The Carolina Hurricanes have reached the second half of their road trip, and it's going to be a tough three games. They kicked it off on Monday night by finally leaving California and landing in Vegas to face the Golden Knights. The Canes were perfect to start the trip, concluding a perfect ride through the Golden State with a 4-3 overtime win over the Kings on Saturday.
Down both Jaccob Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere, who left the Los Angeles game in the first period, the Hurricanes welcomed Charles Alexis Legault for his NHL debut, playing with Mike Reilly. Elsewhere, Frederik Andersen hoped to build on his perfect start after last beating the Ducks on Thursday night. The Golden Knights played without Mark Stone and sent Adin Hill into the crease.
For the first time this season, the Hurricanes faced a multiple-goal deficit. Jack Eichel opened the scoring, getting a friendly bounce off K'Andre Miller's stick to break the ice. Then, Pavel Dorofeyev took advantage of a Canes turnover by finishing with a highlight-reel tuck around Andersen's pad. The only negative to Vegas' period was Hill leaving the game between the goals with an injury.
The Hurricanes found the scoresheet early in the second. Sebastian Aho collected his second goal of the trip, helping Nikolaj Ehlers (finally) notch his first point as a Hurricane with the secondary assist. The goal extends Aho's and Seth Jarvis's point streaks to six games. Late in the frame, Frederik Andersen made an unreal glove stop to rob Dorofeyev on the power play, keeping it a one-goal game.
As well as the Hurricanes were playing and for as many chances as they generated, they couldn't tie it up. Instead, Ivan Barbashev capitalized on a Miller turnover as he fell, burying the dagger midway through the third. William Karlsson finished it with a goal into the empty net, handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the season, 4-1.
The top line connects for the lone Carolina goal
Before harping on the bad stuff, one of the night's most positive developments was the top line finally coming together to all combine for a goal. It was the Canes' only goal of the game, courtesy of Sebastian Aho early in the second period. Nikolaj Ehlers starts the sequence with speed, dropping the puck for Seth Jarvis before he places the pass through a defender's legs as Aho finishes it.
That's our Fishy!!! pic.twitter.com/HVD0JU6Xdr
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 21, 2025
It's nice to see Ehlers finally get rewarded for his effort. He has been just fine in the first five games, but he hasn't seen his name on the scoresheet until now. Ehlers nearly set Jarvis up in the third period for the tying goal. Akira Schmid, who replaced Adin Hill midway through the first, made a great stop at the top of his crease. Hopefully, this snowballs into something good for this trio.
Frederik Andersen did everything he could to keep his team in it
Games like this are why I believe save percentage is an imperfect way to evaluate goaltenders. Frederik Andersen's final save percentage might read .880, but he played far better than that number indicates. Frankly, he's the only reason this game didn't turn lopsided during the first two periods. Almost every time things went sideways for the Canes, their goalie was there to clean it up.
Andersen started the night with a big save on a jumping Kaeden Korczak. He poked the puck away from good friend Mitch Marner when he was left alone in front of the net. He stopped Jack Eichel's short-handed breakaway after stripping Jarvis of the puck. However, every save he made pales in comparison to the one he made on Pavel Dorofeyev on Vegas' late power play in the second.
It was a rough night for Miller and Nikishin
The Canes' defensive group didn't have a particularly good game, especially K'Andre Miller and Alexander Nikishin. That's not to say everything they did was bad, but the bad outweighed the good. Miller was simply unlucky for most of the night, having Vegas' opening goal deflect off his stick and the final nail come after he lost an edge, though there's an argument he was slashed.
This was the rookie game we've been waiting for from Nikishin. After having his season-opening point streak snapped in Los Angeles, Nikishin had probably his toughest game of the young campaign. He failed to knock down a puck, leading to Vegas' second goal and he took a late penalty. However, he still finished the night with five blocks and four hits, both team highs.
Additional Thoughts
The penalty kill was another bright spot for the Canes, going 4-for-4 against a very talented Vegas power play. They were nearly beaten in the second period, if not for Andersen's beautiful glove stop. However, the Canes' power play continues to be its most glaring issue. They failed to convert on their four chances as well.
Ultimately, I'm not placing too much stock in this loss. The Canes lost to a very good Vegas team, albeit without their captain, but the Canes were also down two of their top defensemen. It's a game in mid-October, and the team is still 5-1-0. This isn't anything to be too upset about. It's one game. The Hurricanes will be just fine.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will have an extra day between games before taking the ice against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday in Denver. They'll finish the road trip in Dallas on Saturday night before playing at the Lenovo Center for the first time in two weeks. Their first opponent? This very same Vegas Golden Knights team, eight days from now.