ECF Rematch in Sunrise Yields a Similar Result for the Hurricanes
By Ben Huffman
The last time the Carolina Hurricanes played a meaningful game in Sunrise, FL, the Florida Panthers were breaking their hearts in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals en route to a sweep. With a new season came familiar feelings as the Canes traveled back to Sunrise to meet the Cats for the first time.
The Hurricanes received positive news on the injury front as Brett Pesce re-entered the lineup for the first time after an eight-game absence. He was reunited with his defensive partner Brady Skjei as Tony DeAngelo served as the healthy extra on defense. Antti Raanta made his third straight start to kick off the back-to-back. The Panthers called on Sergei Bobrovsky in the net, who was phenomenal against the Canes in the ECF last season.
It’s hard to script a better start in an opposing building. Jesperi Kotkaniemi starts the play by dumping the dump off the end boards, allowing Jordan Martinook to get a big shot on Sergei Bobrovsky. While Martinook would be denied and Jesper Fast’s rebound was kicked away, Kotkaniemi was there to pick up the third chance, scoring 1:20 into the game.
Matthew Tkachuk terrorized the Hurricanes during the conference finals, scoring the game-winning goal in three of the four games. In this game, he got Florida on the board with a quick response less than two minutes after the opening goal. Carter Verhaeghe feathered a pass to Tkachuk as he beat Jalen Chatfield to the front of the net, allowing him to make a move and beat Antti Raanta. Tkachuk struck again late in the period. This time, he set up Uvis Balinskis for his first NHL goal with a beautiful saucer pass to give Florida the lead going into the break.
The Panthers added to their lead in the second period. Aleksander Barkov was in a perfect spot to put home a rebound after Antti Raanta kicked away Evan Rodrigues’ initial chance. The Canes fought back in the final minutes of the period, eventually pulling back within a goal. Martin Necas made a million moves to get some space, allowing him the chance to get the puck to Brady Skjei at the point. Skjei’s shot either hit Sergei Bobrovsky or Jordan Martinook, but Sebastian Aho was right there to put the puck in the net, giving the Canes some life going into the third period.
Unfortunately, the Hurricanes couldn’t get anything going in the third. We didn’t get a commercial break until over 12 minutes into the period. Shortly after returning from the break, Carter Verhaeghe redirected a point shot by Gustav Forsling past Antti Raanta to regain a two-goal advantage. The goal was initially called off by the crew on the ice, but the team in Toronto overturned the call. Kevin Stenlund added an empty-net goal as the Panthers took a decisive 5-2 win.
This was a rough game for the majority of the team. Dmitry Orlov and Jalen Chatfield were on the ice for both Florida goals in the first period. Despite extending his point streak to four games, Sebastian Aho was a -3. Several other stars were -2. The power play failed to record a shot on three attempts. Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour was very critical of his team’s stars following the loss.
Meanwhile, Florida’s stars ran the show. Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Reinhart all had multi-point games. Sergei Bobrovsky was good, but he didn’t need to be spectacular like he was in the postseason. Because of injuries, Florida is playing without two of their better defensemen and a key forward. This team is only going to get more challenging as the season progresses.
We could sit here and pick apart Antti Raanta’s performance, but I don’t think he was terrible. Florida had a decided edge in the gameplay, joining Los Angeles as the second team to outshoot the Hurricanes this season. Raanta paid the price for it. Both goals in the first period came about because of defensive breakdowns by the third defensive pair, leaving Raanta out to dry. Aleksander Barkov’s goal was on a low rebound that Raanta couldn’t kick at a different angle. The final goal was a high redirection that he couldn’t anticipate. Raanta was the second-best goalie in the game. He wasn’t the reason the Canes lost.
The turnaround will be quick as the Hurricanes will be in Tampa Bay on Saturday night. The expectation is that Pyotr Kochetkov will get the nod in the net. This is the second of three meetings with the Lightning this season, losing 3-0 at the end of the six-game road trip early in the season. After that, it’ll be home cooking for the Canes. They’ll play just one road game for the rest of the month, kicking off a homestand against the Flyers on Wednesday night for the first nationally televised game of the season.