After a quiet weekend in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes began a busy week in Chicago, facing the Blackhawks for the first time this season. On Friday night, the Canes held on for a 3-2 win over Vegas at home behind two Seth Jarvis goals and an outstanding Pyotr Kochetkov performance. Monday marked the first half of a back-to-back for the Canes.
For the first time since late October, Frederik Andersen took the net for the Canes, making his 500th NHL appearance. He was activated off IR on Friday after missing time following knee surgery. It was also a milestone game for the captain as Jordan Staal skated in his 1300th game. The Blackhawks sent former Hurricane Petr Mrazek out to try and slow the Canes' offense.
Regardless of the venue, the odds are the Hurricanes won't have a good start. While Monday's wasn't awful, the defense forced Andersen to make some massive stops early, including a pair of breakaway chances. Eventually, it would bite them. Ryan Donato threw a backhand pass around several sticks and through the crease for Philipp Kurashev to knock home, opening the scoring before the period was halfway gone.
Late in the period, Chicago would get another goal. Tyler Bertuzzi tipped the initial chance from Seth Jones wide of Andersen. With the goalie out of position, Bertuzzi banked the puck off Andersen's back to double the lead. The Staal line had a few beautiful chances in the final minute of the period, but Mrazek remained perfect to get the Hawks into the break ahead 2-0.
The Hurricanes came alive in the second period, using their penalty kill to kickstart the comeback. Jaccob Slavin did an excellent job of standing up Connor Bedard as he entered the zone. Sebastian Aho sent the puck to Seth Jarvis to spring him on a breakaway. Working around Jones, Jarvis buried a backhand past Mrazek, getting the Canes on the board 85 seconds into the frame.
The tying goal came after hard work behind the net by Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Taking on two Blackhawks, Kotkaniemi kicked the puck to Eric Robinson as he swung around the net. Kotkaniemi did an excellent job of getting his stick free, pushing Robinson's pass past Mrazek to knot the game six minutes later.
The second period was pure domination by the road team. That makes the end of the period so much tougher to swallow. With 18.7 seconds left, Taylor Hall set up Donato with a play eerily similar to the one Donato made on the opening goal. Donato snapped it short-side on Andersen to help Chicago regain their lead after 40 minutes.
The desperation came seeping out of the Canes in the third period. Martin Necas was especially good. He had some of the team's best chances early, including a breakaway after Bedard threw a pass to no one in the middle of the ice. Mrazek stood on his head to keep Chicago in the lead, but a weird play would get the Canes back even.
Referees are often quick with their whistles when it looks like the goalie has the puck. On this particular play, the stripes behind the net continued to yell the puck was loose despite Mrazek sitting still. Staal swooped in, found the loose puck, and slid it into the net with several stunned Blackhawks turning to the referee. The captain recorded his 700th point to tie the game and breathe new life into the team.
Andersen had to make one more massive stop before the end of regulation, robbing Bertuzzi's breakaway chance with his glove. As the Canes forced overtime and ensured one point, they wasted little time earning the second. Necas waited for Aho to find a soft spot in the defense, saucing a pass into the right dot for Aho to blast past Mrazek 51 seconds into overtime to complete the comeback in a 4-3 win.
Those looking for something to complain about will point to where Chicago is in the standings and how the Canes should've blown them out of the water. Petr Mrazek is the only reason this game stayed remotely close. Mrazek made 44 stops on 48 shots, including 18 in the third period. The Canes had two bad lapses which led to goals. They didn't play a clean game, but they were clearly the better team. The goalie did most of the work.
Speaking of goalies, it was good to see Frederik Andersen back in the net. I can't be too mad about his night. My only big complaint is that he didn't get his stick on two passes that went through his crease which ended up behind him. Otherwise, he made some critical stops. Andersen only faced 25 shots, but it would take two hands to count the game-saving stops he came up with. In Game #500, Andersen provided the goods.
Sebastian Aho (1G, 1A) and Martin Necas (1A) will rightfully get the shine for the overtime goal, but the Kotkaniemi line deserves a lot of praise for their effort. Eric Robinson had a great night, as did Jesperi Kotkaniemi. They played a physical game and were rewarded with the tying goal in the second period. Jaccob Slavin picked up three helpers, including the secondary assist on the game-winner.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will be in Dallas on Tuesday night to complete their season series with the Stars. They'll be back at home on Thursday to face the Columbus Blue Jackets before heading to New York for one each on Long Island and Broadway against the Islanders and the Rangers.