Canes fall to Panthers in their 2nd OT loss of the year

Carolina lost their 2nd game of the year in the extra frame as they were topped in the second half of their back-to-back by the Florida Panthers. Falling 4-3 in OT, it was the first time the Canes lost a game in which they put three goals up on the board. It was a very difficult game for the team was down to their third choice netminder, but that’s not an excuse. They had a chance to win this game.

Again, the special teams’ battles favored the Hurricanes in this one as they recorded another powerplay goal. Now, the team’s powerplay has hit a different stride since coming out of the Christmas holiday vacation. They got on the board yet again as the big unit once again leads the way to tie a game when the Canes need to get into it. They’re playing well right now.

Carolina’s penalty kill has been superb over the last number of games having killed something like 30 straight penalties in that time frame. Again, they went perfect in this one, and it’s another positive to take away from a game that didn’t offer a lot for the Canes in other assets. They didn’t control the puck like in other games, so enjoy the special team’s success and move on to the next one.

Obviously, this isn’t the result the team wanted, but there are more positives to take away from this. Seth Jarvis getting himself back on the score sheet is always nice to see for the 19-year-old.  His game-tying goal late in the third period was yet another show of the Canes’ strength among their forward core. With the 19-year-old rookie just being the newest addition to the unit.

Something else that the Canes can draw pride from moving forward is their suddenly scoring defenseman Brady Skjei. He got his fourth in three games this calendar year. He’s scoring at a sudden Norris level. He’s scoring goals, getting assists, getting pucks through, and he’s becoming a genuine top-scoring defenseman in the year 2022. It’s so great to see Skjei finally get his offensive rewards.

Anyway, Carolina plays against Columbus on the 13th at 7 PM Eastern. They’ll meet their Metropolitan division foe for the second time in this calendar year, with the team previously overcoming a 4-0 hole to win 7-4. They’re going to require a better start to the next game against Columbus, but we’ll talk about that later.