Are the Canes just playing really well or is Raleigh on fire?
Man, to be in Raleigh right now. The above picture is fitting and the “Loudest House in the NHL” is correct since I couldn’t hear the siren while watching on my TV! I’ll admit, my expectations for the rest of this series are high after Carolina won 5-1 in Game 1. Even though there weren’t any goals in the first period, there was a lot of action between hits and powerplays. I don’t know why hockey fans like to watch men push each other into boards, but for some reason, we like to see it.
We also like to see our favorite team score! Carolina forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi opened the first period with his second goal of the playoffs and scored his third almost immediately after. Two minutes before the period ended, Carolina captain Jordan Staal scored his first goal of the playoffs. It’s great to see forward Jack Drury playing again after being injured in Game 4 against the Islanders, as he earned his first assist of the playoffs during Jordan Staal’s goal. It was rapid fire after Staal since defenseman Brady Skjei and forward Martin Necas scored their respective second goals of the playoffs just seconds apart. What a way to end the period. Perhaps the Canes will get a shutout tonight?
A shutout did not happen as Devils forward Miles Wood scored for New Jersey at the start of the third period. This is Wood’s first goal in the 2022-23 playoffs and in his career playoffs. As for the Hurricanes, I don’t know if I can keep up with their scoring this series! Forwards Jordan Martinook and Stefan Noesen scored back-to-back in a similar fashion as Skjei and Necas. Martinook earned his first goal of the 2022-23 playoffs and Noesen earned his third. Noesen has been a strong addition to Carolina’s offense, and it’s been awesome to see the dynamic he’s brought to the team.
What. A. Game. To quote Devils forward Jack Hughes, New Jersey got whacked. To be fair, Carolina did have a home-ice advantage, but it was a Category 5 in Raleigh for sure. So far Frederik Andersen has been great in this series as he now holds a .962 save percentage. I’m confident that the Canes can and will win this series between offense and Andersen doing as well as he is in the net.
I would like to end this blog post by sharing some exciting news. I just graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with my Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies! While communication is a broad field and I can do just about anything with my degree, I intend to work in public relations or digital/social media marketing.
Until next time fellow Caniacs, if any of y’all are members of the class of 2023, here’s to us. Congratulations! Try not to get whacked.