Carolina Hurricanes Pay for Their Own Mistakes, Fall to Vancouver Canucks 3-2

Scoring Summary

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

CAR SHG (8:02) – John-Michael Liles (2), assisted by Jordan Staal (9)

The Carolina Hurricanes broke things open while down a man in period two. Staal broke up a Vancouver possession in the Canes’ zone and turned it up ice. He hit Liles in the slot on the rush, and he floated it over the glove of Markstrom to give the Canes a 1-0 lead.

VAN Goal (17:39) – Sven Baertschi (6), assisted by Adam Cracknell (5)

After a series of poor decision by the Canes in the offensive zone, the Canucks were able to corral the puck and send it up to Baertschi in all alone on Eddie Lack, and he was able to capitalize on his opportunity, tying the game at a goal apiece.

3rd Period

VAN Goal (7:15) – Bo Horvat (4), assisted by Matt Bartkowski (8), Alex Biega (3)

After countless opportunities, Bo Horvat finally registered a goal on the Canes. He used his speed to drive to the net, and he left all of Victor Rask, Noah Hanifin, and Ron Hainsey in the dust prior to crashing the crease and sliding the puck past Lack to make it 2-1.

CAR Goal (12:00) – Jordan Staal (8), assisted by Noah Hanifin (7)

After an offensive zone faceoff win, Noah Hanifin attempted to put the puck on net, but he fanned on it. Luckily, the puck went right to Jordan Staal’s stick, and he spun around and roofed it on Markstrom to tie the game at 2.

VAN PPG (18:54) – Bo Horvat (5), assisted by Sven Baertschi (7), Linden Vey (2)

On the late man advantage, the Canucks were able to claim the lead and the game. Horvat found a soft spot in the slot, and he was fed with a good pass from Baertschi from down low. He sniped it up top on Lack, giving the Canucks a 3-2 lead.

Three Stars

1st Star – Bo Horvat, C (VAN) – 2 goals, 5 shots, 18:08 TOI

2nd Star – John-Michael Liles, D (CAR) – 1 goal, +1, 1 shot, 1 hit, 19:41 TOI

3rd Star – Sven Baertschi, LW (VAN) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 shot, 14:46 TOI

Recap

In one of the pure whackiest games of the season for the Carolina Hurricanes, the Vancouver Canucks were able to defend their home ice and pick up a big 3-2 victory.

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Things started very poorly for the Canes. They put just 2 shots on net in the first frame and were dominated by the Canucks in all areas. Fortunately, the game was still a scoreless tie through 20 minutes despite all of Carolina’s mistakes and mental lapses, thanks in large part to the play of Eddie Lack in net.

Something started to click for the Hurricanes after an awful 1st period. The club outshot the home team 26-13 in the final two frames, and they were able to stay in the game after allowing a 1-0 lead to escape them and turn into a 2-1 deficit in the middle of the 3rd period.

The Canes charged back and tied things at 2 goals apiece, but a late delay of game penalty on Jaccob Slavin was costly. The Canucks were able to take the lead back on the powerplay, and that was the game-winner in this 3-2 game.

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This was a game that the Hurricanes deserved to lose. They played sloppy hockey and some poor defense at many points in the game, specifically in the early and latter stages of the game.

Eddie Lack’s performance was admirable in his return to Vancouver, the team he kicked off his NHL career with in 2013. The numbers won’t show that as he allowed 3 goals on just 21 shots, but when you look at what the team in front of Lack gift-wrapped and handed to the Canucks, it’s difficult to fault the goalie work for the loss.

The Hurricanes simply weren’t hungry enough, and they didn’t want this game as bad as Vancouver did. Carolina had the chance to win this game, but the mistakes they made at point were inexcusable, and most teams in the NHL will take advantage of the mistakes that the Canes made tonight. Vancouver took advantage of their chances.

It’s one thing to make mistakes, but it’s another thing to make those mistakes at terrible times. Slavin has been fantastic and has exceeded all expectations placed on him this season, but his penalty with just over 2:30 to go in the 3rd period was costly.

Another thing to look at for the Canes is the play of their top-end guys. Eric Staal, Elias Lindholm, Kris Versteeg and Jeff Skinner all made very little impact on the outcome of this game. They didn’t show up. This is a game where you need your difference makers to actually make a difference, and unfortunately for Carolina, they didn’t.

One forward who did show up was Jordan Staal. He had a goal and an assist and was not on the ice for any of Vancouver’s goals. He was, by far, Carolina’s best forward from start to finish. He has played incredibly well as of late, and he was able to make a big impact on Wednesday night’s game.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have very few great things to take away from this game, if any. The team will have to move on from this and set their sights on the home-and-home set against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday and Saturday. If they want their playoff hopes to stay alive, they must pick up a pair of wins against a down and out Columbus squad this weekend.