summary
Winnipeg Goal: 5:29 of 1st period – Blake Wheeler (6), assisted by Mark Stuart (2), Mark Scheifele (4)
Stuart shot the puck from the point on the Canes goal, and it was deflected in the slot by Jets forward Blake Wheeler to put the Jets up 1-0.
Carolina PP Goal: 3:44 of 2nd period – Elias Lindholm (6), assisted by Nathan Gerbe (4), Riley Nash (8)
Good puck movement by the Carolina Hurricanes lead to Nathan Gerbe’s pass down below the goal line to Elias Lindholm, and he pounded it under the pad of Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson down low.
Winnipeg Goal: 13:02 of 2nd period – Blake Wheeler (7), assisted by Zach Bogosian (7), Mark Sheifele (5)
Blake Wheeler won a battle out front of the Canes’ net, and he deflected Bogosian’s shot from the point in past Cam Ward for his second goal of the game.
Winnipeg EN Goal: 18:30 of 3rd period – Michael Frolik (2), assisted by Andrew Ladd (5), Mark Stuart (3)
The Winnipeg Jets finished off the Carolina Hurricanes with an empty net goal late in period 3 by Michael Frolik.
Three Stars
1st Star: Blake Wheeler (WPG) – 2 goals, +2, 6 shots, 1 hit, 18:29 TOI
2nd Star: Cam Ward (CAR) – 33 saves on 36 shots, .944 save percentage
3rd Star: Zach Bogosian (WPG) – 1 assist, 1 shot, 3 hits, 23:17 TOI
Recap
The Carolina Hurricanes got outmatched by the Winnipeg Jets on home ice on Thursday night.
Coming off a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes had a few days to prepare for the Winnipeg Jets. The Canes played a very good, all around game against Calgary, but that did not translated over to Thursday’s game against Winnipeg.
The Carolina Hurricanes were outworked against the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets got off to a fast start in Raleigh, and they did not let up. The Canes didn’t put up consistent speed and effort throughout the game.
The Winnipeg Jets wore down the Carolina Hurricanes with their size and physicality. 2 of Winnipeg’s 3 goals came from putting a big body in front of the Canes goal and shooting the puck from the point. The other Winnipeg goal was an empty netter.
Blake Wheeler was a beast for the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. He scored both goals for the Jets, he consistently went to the front of the net, and he wore down the Carolina Hurricanes.
Zach Bogosian made several goal saving plays on defense for the Winnipeg Jets. He broke up a Nathan Gerbe breakaway in the third period, and he made a big play on Elias Lindholm in front of the Winnipeg net with about 3 minutes left in period three to save a goal that would have tied the game.
The Carolina Hurricanes could not get anything going offensively against Winnipeg. The only forward line that showed up on Thursday was the line of Nathan Gerbe, Riley Nash, and Elias Lindholm. That line has been the best line in Carolina since the beginning of November.
The Carolina Hurricanes need production out of their top-end players. Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner, Alexander Semin, and Jiri Tlusty all saw different line combinations throughout the game against the Jets, but nothing clicked. That has to change.
The depth scoring for the Carolina Hurricanes has been very good, but the primary scoring has been anything but primary. The offensive leaders on the Carolina Hurricanes need to step up.
Cam Ward had another fantastic game on Thursday. Ward was the only reason why the Carolina Hurricanes did not get blown out by the Winnipeg Jets.
The Carolina Hurricanes fell to 5-7-3 with their loss on Thursday. The Canes are now 5-1-1 in the month of November. The loss put an end to the Hurricanes’ 6 game point streak and Cam Ward’s 5 game win streak.
The Carolina Hurricanes will practice at noon on Friday in Raleigh before their scheduled 3:00 pm (ET) flight to Boston. The Canes will take on the Boston Bruins on Saturday at 1:00 pm (ET).