Whalers Night was a smashing success for the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, scoring three times in the first ten minutes to beat the Sabres, 5-2. Mikko Rantanen recorded his first multi-point game and Taylor Hall netted his first goal since the trade. With McDavid, Draisaitl, and the Edmonton Oilers in town, the Canes needed to re-focus against a lethal offense.
Frederik Andersen took the start for the Canes. He was on the losing side of Tuesday's one-sided shutout loss to the Canadiens, though it was far from his fault. The rest of the group remained in place after the offense came to life on Thursday. The Oilers sent Calvin Pickard out to try and halt their five-game losing streak.
After surviving an early Edmonton power play, the Canes could've used that momentum to create a great start. Instead, their power play continued to be actively detrimental to the team's overall success. In three chances to work in the opening 20 minutes, the Canes generated next to nothing offensively and allowed the first goal of the game.
The opening goal came late in the first power play. An errant pass allowed Edmonton to head up the ice 2-on-2. Mattias Janmark threw a shot to the net with the rebound deflecting off Adam Henrique and over the line to start the scoring just over five minutes in. The Canes started to make a push late in the period but were unable to get the tying goal as they trailed 1-0 at the break.
The Canes were much better in the second period. Edmonton had some life early, but the home team slowly started to spend more time in the Edmonton end. Jordan Martinook had the team's best chance of the period. Dmitry Orlov did a good job of keeping a play alive before Martinook got the puck alone in front of the net. He beat Pickard, but not the iron.
This miss was made even more frustrating when Edmonton scored the next goal late in the period. Leon Draisaitl made an all-world backhand pass to Corey Perry on the doorstep for the tap-in to double Edmonton's lead. The pass placement by Draisaitl was impeccable, eluding Jalen Chatfield's stick to find Perry as Edmonton led by two goals after 40 minutes.
It's only a little ironic that the power play would provide the lone goal for the Canes after how bad it was in the first period. Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho are starting to find their chemistry. The Finns played catch, with Rantanen finding a streaking Aho at the backdoor to get the Canes within a goal early in the third period. It was a sick feed from the far dot that landed perfectly for Aho to finish.
Carolina did just about everything they could to waste their goal. Zach Hyman thought he had a goal but it was taken away immediately for a kicking motion. Hyman tried to argue it, though it looked as if he was playing soccer on the play. Then, Shayne Gostisbehere swept one off the goal line a millisecond before it crossed. Despite some scares, the game remained within reach.
Pickard was under siege the entire third period, but he refused to budge. The Canes kept pushing, but an ill-timed Rantanen penalty for goalie interference with less than two minutes left all but killed the dream. Aho had a short-handed breakaway that was stopped before Evan Bouchard scored into the empty net with less than a second left to add insult to injury in a 3-1 Canes loss.
While the outcome was rough, this was a highly entertaining game. There was no shortage of action for 60 minutes, even in a low-scoring contest. Both teams eclipsed 30 shots, many of which were dangerous. Both goalies were excellent, though Pickard ended up winning the battle. I'm sure I would be able to enjoy it a little more if the Canes weren't fighting it on the ice lately.
The power play did score a goal, but it failed to atone for the atrocities we had to witness during the first period. I was begging them to stop accepting penalties because of how bad they looked. The third chance in the first showed a little more promise, but Edmonton's short-handed goal proved to be the difference in the game. If everything but that plays out the same, the Canes likely earn a point.
In more positive news, the Canes' top line is starting to mesh beautifully. It took some time, but Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen are finally putting it together. They've now connected on goals in consecutive games. Add Andrei Svechnikov to the mix and the team has a legitimate top line that rivals most others in the NHL. If they're a little more present on the scoresheet, they'll be golden.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will wrap up their three-game homestand against the Calgary Flames on Sunday night to complete their back-to-back. The group will head to Detroit for a quick trip on Tuesday night before beginning another homestand on Thursday. This stretch will be grueling, with Boston, Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, and Detroit visiting the Lenovo Center.