The weekend wasn't kind to the Carolina Hurricanes after suffering back-to-back losses to the Florida Panthers. Saturday's loss was especially demoralizing, being shut out for the first time this season. A new month brought new opportunities for the Canes as they welcomed the Seattle Kraken to town for their yearly visit.
Pyotr Kochetkov made his long-awaited return after leaving the team's 5-4 shootout loss in Columbus during overtime. Spencer Martin started all four games last week, going 2-2-0. The rest of the lineup remained the same, though the line combinations again looked different. Joey Daccord got the nod for the Kraken, hoping for better luck than his first start against the Canes in October.
If you were hoping for a good start at home, you wouldn't get it on Tuesday. Jaden Schwartz buried the first shot of the game 19 seconds in on a breakaway to immediately put the Hurricanes on their heels. In typical Canes fashion, they had a quick response to the early goal. Good forechecking pressure allowed the puck to find Martin Necas. The reigning first star of November found Eric Robinson alone in front of the net as he slid it past Daccord's outstretched pad to tie it.
The first period moved quickly, going nearly ten minutes without a whistle after Robinson's goal. Neither side did much with the puck as the period ended with 11 total shots between them. The second period was what nightmares are made of. The Kraken thoroughly outplayed the Canes, earning the lead in the process. For the millionth time in the last three games, the mismanagement of the puck allowed the Kraken to get into the zone. Kochetkov made the initial stop on Oliver Bjorkstrand, but Eeli Tolvanen put the rebound home to give Seattle its second lead.
Seattle outshot Carolina 14-2 during the second period, forcing Rod Brind'Amour to change his lines, again. While things started to look better, it was the Canes' power play that brought them to life. Earning their first chance early in the third period, Sebastian Aho allowed Necas to get into the zone with speed. As they say, the rest was history. Necas worked around Daccord's poke check, sliding it five-hole on the Seattle goalie with the greatest of ease to tie the game.
The moment everyone will be talking about came midway through the period. Necas nearly had his 40th point of the season, setting up Jack Drury for a beautiful goal from a similar spot he beat Igor Shesterkin from last week. Daccord was out of position because of contact with Robinson, giving Seattle a reason to challenge it. Because Drury was the goal scorer, naturally, the challenge was successful, wiping the go-ahead goal off the board.
To make a bad situation worse, Seattle scored less than a minute later. Yanni Gourde followed the bouncing puck, finding it on his stick in front of the net to beat Kochetkov 46 seconds later to put Seattle back in front. Less than five minutes later, Brandon Tanev iced the game, avoiding Kochetkov's poke check to earn Ryan Winterton his first NHL point. The Canes mounted little threatening offense down the stretch, suffering their third straight defeat 4-2 to the Kraken.
We can argue whether it was goalie interference until we're blue in the face. It doesn't negate that the Hurricanes were outworked for the better part of 40 minutes over the final two periods by the Kraken. The second period might've been the Canes' worst of the season. Brind'Amour laid into his troops during a commercial break, though they didn't immediately respond. Seattle's willingness to get in front of every puck made life frustrating all night.
Martin Necas continues to be the team's most dynamic player. He was a disallowed goal away from another three-point performance and 40 points. Instead, he'll have to settle for a measly two points. His immediate chemistry with Eric Robinson, who also played an excellent game, needs to be studied. The two seem to be the only combination of players that provides consistent offense at 5-on-5.
Pyotr Kochetkov looked fine in his return. Allowing a goal on the first shot you see isn't ideal, but he settled in after that. There wasn't much he could do on the second and third goals, though his aggressiveness was costly on Tanev's dagger. Still, he kept the Hurricanes in a position to win the game. The Kraken could've easily put the game out of reach during the second period. Kochetkov made sure it didn't happen.
With three straight regulation losses, it's time for the Hurricanes to dig deep and find the magic that has been present early in the season. Offensively, nothing seems to be working. Defensively, the team is looking uncharacteristically lackluster. Even during their wins last week, they rarely played from in front. The starts have been slow, forcing them to chase until it's too late. It's not time to panic, but the temperature in the room is heating up a little.
Up Next: Life doesn't get any easier for the Carolina Hurricanes with the Colorado Avalanche coming to town on Thursday. Colorado erased a 4-0 deficit in Buffalo on Tuesday to earn a 5-4 victory. The Canes will be on Long Island to end the week, meeting the Islanders for the first time since eliminating them from the playoffs in April.