The Carolina Hurricanes returned to the ice on Thursday night for the first time in three weeks, getting back into the swing of things against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canes entered play with a 10-game point streak on the line, with most of the team using their time off to recover and prepare for the stretch run.
Brandon Bussi made his first start since signing his extension over the break, keeping him in Raleigh for the next three years. He shut out the Rangers at Madison Square Garden in his final start before the pause. With the Bolts playing the second half of a back-to-back, Jonas Johansson took the net. Andrei Vasilevskiy backstopped a win on Wednesday night over the Maple Leafs.
Any concerns about rust were quickly wiped away. K'Andre Miller made a beautiful stretch pass to Nikolaj Ehlers, who snapped it far-side to score less than two minutes in. Then, Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven combined for a give-and-go, ending with the birthday boy, Logan Stankoven, tapping one home. Jackson Blake poured it on, dragging the puck around a defender to find Hall for a tap-in.
In under seven minutes, the Canes built a lead. Tampa Bay pushed hard to get back into it, eventually doing so twice before the intermission. Sean Walker's attempted clear along the boards hit the referee, allowing the Bolts to reload and Brandon Hagel to score. Then, 35 seconds later, Nikita Kucherov outwaited the Canes' defense, snapping it top shelf to shrink the lead to one after 20.
Early in the second, the Lightning tied it. Dominic James got in with space and caught Bussi guessing, beating him under the glove. The Canes got their lead back with some hard work by the top line. Andrei Svechnikov hit Seth Jarvis in front to put the home team ahead once more. The Bolts knotted it up again, needing five seconds to convert on the power play on Brayden Point's marker.
In the third period, the power play proved to be the difference. Sebastian Aho fluttered a one-timer off the crossbar and past Johansson to put the Canes ahead. The third time proved to be the charm. The defense refused to relinquish the lead. Behind big nights from several up front, the Canes became just the third team to beat the Lightning in their last 23 games, winning 5-4 in their return.
The Stankoven line came out of the break ready to contribute
Earlier this week, I talked about the three players who need to step up for the Canes down the stretch. The list included both Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall. As part of the group's early onslaught, both players were front and center. Before the game was seven minutes old, each had a goal and an assist. They brought Jackson Blake along, too, tying his point total from last season with an assist to Hall.
If the Canes want to have any success down the stretch and throughout the playoffs, the Stankoven line needs to find a way to be difference makers. Hall and Stankoven were two of the four players on the Canes with multi-point nights. While their production tapered off as the night progressed, this early burst felt like a very positive sign.
Special teams proved to be the difference in the third period
With it being the first game in weeks, not everything was going to click right away. The penalty kill was torn through in five seconds when the Bolts earned their first power play. Then, the Canes' power play allowed a few great chances to Tampa while they were short-handed, failing to score while up a man. When the Canes went down a man again in the third, that sinking feeling returned.
The penalty kill sold out, preventing the Lightning from capitalizing and taking the lead. When the Canes earned their chance at redemption on the power play, they didn't let it pass. Jordan Staal set a beautiful screen in front of the net, and Jonas Johansson never saw the shot from Sebastian Aho. The power play is another area that needs to be much more consistent, so this felt like a big moment.
Additional Thoughts
There are so many other great things from tonight's game. The work from the defense was especially noteworthy. They were throwing their bodies around and blocking a ton of shots. Alexander Nikishin made two goal-saving stops as part of his four blocks. K'Andre Miller laid five hits and blocked three shots, including one late in the game. The team finished with 16 blocks and 23 hits.
It wasn't the cleanest game for Brandon Bussi in his first game post-extension. He still had some puck-handling miscues, and you'd probably like a few of the goals back, but a win is a win, especially when it's your 24th in 28 starts. The offense provided ample goal support for him to alleviate some of the mistakes. After the layoff, a game like this was kind of expected.
Much of the focus would be on the five Olympians, especially the four skaters. All of them found ways to contribute. Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring early. Sebastian Aho closed the scoring. Seth Jarvis had a goal and an assist. Jaccob Slavin was very sharp defensively, and he laid a booming hit on Nikita Kucherov in the closing minutes. They all picked up right where they left off.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes conclude their February schedule on Saturday night, welcoming another tough foe from the Atlantic Division, the Detroit Red Wings. Their last meeting ended in controversy, so the Canes should be plenty motivated. To begin March, the team hits the road, kicking off a four-game journey to the Pacific Northwest in Seattle on Tuesday.