Carolina Hurricanes Defeat the Winnipeg Jets 5-3
The Carolina Hurricanes earned a hugely important win against the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 5-3 on Friday.
3. 107. 5. 109. Final
Scoring Summary
1st Period
CAR Goal (1:43) Phil Di Giuseppe (4), assisted by Victor Rask (19), Joakim Nordstrom (8)
Victor Rask hurled a shot off of the boards and it went straight to Phil Di Giuseppe who put it past Connor Hellebuyck to give the Canes an early lead.
CAR Goal (3:05) Andrej Nestrasil (6), assisted by Jordan Staal (17)
Jordan Staal passed the puck off of Hellebuyck, who kicked the rebound directly to a driving Andrej Nestrasil who easily scored.
CAR PPG (4:33) Jordan Staal (12), assisted by Jeff Skinner (12)
Jeff Skinner protected the puck from an opposing player, pivoted around and passed it to Jordan Staal for a power play goal.
CAR Goal (10:04) Justin Faulk (15), assisted by Joakim Nordstrom (9), Riley Nash (6)
Joakim Nordstrom tried to shoot it on net and had his shot thwarted, but the puck went straight to Justin Faulk who beat Hutchinson for the Hurricanes’ fourth goal only halfway through the first period.
2nd Period
WPG Goal (18:35) Alexander Burmistrov (5), assisted by Chris Thorburn (4), Andrew Copp (4)
The Jets won a board battle behind Cam Ward and the puck spat out right to a wide-open Alexander Burmistrov who scored.
3rd Period
WPG PPG (9:07) Andrew Ladd (12), assisted by Dustin Byfuglien (16), Mark Scheifele (14)
Andrew Ladd, the net-front presence guy on the PP, was left alone and put in his own rebound past Ward.
WPG Goal (13:48) Dustin Byfuglien (16), Nikolaj Ehlers (12), Bryan Little (24)
On a defensive breakdown from the Hurricanes, Byfuglien was left open in the zone who beat a screened Cam Ward to make it 4-3.
CAR Goal (17:40) Andrej Nestrasil (7), assisted by Jordan Staal (18), Jaccob Slavin (9)
Andrej Nestrasil received a pass from Jordan Staal in front of the net, made a great move to his backhand and scored.
Three Stars
1st Star – Cam Ward – 33 of 36 shots stopped, .917 SV%
2nd Star – Andrew Ladd – 1 goal, -2, 4 shots, 16:27 TOI
3rd Star – Dustin Byfuglien – 1 goal, 1 assist, +0, 4 shots, 24:47 TOI
Recap
A wild night in Manitoba ended with a big 5-3 win for the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.
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The first period was one of many goals and all of them were scored by the Hurricanes. Everything was going right for them throughout the period.
Carolina Hurricanes
Phil Di Giuseppe started the night off by putting the Canes on the board only one minute and forty-three seconds into the game. That was just the beginning of what was about to come. The Canes didn’t just score another goal in the first period, they got three more! Andrej Nestrasil, Jordan Staal, and Justin Faulk all netted goals in only the first half of the first period to give the Hurricanes a 4-0 lead which remained for the rest of the period.
The Winnipeg Jets were able to get on the scoreboard late in the second on a goal scored by Alexander Burmistrov. This period was not a great one from the Canes with the exception of Cam Ward. He made some great, timely saves towards the end of the period to keep it at 4-1.
You could really tell that the momentum of the game was shifting in the Jets’ favor in the second, and that continued in the third. The Hurricanes were very sloppy for the majority of the period. Winnipeg was able to score two goals to make it 4-3, but that would be the end of the Jets’ comeback. Andrej Nestrasil made a fine move to his backhand to beat Hutchinson with just over a minute remaining in the game to seal the deal.
Nestrasil played a wonderful 100th career game, scoring two goals and helping his team secure the victory. Justin Faulk played a solid game, and scored his first goal in seventeen games. Jordan Staal also continued his great play, getting three points tonight with a +3 rating.
As for the goaltending tonight, Cam Ward was incredible. He allowed three goals on thirty-six shots (.917 SV%), but the Jets could have easily had six goals in this game if not for Ward’s great play tonight. It was great to see that there was no rust from him coming off of his concussion and not playing since January 15. He has playing great before he suffered his concussion and he picked up right where he left off. He had a .925 SV% in his last five games coming in to this one, and now has a record of 4-0-2 in his last six.
It was truly incredible to watch what the Hurricanes did in the first period. It was a demonstration of what this team is capable of when they are at their best. Of course, it would have been nice to see them play to that level for a full sixty minutes, but the important thing is that they got the win.
Next: The Canes Should be Buyers at the Trade Deadline
The Carolina Hurricanes will play the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal on Super Bowl Sunday.