The Carolina Hurricanes began a stretch of three games in four nights on Thursday, welcoming the Minnesota Wild to the Lenovo Center for their annual visit. The Canes split their road games to begin the month, losing in Boston but shutting out the New York Rangers on Tuesday in Pyotr Kochetkov's season debut.
It was a night for celebrating as Jordan Staal played his 910th game as a Carolina Hurricane, and K'Andre Miller returned to the lineup after missing six games. Frederik Andersen was in the net, trying to get back in the win column after dropping his last two starts. Minnesota sent Filip Gustavsson out to defend the net after two excellent performances against the Canes last season.
This first period ranks up there as one of the most insane ever played in Raleigh. Matt Boldy scoring early in the game on Minnesota's first shot felt like the most normal thing that happened. Tyler Pitlick laid an insanely bad hit on Jalen Chatfield, leading to a fight between Pitlick and Jordan Staal. The Wild forward was given the boot, while Staal's period ended with 17 minutes in penalties.
During the ensuing 4-on-4, the teams traded a trio of goals. Jackson Blake started it by going end to end for a beautiful tally. Brock Faber teed off on a one-timer 31 seconds later to regain the lead. Not to be outdone, Andrei Svechnikov tied it again 21 seconds later with a short-side snipe. The Canes didn't score on the power play, but Sean Walker floated another into the net, putting Carolina up, 3-2.
If the action in the first period wasn't quick enough, it didn't slow down at the start of the second. Boldy scored his second of the night with an easy tap-in on the power play. However, Nikolaj Ehlers scored his second in as many games, finishing a beautiful pass from Blake nine seconds later. That's all the scoring we got over the next 19 minutes, sending it into the third with the Canes ahead, 4-3.
As wild as the start was, the ending was classic Hurricanes hockey. Minnesota pushed hard to get the tying goal, including a few very close calls. At one point, Kaprizov appeared to have the tying goal heading to his stick. Instead, Walker stuck his lumber out to break it up. No goals over the final 20 minutes bode well for the Canes. They held on for dear life, winning, 4-3, on home ice.
The Canes have something with their new second line
Rod Brind'Amour made a small tweak to the forward lines before the game, swapping Andrei Svechnikov and Taylor Hall. In doing so, he kept the second line the same for another game, putting Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stankoven, and Jackson Blake together for another trial run. With two games under their belts, I'd say this is a very fun line to watch.
Blake and Ehlers each found the scoresheet, with the former setting up the latter for the eventual game-winning goal, with Blake adding a goal of his own. Not to be lost in the shuffle, Stankoven had a very good night, too. Their speed meshes well, creating chance after chance when they have the puck. They should stick together for a little longer.
The hits keep coming to the defense, but it's always next man up
Getting K'Andre Miller back was a massive boost for the team. However, that boost didn't last 12 minutes before they lost another big piece. The hit that knocked Jalen Chatfield out of the contest midway through the first period was brutal. Not only was there the initial impact from Tyler Pitlick, Chatfield also inadvertently caught Yakov Trenin's knee as he hit the ice.
With five defensemen for most of the night, everyone stepped up. Miller looked like he hadn't missed any time. Sean Walker had a multi-point night for the second game in a row and the aforementioned blocked pass. Alexander Nikishin added an assist in almost 25 minutes. Joel Nystrom had a thousand chances in the second period to score his first goal. Mike Reilly broke up a great chance, too.
I'd bet that Chatfield will miss some time, though the exact amount is unclear at the moment. I'd also bet that Pitlick's hit, which led to his ejection from the game, will get a thorough review from the league, with a suspension very possible. There isn't a team in the league that will feel any sympathy for the Canes' current defensive situation. It'll be on whoever steps into the lineup to keep it going.
Additional Thoughts
While the night was expected to be a celebration of Jordan Staal's milestone moment, the real talk surrounding the captain pertained to his response to the hit on Chatfield. Staal was the first man to jump on Pitlick, dropping the gloves and earning 17 penalty minutes, keeping him out for almost a quarter of the game. As the head coach said, that's why he wears the "C".
It was not a good start to the night for either goalie. Frederik Andersen allowed goals on first two shots he faced, and he only saw three shots in the first period. After allowing another on Minnesota's fourth shot, Andersen responded nicely. He was perfect the rest of the way, climbing to 20 saves by the end of the night. It was a great bounce back to earn his fifth win.
One of the big keys to the night was making sure they stayed out of the box against a lethal Minnesota power play. While they gave the Wild three chances, including a double-minor that led to the Wild scoring with the man advantage in the second period, the Canes did a great job of staying out of the box in over the final 40 minutes, forcing the Wild to play 5-on-5.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will be back in action on Saturday night at the Lenovo Center, kicking off a back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres. They'll turn around and fly to Toronto after the game for a Sunday night north of the border against the Maple Leafs. The Canes will play three games at home next week, hosting Washington, Vancouver, and Edmonton in Raleigh.