Everything seems to be clicking for the Carolina Hurricanes right now. They extended their win streak to four games on Thursday night, scoring a touchdown in a 7-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Seth Jarvis had two goals and two assists and Sebastian Aho had three points in Frederik Andersen's 300th NHL win.
Following Friday night's blockbuster trade, Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall made their debuts with the team on Saturday. They were acquired in a three-team deal that sent Martin Necas and Jack Drury to Colorado. Pyotr Kochetkov took the start for the Canes, hoping to extend his personal win streak to three games. Marcus Hogberg was opposite him after Ilya Sorokin played on Friday night.
As if a cruel twist of fate, the Hurricanes jumped ahead of the game early. Just over five minutes in, Jesperi Kotkaniemi used his hot streak to break Jack Roslovic out of a slump. Kotkaniemi made a beautiful stretch pass from the defensive zone to spring Roslovic. Having switched his number with Rantanen's arrival, Roslovic felt it appropriate to celebrate by breaking a 12-game pointless drought with a beautiful snipe over Hogberg's blocker.
Just 72 seconds later, the Canes would get a fortunate bounce. Jalen Chatfield pinched to prevent the puck from getting out of the zone, finding Sebastian Aho behind the net. Aho was trying to hit Rantanen in the dot. Instead, he found Isaiah George's skate. The puck deflected off the defender's skate and into the net to double the lead before the first commercial break.
Late in the first period, we got the first Canes fight of the season. Kotkaniemi took exception with a leg-to-leg collision between Andrei Svechnikov and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, dropping the gloves with Pageau in a clash the judges gave to Kotkaniemi. However, he would be leveled with an additional two minutes. While the Canes killed it, Alexander Romanov scored two seconds after the penalty ended, getting a bounce off Sean Walker's knee to cut into the Canes' lead before the end of the period.
The 2-1 lead would stand after the second period, but it was clear the Islanders were starting to build something. Kochetkov was called into action often. He pulled out his patented poke check on Bo Horvat during the Islanders' second power play and used his stick perfectly again late in the period on Pageau. He's the only reason the game remained in the Canes' favor.
Another growing story throughout the game was New York's dominance in the dot. They were winning almost every draw, and it would help them tie the game early in the third. After beating Jordan Staal, Horvat had a chance that was stopped, but Kochetkov couldn't handle the rebound. Anders Lee was on the spot to put the rebound into the net, drawing the Islanders even.
Both teams would have chances during the remainder of the third period, but neither Kochetkov nor Hogberg budged, sending the game to overtime. In an interesting development, Hogberg left the game before overtime started because of an issue with his blocker hand. Sorokin came in and didn't have to do much as New York earned the second point. After Andrei Svechnikov made an ill-advised pass attempt from below the goal line, Brock Nelson snapped a 2-on-1 shot past Kochetkov's glove to end it.
Honestly, there was a lot to like about Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in their first games. I was a little surprised to see them in the lineup this quickly, but both showed why they were highly regarded. It was a slow build for both as they started to find their games in the final two periods. Rantanen had a game-high five shots and hit the post in the second period, while Hall earned a promotion to the second line in the third period, setting up some good chances with his speed and size.
Another player who played well on Long Island was Jesperi Kotkaniemi, which has become a regular sentence this week. In the first period, Kotkaniemi extended his point streak and got into a fight, completing two-thirds of the Gordie Howe hat trick in less than 20 minutes. This couldn't have been an easy week for him, so to see him playing this way consistently for four games is an encouraging sign.
In the end, it stinks to not get a win for the new guys, especially as the win streak ends at four games. They'll have to settle for one point, extending their point streak to five games instead. With a big game looming on Tuesday, the group will take any points they can. It wasn't a bad game by any means, but it certainly wasn't their cleanest.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will conclude their New York trip on Tuesday night, battling the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. They'll make their way home to the next two with Thursday night against Chicago marking Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall's first games in Raleigh as good guys.