The trade deadline is in the rearview mirror as the Carolina Hurricanes turn their attention to the future. The Canes continued their four-game homestand by welcoming the league-leading Winnipeg Jets to town. The homestand began Thursday with a lucky victory over the Bruins, catching a break when Nikita Zadorov's stick snapped and Seth Jarvis scored the game-winner with 18.6 seconds left.
Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski made their Hurricanes debuts just two days after being acquired. Additionally, Scott Morrow re-entered the lineup as Dmitry Orlov missed his second straight game. Frederik Andersen was between the pipes after last beating Detroit on Tuesday. Connor Hellebuyck started for the Jets, looking to improve on his league-leading numbers.
The Canes' start was rather inauspicious. Winnipeg had the better of the play early before penalties started to become the story. Carolina looked awful on its first power play before drawing a four-minute opportunity that looked better but was shortened by Andrei Svechnikov's second penalty of the period. Both sides looked destined to enter the intermission scoreless.
Instead, one of the new guys took his shot. Mark Jankowski made a good play just inside his blue line before flying up the ice. Scott Morrow saw him streaking, hitting him in stride to enter the zone. Jankowski fooled Hellebuyck with a wrister over his glove to break the ice with under two minutes left. It was a wicked shot that quickly endeared him to the crowd and earned Morrow his first point.
Do you know what will make the fans love you even more? Scoring twice in your debut. Jankowski was on the spot once again, doubling the lead early in the second. Eric Robinson and Jack Roslovic did a great job of working the puck to the front of the net before Jankowski won a battle in the crease to poke home a rebound.
Winnipeg thought they got one back less than a minute later after Cole Perfetti deflected Dylan Samberg's shot past Andersen. However, a quick league review determined his stick was too high, wiping the goal off the board. Andersen was perfect the rest of the period, making a few massive stops to keep the Jets from swiping any momentum as the Canes led 2-0 after 40 minutes.
Early in the third period, the Canes' power play would work for the fifth time. This time, Logan Stankoven joined the fun. Parked in front of the net, Stankoven perfectly redirected Shayne Gostisbehere's point shot past Hellebuyck to extend the lead. It added another layer to an already incredible night.
Alex Iafallo threw one from along the boards past an unsuspecting Andersen to break the shutout and give the Jets late life. Seth Jarvis wasted little time finding the empty net once Hellebuyck made it to the bench, again, scoring his 25th goal to restore the three-goal lead. Andersen gift-wrapped a goal for Adam Lowry in the final minute, but it wouldn't haunt the group as they beat the Jets, 4-2.
It's hard to script a better first night for both Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski. They outscored the Winnipeg Jets by themselves. We had an idea of what Stankoven would bring to the table, but Jankowski blew me away. While he played less than ten minutes, Jankowski was used in every situation, even getting power-play time late with two goals. I think these new guys will be alright.
If you eliminate the last three minutes of the game, Frederik Andersen was incredible. He gifted Winnipeg two late goals but was stopping everything before then. He had three or four game-altering saves while it was close, including a massive glove stop on Kyle Connor and a breakaway stop against Perfetti. It got a little hairy late, though it hardly overshadows Andersen's night.
The biggest area that helped the Canes beat the Jets was their penalty kill. With how poorly their power play looked through two periods, the Canes couldn't afford to let the Jets capitalize on their power plays. After allowing two goals to the Jets' power play in February, the Canes' penalty kill was perfect on Sunday, stopping all three Jets' chances. The first two passed without a shot against.
After everything that has been said about the Canes in the last 48 hours, this felt like a return to normalcy for the group. You could feel the difference. Thursday's win was not Hurricanes hockey, despite the positive result. With no more distractions and outside noise, this was the type of game the Canes needed. They've now won four in a row, matching their longest win streak in over a month.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Lenovo Center on Tuesday night to conclude the season series. The homestand ends on Friday night as the Canes face the Red Wings for the second time in ten days. This will be the first half of a back-to-back that ends with a trip to Philadelphia on Saturday.