Carolina Hurricanes: Cardiac Cane returns as the Canes win at last

What better way to celebrate last night’s fine 4-3 win in Chicago than to also celebrate the return of Cardiac Cane! Today, we take a look back at last night’s  action as the Carolina Hurricanes won their first game in nearly two weeks.

First, to business: the Carolina Hurricanes are back in the game. Coming up against a Chicago Blackhawks team being lead by Jeremy Colliton in his first game as coach, the Canes spoiled the home team’s fun by putting up a 4-0 lead by 1:20 of the second period. The Canes improved to 7-7-2 after a hugely disappointing five-game winless streak, and are just two points off the lead of the Metropolitan Division despite that recent slide.

Takeaways from the game:

It was a relief to see some of those names on the scoresheet. After seeing his record 12-game points streak end, Sebastian Aho had gone three games without a point before picking up the primary assist on Calvin de Haan‘s first goal for the team. He looked in good nick and he will surely be back on the path to the Art Ross Trophy now.

Also good to see was Phil di Giuseppe‘s first of the season, in his third game following his call-up from the Checkers, and Andrei Svechnikov opening the scoring with his fourth of the season, and his second in four games after an 8-game scoreless streak. Fingers crossed that gives him the confidence he needs to start putting the puck on net more, as he doesn’t use his potent shot nearly enough as he should do.

Special teams were also a positive last night, with Jaccob Slavin potting the team’s second to ensure the powerplay went 1-for-2. Along with a PK that went 2-for-2, that’s a strong night on the road for a team that was winless in five. More of the same is needed as the team heads into a six-game home stand including a rematch with Chicago and the high-scoring Toronto Maple Leafs.

What else did we learn from last night’s game? Scott Darling was locked in. He made 35 saves to secure his first win of the season, and that will hopefully prove to be a confidence-booster for him coming against his former team. After his struggles last season, the team really needs Darling to get back to the form that convinced Ron Francis to hand him that 4 year, $16.6m deal back in 2017. He may have started just three games, but his save percentage of .904 is significantly better than Petr Mrazek‘s (.880) and Curtis McElhinney‘s (.884), and is also an improvement on last year’s .888. Three games is a small sample size, but there is hope to be had there.

The final word from last night comes from new goalscorer Calvin de Haan:

"“It wasn’t pretty at times, but it’s also nice to play with the lead. To have that four-goal cushion is something we haven’t really had all year. We grinded it out and ended up getting the two points, that’s all that matters, especially on the road and [in] one of the hardest buildings to play in in the League.”"

The return of Cardiac Cane:

It has been some time since Cardiac Cane was active – I am delighted to be able to bring new content to you all, and would ask for your patience as I attempt to pull together all your latest Hurricanes news on my lonesome. Content will hopefully be daily during the week, but I am unable to write at weekends, so please excuse that gap for now.

Transparency alert: I am not a lifelong Carolina Hurricanes fan. However they are my second team (behind the Vancouver Canucks), after I fell in love with them watching them spank the Rangers at MSG back in 2007. I actually saw David Tanabe score a goal, and Justin Williams pick up two apples. It was my first ever live NHL game, and while I went there expecting to love the Rangers, the Hurricanes came away as my second team. I follow the team closely and will do so even more from this point onwards.

If anyone has any suggestions as to the kind of content you want to see on the site, please let me know in the comments below and I will endeavor to do my best to facilitate.

Join the Cardiac Cane team!

If you are interested in joining the team here at Cardiac Cane please also comment below – I would love to work with some passionate Canes fans who would like to share their opinions on the site.

Thank you – let’s band together and enjoy the season!