The Carolina Hurricanes were late showing up Thursday against the Senators…boy did they wake up on time for the Sharks!
The Hurricanes and their coaches knew that the slow and weak game in Ottawa was an aberration, and that they are a team that can compete with playoff contenders. They showed everyone else what they knew last night against San Jose.
The Canes weren’t going to let a 2:30 am arrival back in Raleigh slow them down against their Western conference visitors. On Star Wars Night at the PNC Arena they channeled their inner-Jedi and came out with a force that had the Sharks on their heels from the first puck drop.
All four of their offensive lines contributed on the scoring and they had a strong night in both ends of the ice. The young defensive corps played tremendously in their own zone, helped the offense with good puck movement in transition, and showed that they will only get better when Justin Faulk gets healthy.
Related Story: Carolina Hurricanes Playoff Battle - February 20th
Scoring Summary
1st Period
CAR Goal (7:03) – Chris Terry (5), assisted by Noah Hanifin (11), Riley Nash (8)
SJS Goal (14:07) – Brent Burns (19), assisted by Joel Ward (19), Matt Nieto (7)
2nd Period
CAR Goal (12:25) – Joakim Nordstrom (6), assisted by Jordan Staal (22), Brett Pesce (9)
3rd Period
CAR Goal (0:39) PPG – Jeff Skinner (20), assisted by Eric Staal (22), Kris Versteeg (22)
SJS Goal (10:38) – Tomas Hertl (12), assisted by Patrick Marleau (20)
CAR Goal (15:32) – Jeff Skinner (21), assisted by Viktor Rask (21), Jaccob Slavin (11)
CAR Goal (17:35) EN – Jordan Staal (15), assisted by Andrej Nestrasil (13)
Three Stars
1st Star – Jeff Skinner, LW (CAR) – 2 goals, GWG, 4 shots, 15:24 TOI
2nd Star – Jordan Staal, C (CAR) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 shot, 5 hits, 18:10 TOI
3rd Star – Eric Staal, C (CAR) – 1 assist, 4 shots, 16:14 TOI
Recap:
The Hurricanes continue to show their fans, and the rest of the league, that they are a much better team than they have shown in games like the one in Ottawa. They bounced back strong against the Sharks, like they have for almost three months, and won two points in dominant fashion.
Jeff Skinner scored twice, reaching the 20+ goal tally for the fourth time in six seasons, and showing again the talent that the coaching staff and the Caniacs know he has. His game winning goal, though, almost wasn’t counted. The referee initially waved off the goal, charging Eric Staal with incidental contact with the goalie. Everyone with access to a replay knew that there wasn’t any interference, including Coach Peters. He used a coach’s challenge, and as expected by all, the call was reversed and the Hurricanes had their lead for good.
“I don’t know what my record is on those, but I thought it was something that needed to be challenged. It was a big turning point in the game,” Peters said. “Good execution by Staalsy and those guys on the power play. It gives you a little bit of breathing room, right?” – courtesy Michael Smith, CarolinaHurricanes.com
Tonight the Canes also showed good scoring depth in their lineup, with twelve different players from all four forward lines contributing to the scoring. Add to this the stellar play of the team’s blueline, shutting down the Shark’s scoring opportunities and moving the puck like aged veterans, and the Hurricanes look like a team that can compete for the playoffs and beyond. Even Eric Staal, held without a point in eight straight games, finally found the scoresheet with an assist on the game-winner.
On top of the positives coming from the forwards and defense, Cam Ward showed that he is healthy after a minor injury knocked him out of the Islanders game Saturday. He hasn’t lost in regulation since late December, and since then he’s posted a 6-0-4 record, a 1.90 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. After the game Peters made it emphatically clear that both goalies are playing well, but the Canes are going to ride Wardo until the end.
The Hurricanes face their Eastern playoff rival Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. It’s another quick turnaround after back-to-back away and homes games, but Coach Peters isn’t concerned. In fact he prefers this kind of calendar at this time of year.
“I like our schedule. It’s going to give us an opportunity to get into a rhythm. We’re going to take a day off, then we’ll pregame skate, take a day off, pregame skate and play. That’s a real good rhythm. That’s a playoff rhythm,” Peters said.
If General Manager Ron Francis has ANY ideas about moving ANY pieces before the trade deadline his players sure aren’t making it easy for him to choose which ones. The Hurricanes may not end up being buyers at the deadline, but anyone should be hard-pressed to find a player that is expendable if the team is going to contend for the postseason.
Stay tuned and hang on! Go Canes!
*Statistics and player information provided by CarolinaHurricanes.com, Hockey-Reference.com and YahooSports. com