The Carolina Hurricanes picked up one of their biggest and most important wins of the season on Saturday night in Raleigh. Here are some big takeaways from the game.
It wasn’t easy, but the Carolina Hurricanes escaped Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators with an impressive 3-2 win in overtime.
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There were some impressive performances from some top-end players for Carolina, and that will need to continue as they progress through their November schedule and beyond.
The club started and finished the game well. The first period was largely dominated by the Hurricanes as they kicked off the game with a 14-7 shot advantage in the opening period.
Period two started well with an early powerplay goal from Justin Faulk, but the Sens bounced back and put two past Cam Ward thanks to a powerplay marker of their own from Alex Chiasson and a sharp angle goal from Chris Wideman; his first of his NHL career.
The Hurricanes came out in period three and outplayed the Senators yet again, outshooting them 18-5 and controlling the play throughout, but it wasn’t until the 18th shot that the Canes actually saw something go their way. It was Jeff Skinner who pushed the game to overtime with just 3.3 seconds to go in regulation.
Overtime was controlled by the Hurricanes, and a dominating shift from Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, and Justin Faulk sent the PNC Arena crowd home happy, securing a 3-2 overtime win.
There were some big takeaways from Saturday’s win.
Jordan Staal has convincingly turned things around
After the worst start to a season that Jordan Staal has ever had, he has absolutely flipped his game around, turning into the biggest difference makers on the Hurricanes.
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Staal skated a season-high 19:36 of ice time on Saturday, leading the charge for Carolina’s offense. Along with his impressive ice time number, he won 58% of his faceoffs and scored the all-important game-winning goal in overtime. He also got an assist on Jeff Skinner’s late third period goal to tie things up.
Outside of the scoresheet, Jordan Staal has started to do nearly everything right. He has been a dominant force on offense, a leader of the forward group in terms of defensive presence, and he has built up the confidence not only as a net-front presence, but he is also at the point where he is willing to make quick, skilled moves to create offensive opportunities, like he showed in his overtime winner against Ottawa.
Staal is not only playing his best hockey of the season, he is playing some of his best hockey as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, and is it coming right when the team needs it. He is on a three-game goal streak and has tallied 6 points over his last 5 games.
Eric Staal is, by far, the best player on the Canes
If you watch just one shift from Eric Staal this season from Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal, you will see that the man is not only still an elite players in the NHL, but he is also, by far, the best player on the Canes.
Staal has been absurdly dominant offensively all year, especially over the past two weeks.
In his last 6 games, Eric Staal has a modest 5 points, but he is a +7 and has become extremely comfortable and effective on the left wing after years of playing nearly exclusively at the center ice position.
Even earlier in the season, Staal was the undoubtable leader of this offense, even when he wasn’t scoring at the pace that he is now.
On a very challenged offensive team like the Carolina Hurricanes, Eric Staal has 9 points in 14 games and is +4 player on the season.
We may be at the point where people just forget how powerful and solid the Canes captain is, but time after time this season, he has proved that he has a whole lot more left in the tank. He obviously loves being a part of this team, and if he keeps this level of play going, there is not a chance that he will be moved to another team this season.
It appears as if Eric Staal has tapped back into 2005-2012 form, and the Canes are reaping the benefits.
Jeff Skinner is slowly, but surely, gaining some confidence
It has been an extremely tough season for Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner, but he scored his biggest goal in a very long time on Saturday in the dying seconds of the third period.
Last night, Skinner scored a goal, put 5 shots on net, and saw his most ice time dating back to October 24. It’s apparent that the coaching staff is finally putting more trust in him, and that needs to continue if Skinner is going to become the lethal offensive player that everyone in the league knows he can be.
It will be big for the former top-10 draft pick to come back and have another big game against the Rangers on Tuesday. Fortunately for him, he has had some dazzling plays against those Rangers
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The Carolina Hurricanes will hit the ice again on Tuesday in the Big Apple against the Metropolitan Division leading New York Rangers.
The Rangers have started the year 10-2-2, so the Canes will have their hands full against a very good team.