Carolina Hurricanes: Three takeaways from big win in Anaheim
A tightly contested game, but the Carolina Hurricanes emerge with a 2-1 win from Orange County to improve to 2-0 on the road trip so far. They snap the Anaheim Ducks 8 game winning streak, and move to 13-2 on the season, keeping pace at the top of the standings with the league-leading Florida Panthers. In a game that had a little bit of everything, Carolina emerge victoriously.
With the Canes nowhere near their best until the beginning of the third period, there needs to be a lot of credit given to Anaheim and that team in this game. They have a very bright future and that was a fantastic performance from a relatively young squad out in California. It was far from an easy game for the team that made it 13 wins from 15 games so far this season.
But we’re here to talk about the 13-2 Carolina Hurricanes who have quickly become one of the best teams in the National Hockey League and are standing out as a genuine contender for the Stanley Cup at this point in the season. With the ability to roll four lines and play with all three defensive units, this team is solid, and it really doesn’t have a weakness right now.
This game in Anaheim tells us a lot about the Carolina Hurricanes. We know that the Carolina Hurricanes are able to beat any team when they are at their best. Well, this Canes team was at their best for all of 20 minutes and they beat a very strong Ducks lineup in this game. A very impressive win over a very impressive opponent.
Freddie won the goalie duel
Carolina has the ability to protect their netminders and make light work of a game for their goalie. Sometimes, they need their goaltender to bail them out in a game they have no right to be in. Tonight, they threw Frederik Andersen to the Wolves… or Ducks. He was absolutely fantastic when the Carolina Hurricanes needed him to be in this one.
Andersen was the goaltender who stood on his brain and skull in this game and was there for the Canes when the Ducks broke him down. Stopping 31 of 32, and not having a chance on the goal that beat him as it trickled in on a bounce, Andersen was the first star of this game as he beat his old goalie tandem teammate and friend in this one.
Andersen also had a late bid for an empty-net goal denied by a stingy Ducks defenseman who doesn’t like fun and probably hates Christmas, but that’s not the point. Andersen was making great passes, he was making great saves, and he was giving the Carolina Hurricanes every chance they could ever ask for to win this game.
Lovingly, Andersen was given the nickname “Frezina” during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but at this rate, he’s genuinely going to be in consideration for the George Vezina trophy for the league-best goaltender. He’s been nothing short of exemplary in this early part of this season. For as long as he continues to make great saves and keep the Canes in games, he’ll be considered by fans for that award.
Jarvelous, Seth. Absolutely Jarvelous.
When people think of game-breakers, usually, you do not think of the 19-year-old rookie in his 8th NHL game. Yet, Seth Jarvis has been sensational to this point. His second career game-winning goal decides this one, and he now has two game-winning goals in his last two games. Yet, the Carolina Hurricanes rookie still seems to be the difference-maker in a lot of games for the organization.
Carolina’s 2019 first-round draft pick has been sensational in the National Hockey League. He was probably Carolina’s best player in this game again after continuing to play at the top level. He’s not buckling under the pressure of the NHL, and he’s thriving on the top line for the Carolina Hurricanes right now. He’s going to force the hands of the front office soon.
After the game against the Los Angeles Kings, the front office will have a decision to make. They can send him back to junior, and get the first year of his entry-level deal to slide into next year, meaning that they do not have to extend him at the same time as some of the more important players on the team, or they can keep him in the lineup and try to win now, but risk losing bigger parts sooner.
However, the repercussions of this won’t be felt for a long time. So for now, this isn’t something we have to worry about. When we talk about the Carolina Hurricanes at the highest level competing with some of the best teams in the NHL for the Stanley Cup, they’ve proven that they need Seth Jarvis. He’s becoming a core piece of this organization.
Unbearably good
There’s a lot of players on the Carolina Hurricanes team that straight up do not get enough credit, and one of them is Ethan Bear. He’s been the other member of the Canes top pairing for so long that I genuinely forget at times that he is on this team. He’s so solid, he’s not a liability, he’s there when he needs to be, and in this game, he got the Canes on the board early.
Now, I do want to spend most of this talking about Ethan Bear. He jumps up into the offensive zone and gets rewarded with an absolutely fantastic goal, but this might also be the assist of the year. I kid you not, that puck turned at the County Line, took off to hide from the Ducks defenseman, and landed right on Bears stick. That pass was absolutely picture-perfect.
Bear got his first as a Cane in this one, and he’s thoroughly deserving of it. He does everything for the Carolina Hurricanes and is a real swiss army knife. Bear can play on the powerplay, he can kill penalties and he plays on the top pairing at 5-on-5. He’s a great asset and he’s been part of a major re-tooling of the defensive core. He’s been a member of the Carolina Hurricanes in his short tenure.
Bear has a lot of room to continue improving, and we all know that. But for right now, he’s promising a lot. He’s still a young guy, with a lot to get rid of in his game. There’s a lot of things he needs to work on, but in general, he’s a great guy to have, and a great kid. He’s a nice person, and with one of the other right-handed D men in that locker room, that is welcome right now.