8. Andersen uses his heel (1/28/25)
There was so much to love about the Hurricanes' performance at Madison Square Garden in late January. The big three up front each scored, led by Andrei Svechnikov's two tallies. Taylor Hall and Mikko Rantanen recorded their first points as Hurricanes, setting up each of Svechnikov's goals during the first two frames. It was a dominant effort by the visitors.
The defining moment, at least in my mind, came in the net. On this night in New York, Frederik Andersen brought out all of the stops. His best of the night came against Chris Kreider while the Rangers were on the power play. In Kreider's defense, he mishit the puck, but he had the entire net to score into. Instead, Andersen stuck out his skate and got a piece, preserving his shutout in a 4-0 win.
7. Do it for dad! (3/2/25)
I'm all for sentimental moments, especially when the families get involved. Last season, it was Jordan Martinook scoring the game-winner in Boston with the moms in the building, leading to an incredible postgame interview on the bench with his mom and the TNT crew. This year, it was Sebastian Aho in front of the dads and mentors at the Lenovo Center.
The Canes struggled to solve Dustin Wolf, with a Jaccob Slavin goal late in the second period being their only success. Nazem Kadri scored on the power play midway through the third as the teams headed for overtime. In overtime, the trio on the ice took advantage of some tired defenders. Slavin put the puck on a tee for Aho to one-time past Wolf, giving the dads a memorable moment.