The Carolina Hurricanes completed their weekend back-to-back by hosting the San Jose Sharks on Sunday evening at the Lenovo Center. They rolled through their first game of the weekend, getting three-point efforts from Jackson Blake and Nikolaj Ehlers to earn a dominant 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Pyotr Kochetkov returned to the lineup, trying to keep his perfect season going after winning his first four starts. Joel Nystrom was scratched for the first time since being recalled, giving Mike Reilly a chance to play again. The Sharks countered with former Hurricane Alex Nedeljkovic. He started for the Sharks when the Canes visited San Jose in October.
The Sharks spoiled the mood early, with Macklin Celebrini setting up Collin Graf 33 seconds into the contest for an easy tap-in. The Canes pushed to get it back late in the frame on the power play. Jordan Staal redirected Shayne Gostisbehere's shot from the point, keeping his stick below the bar to tie it. San Jose created better chances, but the game stood tied after 20 minutes.
The second period was a very uninspired effort by the Hurricanes, allowing the Sharks to take complete control. Celebrini earned his second helper of the contest by setting John Klingberg for a one-timer in the slot to regain the lead. Then, Alexander Wennberg was in the right spot to lift a rebound home on the power play, doubling the Sharks' lead heading into the second break.
The Canes pushed for something to get back into the game, but they were already too far gone by this point. The middle frame truly sunk them. Even with the lines thrown into a blender to find a spark, they couldn't get anything past Nedeljkovic. Celebrini finished it with an empty-net goal, completing a three-point night as the Sharks earned a big 4-1 road victory in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes used up their energy in the first period
Honestly, even with giving up the first goal on the first shot 33 seconds in, the Hurricanes played a good first period. They fought back to tie it, putting themselves in a good spot at the break. From there it was all downhill. The second period was one of their sloppiest periods to date, and the Sharks made them pay for it.
Th Sharks played an excellent road game, and they found the spots in the second period to put them ahead for good. No one picked up John Klingberg as he infiltrated the diamond on the eventual game winner. Then, Alexander Wennberg was in the perfect spot for a rebound on the power play. San Jose got the bounces the Canes needed but couldn't generate. That's why they won this game.
Kochetkov gave his team every chance to succeed
Pyotr Kochetkov was in the unenviable position of backstopping the group in the second half of a back-to-back. The effort in front of him put him in tough spots. He did his best the bail out the group, but he couldn't be Superman the entire night. Even if you want one of the goals back, either the first of the third, it wouldn't have mattered.
Kochetkov's left pad made two massive stops in the game. The first came right after San Jose made it 3-1, robbing Ty Dellandrea to prevent any further bleeding. The second was early in the third before Alexander Nikishin drew a penalty. To his credit, Kochetkov played just fine. He suffers his first loss of the season, but I can't pin it on him at all.
Additional Thoughts
I, like many, believe the Hurricanes need to stop celebrating milestones and anniversaries because the team almost never plays up to the moment. I can remember losses for both Justin Williams' Hurricanes Hall of Famer induction and Eric Staal's jersey retirement, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Tonight might've been the worst of them all.
If we're going to take any positives from this game, it's that the power play struck again. After two goals last night, Jordan Staal's lone goal for Carolina came on an early power play. They might've finally found their touch. Shayne Gostisbehere earned the primary helper, giving him points in three straight and 14 points in 13 games since returning from injury.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes complete their seven-game homestand on Tuesday night, hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. A win nets them a winning stay, but it hasn't been pretty. The next two will be on the road, beginning in D.C. on Thursday night. Next weekend, the team faces the Philadelphia Flyers in a home-and-home, playing in Philadelphia on Saturday and in Raleigh on Sunday.