The Hurricanes fought cancer and themselves to earn two points against the Canucks

The Carolina Hurricanes began their second back-to-back in as many weekends on Friday night, hosting the Vancouver Canucks in Raleighwood. The Canes suffered a one-sided defeat on Tuesday, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Washington Capitals on home ice to begin their three-game homestand. Nikolaj Ehlers provided the only tally, and Frederik Andersen played well in defeat.

It was Hockey Fights Cancer Night in Raleigh as the Hurricanes iced the same 18 skaters from Tuesday's loss. The lone change came in the net as Pyotr Kochetkov aimed for his third straight victory since returning from injury. The Canucks countered with Kevin Lankinen. Vancouver's captain Quinn Hughes was ruled out for the game after not participating in warm-ups.

The opening frame evoked memories from last week against Minnesota. The Canucks got on the board first, capitalizing on a collision at the blue line as Max Sasson buried a breakaway. Andrei Svechnikov responded with a pair of goals 54 seconds apart to take the lead. A horrible Sean Walker turnover allowed Elias Pettersson to pick the corner short-handed, making it 2-2 after 20.

The Canucks notched the only goal of the second, coming courtesy of Conor Garland on the power play. From there, the Canes controlled most of the frame. The only problem was that they couldn't solve Lankinen. The Canucks netminder was giving up rebounds, but he was there to clean up his own messes. Shayne Gostisbehere had a golden chance but hit the post, keeping it 3-2 after two.

The Canes won the third period, finding the equalizer early on a beautiful passing sequence finished by Taylor Hall. Before the goal, Evander Kane had been knocked down during a race against K'Andre Miller. The Canuck wanted to drop the mitts, but Miller didn't take the bait, allowing the play to continue as the Canes scored. It was the only marker of third, sending the sides to overtime.

Vancouver did everything they could to make overtime as boring as possible. They ragged the puck around the ice for the better part of the extra session, getting just one good chance off Kane's stick. While it trapped the Canes' trio for a while, the home team eventually got the puck and the win. Sebastian Aho spun away from Pettersson and sniped a shot over Lankinen's blocker to win it, 4-3.

The Hurricanes were their own worst enemy

For most of the night, it felt like no one wanted the Canucks to win more than the Hurricanes. Defensive breakdowns. Turnovers. Terrible passes. Bad penalties. Poor puck management. The Canes were guilty of it all over the first period and change. It was an especially rough night for Sean Walker, who was guilty of almost all of the above.

Fortunately, there's no quit in this group. Sensing the game was at risk of getting away from them, the Hurricanes locked in and worked out of the hole they dug for themselves. Honestly, it was their discipline that kept them in the fight, allowing the tying goal to materialize, while their stamina prepared them for the boring brand of overtime hockey the Canucks would bring.

The stars stepped up as the injuries continued to pile up

The Hurricanes finished the night with only 10 forwards. Seth Jarvis departed early in the contest after Andrei Svechnikov's stick caught him in the eye. He was in visible pain and remained on the ice before being help off. Late in the second period, Jesperi Kotkaniemi blocked a shot and departed with a lower-body injury.

In their absence, the group got big nights from their big guns. Svechnikov set the tone with two quick goals in the first period and adding the secondary helper on the tying goal. Shayne Gostisbehere picked up three primary assists, giving him four in the two games since returning. Sebastian Aho added a multi-point performance, including the 17th overtime goal of his career.

Additional Thoughts

Nikolaj Ehlers extended his point streak to six games with the secondary assist and face-off win on Svechnikov's second goal, inching him closer to his career high of nine games set back in 2022 as a member of the Jets. It was also a special night for Taylor Hall, who potted the game-tying goal on his 34th birthday.

Pyotr Kochetkov might not have played a good game, but he came up with saves at key moments. His two biggest of the night were a breakaway stop on Linus Karlsson in the third period and Evander Kane in overtime. It was another night when it felt like the Canes were preventing the Canucks from getting anything as the night wore on, so it was nice to see him sharp in those moments.

Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will have another quick turnaround, but they won't have to go anywhere, hosting the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night at the Lenovo Center. From there, the Canes embark on a four-game road trip, featuring stops in Boston, Minnesota, Winnipeg, and Buffalo over the next seven days.