The Carolina Hurricanes took the Eric Staal news hard, and they fell to the St. Louis Blues by a final score of 5-2.
The Carolina Hurricanes fell short in a tough outing against the St. Louis Blues. Here’s how it all happened.
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Scoring Summary
1st Period
STL Goal (2:17) – Ty Rattie (4), assisted by Scottie Upshall (3), Kyle Brodziak (2)
The Blues were able to pounce on a stunned Hurricanes team in period one. On a defensive breakdown, the puck bounced free in the slot, and Rattie came into put it top glove side past Cam Ward to make it 1-0.
CAR Goal (8:01) – Jeff Skinner (22), assisted by Ron Hainsey (12), Victor Rask (23)
Instead of falling out of the game, the Canes bounced back. Skinner creeped in from the right corner on the Blues net, and he was able to go top-shelf on Jake Allen‘s short side to tie the game at one.
CAR Goal (9:25) – Ron Hainsey (4), assisted by Jeff Skinner (15)
Just moments later, the Hurricanes struck again. Ron Hainsey let a howitzer go from the point after a great, hardworking play from Skinner along the boards, and the shot found its way through a screen in front and into the net to give Carolina a 2-1 lead.
2nd Period
STL Goal (0:20) – David Backes (16), assisted by Magnus Paajarvi (4), Dmitrij Jaskin (8)
St. Louis wasted very little time in the second period. The Blues took advantage of a turnover from Cam Ward, and Backes was left alone out front and was able to make it a 2-2 hockey game.
STL SHG (11:10) – Kyle Brodziak (3), assisted by Scottie Upshall (4)
The Blues took the lead while shorthanded. A turnover led to a 2-on-0 rush, and Brodziak made no mistake on a golden opportunity.
3rd Period
STL Goal (6:02) – Robby Fabbri (15), assisted by Alex Pietrangelo (21), Colton Parayko (20)
On a breakdown at the St. Louis blueline, Fabbri was given a long breakaway after catching a pass from Pietrangelo, and he was able to make a nice move and beat a sprawling Cam Ward.
STL Goal (6:39) – Alex Pietrangelo (4), assisted by Patrik Berglund (4), Robby Fabbri (13)
37 seconds laters, the Blues struck again. Berglund hit Pietrangelo with a nice cross-zone pass, and Ward got caught on a Blues forward in front of the crease, thus creating an open goal scenario that Pietrangelo took advantage of.
Three Stars
1st Star – Alex Pietrangelo, D (STL) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +3, 4 shots, 23:00 TOI
2nd Star – Jeff Skinner, LW (CAR) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 8 shots, 1 hit, 19:14 TOI
3rd Star – Kyle Brodziak, C (STL) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 1 shot, 11:13 TOI
Recap
It was a tough day for the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, and it showed as they fell hard against the St. Louis Blues in a 5-2 loss on home ice.
The story of the day revolved around a player that was no long on the Hurricanes. Eric Staal, the longtime captain and franchise cornerstone of the Canes, was traded to the New York Rangers just hours prior to opening faceoff on Sunday.
Carolina Hurricanes
The big trade obviously made an impact. The Hurricanes were slow, sloppy, un-energetic, and disengaged, but can you blame them?
Kris Versteeg and Riley Nash were both pulled from the game during the 2nd period. There is no word yet as to why. Nash was hit hard in the first period, but he did return to the game prior to being pulled again. Versteeg and Nash are both guys that have been talked about in regards to potential trades.
When head coach Bill Peters was asked about why Versteeg, Nash, and McClement were pulled after the game, he replied with a quick “Some held out, some injured”.
It’s a tough time for the players and the Carolina Hurricanes organization. This game against the Blues is a throw away game. There isn’t a whole lot to dissect in a game like this. There were difficult circumstances, and some players took the news of their departed captain harder than others.
Jordan Staal obviously took the move a bit harder than most. He delivered one of his poorest performances of recent memory, but you had to expect as much.
Next: Eric Staal Trade Breakdown
The Carolina Hurricanes will now set their sights ahead to Tuesday’s game against the New Jesey Devils in Newark.