The story of the game was 2019 draft pick Pyotr Kochetkov, as he was set to make his NHL debut this Saturday afternoon. The Hurricanes needed 2 points badly as coming into the matinee they were still tied with the Rangers in the standings with 108 points. The Hurricanes stormed back with 5 minutes to go to defeat the Devils 3-2.
There was a feeling-out process in the first as the teams only combined for 8 shots through the first 13 minutes of the period. This continued as the two teams ended the period deadlocked at 0.
The same happened in the second as both teams struggled to generate anything in terms of offense. Late in the period, Yegor Sharangovich was able to break the ice and score a powerplay marker for his 23rd of the year.
The Canes’ sloppiness carried over into the third period and it looked to be one of *those* games. Nico Hischier beat the rookie Russian on the glove side with less than 10 minutes to go to put the Devils up 2-0, presumably the nail in the coffin for this one.
With less than 5 minutes to go a Brady Skjei shot deflected off of a Devils defenseman and into the net to break Jon Gillies’ shutout. With the extra attacker out on the ice it was the net-front presence of Nino Niederreiter that allowed the Canes to tie the game with only 2 minutes left on the clock.
Overtime didn’t last long, as a fumbled Devils zone exit allowed Tony DeAngelo to make a tape-to-tape pass to rookie Seth Jarvis who buried it to win the game. Shades of the famous “shock at the rock” in this one as the Canes stormed back to get a much-needed two points in the standings.
Pyotr Kochetkov saved 17 of 19 to earn a hard-fought victory in his National Hockey League Debut.
The boys swarm Petey for his first win!! pic.twitter.com/Bhs2vMyLQk
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 23, 2022
Three Stars For The Canes:
3. Seth Jarvis (1 G)
2. Tony DeAngelo (2 A)
1.Nino Niederreiter (1 G)
Question for Cardiac Cane readers: How do you think the Canes will fare in their last 3 games of the season?