A flat start snowballs into a blowout loss as the Hurricanes close 2025 on sour note

For the final time in 2025, the Carolina Hurricanes took the ice, trying to sweep a divisional back-to-back in their first encounter with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canes needed overtime to finish the New York Rangers on Monday night, getting the win after Jackson Blake tipped a shot on the power play in the final seconds.

The lineup remained the same for the Canes for the second half of the twin bill, with Shayne Gostisbehere missing his second straight contest. Frederik Andersen was the lone change, taking the crease for the first time since suffering the loss against the Panthers a week ago. Stuart Skinner made his fourth start for the Penguins after they acquired him earlier this month.

The Canes put themselves in a bad spot early. K'Andre Miller turned the puck over behind his net, allowing the Penguins to find Sidney Crosby alone at the side for the opening goal. Late in the period, they added to it. Justin Brazeau outworked the defense and lifted a backhand home as he was falling. Then, Anthony Mantha put a rebound home on the power play to make it 3-0 after 20.

The longer the second period went without the Canes scoring, the more it felt like the Penguins were about to make their lead insurmountable. Tommy Novak scored from distance late in the period, pushing the lead to four. Mantha added his second of the night to rub a little more salt in the wound. The lone bright spot was Mark Jankowski breaking the shutout 17 seconds later.

The third period came and went without much fanfare. The Canes failed to find any offense, but they didn't allow a goal either. Andersen came up with a few good stops to salvage an otherwise rough start. At the end of the day, it was all Pittsburgh as the Penguins handed the Canes a 5-1 thumping to end 2025.

One goal late in the first period sent the game into a tailspin

This game epitomized pretty much every Frederik Andersen start for the last two months. There wasn't anything he could do about the first goal. He was left out to dry by his team after they turned the puck over. The only thing he needed to do was make sure the Penguins didn't get the next one, and especially not on a stoppable shot. Lo and behold, that's exactly what happened.

All credit to Justin Brazeau for his effort to score the goal, but Andersen was way too deep in his crease when the shot came. This goal kick-started a long night for the Hurricanes. They quickly followed it up with a power-play goal. The fourth goal was another stinker for Andersen, being beaten from distance through a moving screen before he had no chance on the fifth one.

If we're looking to find something positive about this game, Andersen figured it out in the third period. He looked much calmer and made the stops he needed to, though the game was well out of reach by this point. It could be an encouraging sign, though it also feels like we're grasping at straws to find a positive narrative with Andersen recently.

Not all of the blame should fall on his shoulders. The effort put forth by the 18 skaters in front of him tonight was abysmal. There was absolutely no cohesion. They played like a team that left it all on the ice against the Rangers on Monday and forgot that they had to play another game 24 hours later. From top to bottom, this was an unacceptable effort from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Additional Thoughts

The only offense from the Hurricanes tonight came from the fourth line and the third defensive pair. Mark Jankowski broke the shutout and cut the deficit to four with a lethal shot on a 2-on-1. Joel Nystrom picked up the primary assist with a beautiful stretch pass, while Jankowski managed to stay just onside. Mike Reilly picked up the secondary helper.

All in all, while the feeling of this loss is a major bummer to end the year, the Canes find themselves in a pretty good spot with the calendar changing. It was an unbalanced month for the team, fighting through injuries again, but they have a decent lead in the Metropolitan Division. They still have plenty of work to do, though.

Up Next: With 2025 behind them, the Carolina Hurricanes look to bigger and better things in 2026. They'll start the new year on New Year's Day with a clash at home against the Montreal Canadiens. Over the weekend, they'll face another daunting back-to-back, hosting the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday before venturing to Newark to meet the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.