Carolina Bounces Back, Defeats San Jose in Shootout

Petr Mrazek Bounces Back

For the last two weeks, all eyes have been on the backup, James Reimer. For Petr Mrazek, he had a few rough games in that stretch and had many wondering if he still had what it took to maintain the starting position for the team. It was important that he had a bounce-back game, and he certainly did tonight for the Hurricanes.

Despite giving up two goals in this one, Mrazek was really solid. He stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced, and most importantly, stopped all three shots in the shootout. While he shined in the shootout, it was the 3-on-3 portion of the night where he really stood out and took this game into his own hands with some dazzling stops that kept the team alive.

While he had some great moments, there were times where he looked shaky as well. After an altercation with Joe Thornton, his head didn’t seem like it was all there. And as the 2nd period rolled along, the Sharks took advantage and tied the game with less than a minute.

Despite that one hiccup, Mrazek was solid in this one, and he definitely needed it. If Carolina hopes to return to the playoffs and make a deep run like they did last year, Mrazek is going to have to play a big role in that. His enthusiasm can fuel this team and take them to another level, and we saw an example of that tonight. Let’s hope this is the start of a good run for him and the team.