Meaningful hockey returned on Saturday night as the Carolina Hurricanes hit the ice for the first time in two weeks after breaking for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Canes began their stretch run in Toronto, facing the Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. They entered the break with a 7-3 win over Utah 14 days ago, led by a four-point afternoon from Seth Jarvis and three from Sebastian Aho.
Pyotr Kochetkov earned the first start post-break. He was in the net for the win over Utah, stopping 36 shots to earn his 20th victory of the campaign. Tyson Jost returned to the lineup for the group, playing his first game in 2025 after suffering an injury on New Year's Eve in Columbus. Toronto responded with Anthony Stolarz in the net as they began a weekend back-to-back.
The Canes were still vacationing during the first period because Toronto beat them like they stole something. The Leafs scored four times, including thrice before the first commercial break. Alex Steeves started it by burying his first NHL goal after Brent Burns gave it right to John Tavares. Jordan Staal, who scored a hat trick when Toronto visited Raleigh, threw the puck into his own net for Toronto's second goal as he tried to clear it off the line.
Former Hurricane Steven Lorentz made a great play to set up the third goal, making the extra pass to feed David Kampf at the top of the crease to make it 3-0 less than seven minutes into the contest. Late in the frame, Tavares would be rewarded for his earlier pass. William Nylander waited and set up the former captain for the fourth goal as Kochetkov failed to get his blocker on it.
Sitting a four-goal hole entering the second period, the Canes failed to make a dent in the deficit, though they didn't allow it to expand either. They came out of the intermission well, but an offensive-zone penalty by Aho allowed Toronto to take the momentum back. Add the power play's continued descent into unwatchability and it made for another tough period to stomach, albeit without any scoring.
The third period was all Carolina and Rod Brind'Amour wasn't messing around, sending a clear message by swapping Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Honestly, it worked. Aho atoned for his subpar showing by setting up the Canes' first goal of the night. Shayne Gostisbehere jumped into the play as Aho swooped around the net and was on the receiving end of a perfect pass in the slot to snap the shutout.
The scoring didn't stop there. Two goals in 20 seconds had the Canes within one with plenty of time left. Mikko Rantanen's playmaking was rewarded when Andrei Svechnikov buried his cross-seam pass with a one-timer off the post, cutting the deficit in half. Then, Jaccob Slavin followed the bouncing puck, sweeping a rebound at the side of the net past Stolarz to pick up the third goal.
Unfortunately, the Canes couldn't tie it. Toronto managed just three shots in the third period, but two of them wound up in the empty net. Auston Matthews restored Toronto's two-goal lead before Pontus Holmberg scored his second of the night in the dying seconds to ice a 6-3 victory for the Maple Leafs.
We've seen plenty of times this season when the Canes' start put them in a deficit they couldn't recover from. That was the case in Toronto. The first period is on the short list of the worst periods the group has played. Brent Burns was particularly bad in the opening 20, turning the puck over on the first goal and losing track of David Kampf on the third.
The goals go against Pyotr Kochetkov and while his final stat line won't look pretty, Kochetkov was the team's best player for 40 minutes. He was huge as Toronto pushed for more after making it 3-0 in the first and his second period was particularly big. He stoned Mitch Marner twice on a short-handed breakaway, keeping his team breathing heading into the third.
If you leave Saturday's loss with anything positive, the Canes' response in the third period was encouraging. Excluding the two empty-net goals, Carolina outshot Toronto 14-1 in the final 20 minutes, making it a one-goal game with a flurry of offense. Once they got the first one, you could feel a sense of relief from the group as they started to spend a lot of time in the offensive zone.
Andrei Svechnikov led the charge offensively for the Canes, earning a multi-point performance along with Shayne Gostisbehere. Sebastian Aho, who had a rough night, earned an assist, as did Mikko Rantanen for his third point since the trade. I don't think the lines that ended this game will remain when they hit the ice in two days, but it might be worth giving it a look.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will spend a few more days in Canada, sticking around to face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. They'll return home to kick off a short three-game homestand on Thursday, hosting the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this season. They'll face the Oilers and the Flames next weekend in a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday.