Cardiac Cane
Fansided

Carolina Hurricanes Drop Pitched Battle vs Leafs

By Christopher Highe

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 23: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) tries to wrap the puck around the back of the net in front of Carolina Hurricanes Goalie Petr Mrazek (34) during the regular season NHL game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs on December 23, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 23: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) tries to wrap the puck around the back of the net in front of Carolina Hurricanes Goalie Petr Mrazek (34) during the regular season NHL game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs on December 23, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 23: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs goes to the net against Jaccob Slavin #74 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at the Scotiabank Arena on December 23, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 23: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs goes to the net against Jaccob Slavin #74 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at the Scotiabank Arena on December 23, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Not Going to Pull Punches Here. No. They did Not Start on Time.

The first five minutes of this game can only be described as abysmal. The Carolina Hurricanes looked lazy and horrendously uncoordinated, although Toronto at first didn’t look much better. Then came the Pesce double-minor penalty. It took William Nylander thirty seconds to score the first power play goal, erasing a minute and thirty seconds from the penalty clock.

John Tavares would notch his second power play goal of the season less than a minute later (5:10, first period), which forced the goalie switch for Carolina. Toronto taking such a commanding lead over the Canes, spurred the team to action, along with Petr’s entry to the crease. Carolina began to run the game for the next 34:50, however.

This dominance wouldn’t last, though. A stubborn and desperate Leafs team found new hope as Auston Matthews notched his twenty-fourth of the year only barely two and a half minutes into the third frame. Erik Haula would find home his second of the game and spark hope for the team, and its fans, not quite four minutes later.

It was the last goal the Hurricanes would score, as their control of the game slipped to unmanageable levels. Toronto’s Mitchell Marner would tie the game up at six off of a faceoff, won by Carolina, in a desperation move that broke the comeback efforts of the Hurricanes.

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