The homestand ended as the Carolina Hurricanes welcomed the Detroit Red Wings for Friday night hockey in Raleighwood. The Canes extended their win streak to five games with a decisive 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. After besting the Red Wings in Detroit ten days prior, the Canes sought a perfect end to the four-game stretch to stay red-hot.
Frederik Andersen took his turn in the rotation to begin the back-to-back. Andersen was strong for 57 minutes during his last start, a 4-2 victory over the Jets. The lineup in front of him remained the same. Andrei Svechnikov missed his third game and Dmitry Orlov missed his fourth. Former Hurricane and newly acquired Red Wing Petr Mrazek made his second start post-deadline for Detroit.
The home team must've smelt blood in the water because they came out firing everything at the net. Mrazek was practically thrown into the deep end and told to swim. To his credit, he stayed afloat, making a few tough saves to keep the game scoreless. The Canes drew the first power play of the game and it started well before falling off in the final 45 seconds.
For all of their dominance, the Canes couldn't find the back of the net. Detroit needed very little daylight to find it. Ben Chiarot made a great play to keep the puck in the Canes' zone as it bounced to Alex DeBrincat. With little space, DeBrincat sniped a shot over Andersen's blocker to break the deadlock late in the period. It was a sad way to end an otherwise great 20 minutes.
Despite the bitter ending, the Canes came out of the break and kept firing away, needing just 22 seconds to tie it. Jesperi Kotkaniemi's shot was redirected by Taylor Hall under Mrazek's arm to get the group a goal they deserved. Kotkaniemi wasn't done there. A few minutes later, he threw Craig Smith in the spin cycle before setting up Jack Roslovic for a tap-in to give the Canes the lead.
The Canes' dominance continued throughout the second. The Aho line sustained immense pressure before finding the third goal. Jalen Chatfield picked his spot on Mrazek's blocker side, snapping a shot as the lane cleared to get one against his hometown team. Aided by a big penalty kill late in the period, the Canes entered the break with a 3-1 lead and all the momentum.
The Red Wings made a massive push the get back into the game to start the third, getting an early goal to draw within one. Michael Rasmussen worked past Roslovic on a 1-on-1 before lifting his own rebound past a sprawling Andersen to make it 3-2 less than three minutes in. Detroit also put forth an excellent effort on the Canes' power play despite it being one of their best in the last few games.
With four minutes left, the league's third-best power play and the second-best penalty kill squared off one last time. Once again, it was the Canes who stood tall. Detroit kept pushing, but Eric Robinson put the final nail in the coffin, sliding a shot from the defensive blue line into the net to put the Red Wings away. The Canes extended their win streak to six games to complete a perfect homestand.
While not a perfect comparison, both games against the Red Wings have followed similar scripts. The Canes opened up a multi-goal lead in the second, allowed a goal in the third to draw within one, and held on for dear life to win. The defense has been the team's strongest asset during this homestand, allowing just six goals in their four victories, becoming the fifth team to reach 40 wins on Friday night.
This could've easily become a game that the Canes dominated for the majority of the night only to be shut down by a goalie or a suffocating team effort. It's happened more than a few times this season. Instead, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jack Roslovic, and Taylor Hall dragged the offense into the fight. Kotkaniemi was especially elusive during the middle frame, picking up a pair of helpers.
It wasn't a flashy victory for the Canes netminder, but Frederik Andersen was sharp at big points in the contest, especially after the 3-2 goal. Rasmussen had two or three chances after scoring that Andersen stoned, and he was big on the late Detroit power play to maintain the one-goal advantage. He's now won three in a row while allowing five goals after dropping four straight decisions.
At the start of the month, I was curious how the Canes would perform during this exhausting four-game stretch, even with it being at home. Playing against four excellent teams after a bad February, this could've been disastrous. Instead, the home team has been playing their best hockey in months to maintain their spot in second place in the division.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will turn around and fly to the City of Brotherly Love to complete their back-to-back on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. This will conclude the season series between the two teams. The Canes will have five days before hitting the ice again, beginning a three-game California trip on Thursday night against Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks.