The Carolina Hurricanes began the new year with one of their best efforts of the season on Thursday, beating the Florida Panthers on the road 3-1 behind a spectacular performance from Pyotr Kochetkov. Defensive partners Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin scored a goal each and Martin Necas scored in his 400th game to secure a wild victory. To begin a weekend back-to-back, the Canes welcomed the Minnesota Wild to the Lenovo Center.
Kochetkov was back in the net against the Wild as Jack Drury returned to the lineup. The center was activated off IR on Friday after missing the last ten games with a hand injury. The Wild countered with likely Vezina contender Filip Gustavsson. Minnesota was without superstar Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon, both of whom are dealing with injuries.
The Minnesota Wild didn't mess around to start the game. They immediately grabbed the puck and spent the first 92 seconds throwing everything they could at Kochetkov. If not for a Joel Eriksson Ek high stick, they likely would've kept going. The high-sticking penalty was a double-minor, giving the Canes a chance to build something. Instead, they spent four minutes doing absolutely nothing. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had the only shot as the Canes wasted a golden opportunity.
Canes killer Mats Zuccarello would get the first goal for the Wild late in the first period. Matt Boldy won a race to the puck against Ty Smith before Marco Rossi set up Zuccarello for a one-timer beyond the right dot that he wired against the grain to beat Kochetkov. The Aho line tried to get the Canes moving to close the period, but Gustavsson made a pair of stops on Seth Jarvis to preserve the 1-0 lead.
The Canes earned another power play early in the second period and while it looked much better, it still couldn't get them going. The penalty kill would jump into action and earn a big kill, but Kochetkov was guilty of a trip after making a stop on Marcus Foligno. On this attempt, the Wild would extend their lead. Eriksson Ek redirected Zuccarello's shot late in the advantage, putting the Canes on their heels midway through the period.
For a second, it looked like the Canes had gotten on the board shortly after the Wild's second goal. Jalen Chatfield's shot was kicked out but hit Declan Chisholm in the back before trickling over the line. Minnesota quickly challenged the play for offside and had the goal wiped off the board. Jackson Blake was trying to change and one of his skates remained on the ice as the Canes entered the zone, preventing them from cutting into the deficit before the intermission.
Instead of coming out like a team trying to complete a comeback, the home team looked just as flat during the third period. Kochetkov made a critical miscalculation, allowing Minnesota to put the game away for good. With Matt Boldy sprung for a breakaway, Kochetkov went for the poke check. Boldy saw it coming and fired the puck into the open net. Ben Jones thought he'd scored his first NHL goal, but the Canes successfully challenged for goalie interference. Zuccarello still found a way to make it 4-0, scoring into the empty net to secure the win for the Wild.
This was a bad game from the Hurricanes, but let's give the Minnesota Wild credit. Minnesota came into the game as the best road team in the league and they set the tone. They took the Caniacs out of the contest early, took the Hurricanes out of the game soon after that, and never let them up to breathe. Without their best player, the trio of Marco Rossi, Mats Zuccarello, and Matt Boldy combined for three goals and ten points.
All credit given, the Hurricanes played easily their worst game of the season on Saturday. Even in their previous two shutouts against Ottawa and Florida, they looked competitive for some portion of the game. Against the Wild, they had absolutely nothing. Gustavsson had to make one or two tough stops, but four shots in a period in which you're only down by two goals is unacceptable.
Pyotr Kochetkov played a good game, all things considered. He made one ill-advised play late to put it out of reach, but the team in front of him hadn't given him a sign that they were going to get back into the game. There wasn't anything he could've done on the other two goals, even if his tripping penalty allowed the second goal to happen.
It should be noted that Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake both played good games, too. Aho was trying to do everything to set his linemates up and he finished with a trio of shots of his own. Blake was all over the ice during the first two periods. While he wasn't credited with a shot, Blake was moving at the speed of light to win battles. He has shown considerable improvement since Christmas.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will need to flush this effort because they'll be back at it on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dustin Tokarski is expected to get the start against his former club. The only road game during the early portion of January will be on Tuesday as the Canes travel to Tampa Bay for their make-up game from early in the season.