It took later than we would've liked, but the Carolina Hurricanes began their four-game homestand on Tuesday night with a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Jalen Chatfield broke a 2-2 tie with less than three minutes remaining to put the Canes ahead as they held on. Their second visitors were the Ottawa Senators, who looked for better fortune than their last visit in November.
Pyotr Kochetkov made his fifth straight start, getting two days of rest between appearances after backstopping the win over San Jose. Tyson Jost drew back into the lineup with Jack Drury undergoing successful hand surgery on Thursday. The Senators countered with Linus Ullmark, the former Vezina winner who Ottawa acquired from Boston during the offseason.
The first period was a fun back-and-forth frame for both sides. The Canes had a pair of power-play opportunities that looked wholly disjointed, never finding much room to operate and formulate a threat toward Ullmark and the Senators' kill. The second half of the period was much better, with more sustained pressure.
The best chance of the period came on a redirection from Seth Jarvis. Brent Burns aimed his pass perfectly for Jarvis' stick, which launched the puck toward the top corner. Unfortunately, Ullmark got his blocker on it, sending it high. Shayne Gostisbehere, who had a solid night all-around, made Shane Pinto look silly late in the period. A gorgeous fake sent Pinto into a split as Gostisbehere walked the line. Little did we know that Pinto would get the last laugh.
Good pressure and a failure to clear the puck allowed the Senators to break the ice early in the second period. Eric Robinson's clearing attempt hit Nick Jensen, sending the puck to the front of the net for Michael Amadio. Pinto, alone in the slot, received the pass and snapped it past Kochetkov less than five minutes in, giving the Senators the advantage.
Once again, the Hurricanes had numerous great chances to tie the game, but nothing was getting past Ullmark. Meanwhile, Kochetkov was doing everything in his power to keep the game 1-0. With Ottawa on the power play, Kochetkov made a good save on Tim Stutzle before making an even better stop with his outstretched pad on Drake Batherson, robbing him of an easy goal.
While the Canes entered the third period down a goal, it never felt like they found the same energy from the first two periods. Skaters can't be credited with saves, but Jaccob Slavin deserves one after robbing Noah Gregor with an empty net. The Canes' penalty kill came up with a massive kill to keep it a one-goal game, but Nick Jensen scored the dagger shortly after it ended. With Kochetkov on the bench, the Canes couldn't generate a thing, giving up an empty-net goal to Pinto to end the game 3-0 for the bad guys.
The same five Senators were on the ice for all three goals. Shane Pinto scored twice. Nick Jensen had a goal and an assist. Michael Amadio and Nick Cousins had two assists each. Thomas Chabot was also there. None of those guys are the stars of this team, yet the Canes couldn't stop them. Brady Tkachuk had two shots. Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson had the one aforementioned chance. I honestly forgot Claude Giroux was on this team. Instead, Carolina was outworked by a different forward group, while their own stars struck out.
I don't want that to undermine the job Linus Ullmark did keeping the Canes off the board. The group in front of him did an excellent job of blocking the Canes' shots. When the puck did get through, Ullmark rarely had to fight around bodies to see it. He was in the right place at the right time all night, allowing him to pitch the shutout.
Pyotr Kochetkov deserved better than what the group gave him in the third period. He did an excellent job of keeping the Hurricanes in the game, especially when Ottawa pressed to extend their lead in the second. Sure, I would've loved a stop on Jensen's goal after the penalty kill did a great job, but it wouldn't have mattered with how little the offense generated once he was on the bench.
Up Next: The next chance for the team to get their season back on track comes Sunday night with the Columbus Blue Jackets in town. The Canes will hope for a better outcome after dropping a shootout decision to Columbus in November. To conclude the homestand, the New York Islanders will be in town on Tuesday night.