Carolina Hurricanes sweep the season series against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks in 5-0 shutout win.
The Carolina Hurricanes came into Thuesday’s match-up looking to go into the All Star break with a win. They did not disappoint, they dominated the defending league champions and won 5-0. Eddie Lack earned his second shutout of the year, and the Canes swept the Blackhawks with a combined score of 7-1 in the two games.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
CAR Goal (2:12) – Jeff Skinner (18), assisted by Jay McClement (6), Elias Lindholm (16)
Lindholm received a pass from Justin Faulk outside of the right circle. He shot the puck through a crowd of players, but Crawford stopped the initial shot. Skinner and McClement were both there to turn and jam the rebound home. Skinner got credit for the goal.
CAR Goal (13:05) – Riley Nash (3), assisted by Jaccob Slavin (8)
The Canes won a battle behind the net and the puck got back to Slavin at the point. As Slavin set up for the shot, Nash slid in the slot in front of Crawford and deflected it past the goalie to make the game 2-0.
CAR Goal (15:23) – John-Michael Liles (5), assisted by Kris Versteeg (21), Eric Staal (21)
Versteeg entered the zone on a two on one with Liles against Seabrook and Crawford. Versteeg made a pass around the defender, and Liles kicked the puck to his stick and beat Crawford five hole for the goal.
2nd Period
CAR Goal (10:51) – Joakim Nordstom (5), assisted by Jordan Staal (16), Andrej Nestrasil (12)
Nestrasil fought behind the net for possession and the puck cames out to Staal. Staal skated from behind the net to find Nordstrom open in the slot, and he made no mistake as he fired the puck top-shelf past new goaltender, Scott Darling.
CAR Goal (12:24) – Riley Nash (4), assisted by Jeff Skinner (10)
Nash sat by Darling’s left post undefended as Skinner moved behind the net towards the right. He turned and found Nash who snuck one past Darling’s short side who was unable to come across the crease quick enough. Riley earned his fourth goal of the season and second on the night.
3rd Period
No Scoring
Summary
Tuesday marked the first and only nationally televised game of the year, and first in two years. The Carolina Hurricanes were coming off of a good win against the Flames, and looking to go into the All Star break with two consecutive victories and seven in their last ten games. The Blackhawks are no easy match up and are in second place in the league with 70 points.
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This game was also important for a couple of the Hurricanes players and the coach, as Versteeg and Nordstrom were playing their old team. The Hurricanes acquired both players in an off season trade that has proved to be very beneficial for the club. Coach Bill Peters was also a coach in the Blackhawks organization as the head coach for their AHL affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Canes didn’t disappoint their fans and showed the national market what they are capable of with a 5-0 win. The game was dominated by Carolina in shots, possession, faceoffs, and scoring and man was this a fun game for Canes fans. The team looked more motivated at the start of the game than I can remember in recent history.
One of the most telling tidbits from the game is that every Carolina Hurricanes line had a goal, and the only line with two was the fourth line. The fourth line brought incredible amounts of energy and generated multiple scoring chances in the game. It’s so great to see the Canes fielding four NHL quality lines.
To show how dominant this game was for the Hurricanes, they out shot the Blackhawks 16-8 after the first and 26-14 after the second. The Hurricanes also had a 78% corsi for percentage after one and a 63.5% corsi for percentage after two. Carolina is also the only team to lead the Blackhawks 5-0 in a game. The third period was mainly coasted through by both teams who were looking to leave the game without injury.
The former Hawks played well. Versteeg and Nordstom played inspired hockey against their old team and combined for a couple of points. There was also a moment in the first period where it appeared Versteeg was shot out of a cannon and beat everyone to the puck and earned a breakaway opportunity.
The Hurricanes penalty killing unit continued to excel in the game holding the leagues third best power play unit scoreless on four opportunities. Not only did the Blackhawks not score, there were very few opportunities for goals or possession. Most entries were stopped right at the blue line or just inside the defensive zone. The Blackhawks looked confused and disorganized trying to enter the zone.
One player that has to be mentioned after this game is Eddie Lack. Though he didn’t face too many shots, he really earned his second shutout of the season against one of the best teams in the league. I was worried about Lack having to play in Ward’s absence, but he is proving to be as talented as GM Ron Francis though he was.
The Carolina Hurricanes enter the All Star break with a 7-2-1 in their last ten games and will now have a week to recharge and hopefully come back just as strong. Going into the break the Hurricanes sit only one point behind a playoff spot, which many thought was impossible.
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Hopefully the streak going into the break will also generate some buzz for the team. The crowd was noticeably louder tonight, and I would expect the momentum to grow in the Triangle. This team deserves it.