Carolina Hurricanes Season in Review: Top 10 Moments from the 2023-24 Season
There was no shortage of incredible moments over the last seven months for the Carolina Hurricanes, between jaw-dropping saves and clutch goals.
Honorable Mentions
There were so many great moments from this season that some needed to be left out of the Top Ten. First, there's Andrei Svechnikov's first goal of the season. It's not just about it being his first since returning from his injury, but it came as the Canes erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat Columbus 3-2. Next is the debut performance of Vasily Ponomarev against Washington. This would probably mean a little more if he hadn't been traded to Pittsburgh in the Jake Guentzel deal, but a two-point performance in your first game is pretty cool.
Right before the team entered the All-Star Break, they were stuck in a battle with the Arizona Coyotes. Connor Ingram had kept the Canes in check for most of the night, but Dmitry Orlov's snipe in the final seconds helped to earn a huge win going into the holiday. The trade deadline was a very exciting one for Carolina and they almost immediately reaped the benefits. It didn't take long for Evgeny Kuznetsov to pull out his eagle celebration, beating Sergei Bobrovsky for his first as a Hurricane. Lastly, we move to the season finale in Game 6 against the Rangers. While the season ended poorly, it wasn't without Jordan Martinook making a goal-saving play to take the puck off the line.
10. The Kuzy Crawl Captivates Raleigh (April 30 vs. New York)
The trade for Evgeny Kuznetsov felt like it was made for moments like this. Kuznetsov's playoff pedigree shone brightly, but no moment was bigger than his penalty shot in Game 5 against the Islanders. Known for moving at a snail's pace during shootout opportunities, Kuznetsov had two prior chances to pull off the move in shootouts after being traded to Carolina, missing on both chances.
After an Islander closed his hand over the puck in the crease, Kuznetsov was chosen to try and extend the Canes' lead. Going with his bread and butter, Kuznetsov outwaited Semyon Varlamov, who tried to go for a poke check, snapping it past his blocker to make it 3-1. The roof was nearly blown off PNC Arena when the puck entered the net, helping the Hurricanes eventually finish the Islanders in five games to advance.
9. Necas Makes it Look Natural (February 8 vs. Colorado)
Martin Necas had an incredible 2022-23 season, leading the team in points. It's no surprise that things weren't as solid this season, but his 2023-24 campaign did feature his first NHL hat trick. Not only did Necas score three times, he scored the first three goals of the game against the Colorado Avalanche, needing just 16:51 to get the job done.
It started in the first two minutes of the contest. Alexandar Georgiev got most of Necas' shot, but not enough to keep it out. His second goal was a one-time clapper from the slot after a beautiful pass from Brent Burns. To finish it off, Necas buried a pass at the side of the net from Teuvo Teravainen, who himself had four assists in the game, to put the Canes up 3-0. The end of the first period was a little weird, but Carolina managed to finish with a 5-2 victory.
8. A Fitting End to Whalers Night (February 10 vs. New Jersey)
There's a small percentage of the population who don't appreciate it when the Hurricanes sport Hartford's colors and logo for Whalers Night. That percentage of people is incorrect, especially when it gives us games like this. The organization goes all out to bring back the nostalgia while the new era of Hurricanes provides the spectacle on the ice.
For this encounter with the New Jersey Devils, Pyotr Kochetkov and Vitek Vanecek went to war. Through 60 minutes, neither team could solve the opposite side's goalie, giving us a 0-0 game going into overtime. During the extra session, the winner came courtesy of Sebastian Aho's baseball skills. Vanecek kicked out Martin Necas' initial chance, but Aho was there to knock the rebound out of mid-air to win the game 1-0. It was a fitting end to a night worth celebrating.
7. Mr. Andersen Takes One Away (April 12 at St. Louis)
With the season winding down, the Hurricanes were locked into their spot in the postseason, meaning it was time for them to start resting their guys. With three games left, Frederik Andersen took the net for what would likely be his last start of the regular season. Little did we know that it would provide us with a Save of the Year candidate.
The victim on this occasion was Zach Dean, a rookie with just a few games under his belt. Being held without a point in his first six games, Dean looked to have a golden opportunity with Andersen down and out after making a stop on his initial chance. Instead, Andersen reached back to rob Dean with an open net with his glove. What was a certain goal turned into a highlight reel stop in what became a 5-2 win for the Canes over the Blues.
6. The Comeback Canes Strike in the Playoffs (April 22 vs. New York)
The Carolina Hurricanes have developed a knack for completing incredible comebacks in the regular season. Historically, they've done a decent job of doing the same in the postseason, too. Game 2 against the Islanders didn't start on the best foot, with the Canes allowing three goals to New York in the first 24 minutes of the game. It turns out that the Canes were just playing with their food.
Teuvo Teravainen kickstarted the comeback late in the second period, and Seth Jarvis brought them within on midway through the third. The real mayhem came with Frederik Andersen on the bench in the final three minutes. Sebastian Aho tipped home a slap pass from Andrei Svechnikov before Jordan Martinook gave Carolina the lead nine seconds later. An empty-net goal by Jake Guentzel was the icing on the cake, completing an improbable comeback to take a 2-0 series lead.
5. Jake & Bake North of the Border (March 16 at Toronto)
The biggest move of the trade deadline across the entire league was the Hurricanes' acquisition of Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. He almost immediately fit in with the Canes, but his first big moment came north of the border. The sequence that preceded his moment was already chaotic, with Sebastian Aho scoring twice in the final 92 seconds to erase a two-goal deficit and force overtime.
Guentzel was bailed out by Pyotr Kochetkov and the penalty kill in overtime after he was called for high sticking. He was given his chance at redemption in the third round of the shootout. Guentzel put the moves on Ilya Samsonov before sliding the puck through his pads to complete the 5-4 comeback victory over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. It helped set in motion what was an excellent stretch run for Guentzel as a Hurricane.
4. Kochetkov Turns the Season Around (December 12 at Ottawa)
The Carolina Hurricanes were at rock bottom when they visited Canada's capital in mid-December. They were coming off four straight regulation losses in Western Canada and things were looking bleak. On this night in Ottawa, Pyotr Kochetkov put the team on his back to snap the streak. In the first two periods, Kochetkov made a pair of incredible stops on Mathieu Joseph and Drake Batherson to help keep the Canes ahead after 40 minutes.
While those stops were incredible, the moment we'd all remember from this night came in the third period when Brady Tkachuk earned a penalty shot after Kochetkov was accused of throwing his stick. Tkachuk put his head down long enough for Kochetkov to come flying at him with a poke check, sending Tkachuk into the boards. The Ottawa captain got up in Kochetkov's face, and the Canes' goalie didn't back down. Carolina's 4-1 win turned their season around, with Kochetkov playing a major part in the story.
3. The Svech is Back and Better Than Ever (April 9 at Boston)
No matter who pulls off the lacrosse move in the NHL, there will always and forever be one man who did it first. Not only was Andrei Svechnikov to pull it off, he was the first to do it twice. It had been a while since he successfully pulled off the move in a game, but he reached into his bag of tricks in Beantown late in the season.
Svechnikov's third career lacrosse goal was so smooth that it didn't even look like it went into the net. In a scoreless tie in the second period, Svechnikov swooped around and threw the puck in off the back bar, though no one else seemed to think it was in. Play continued for the next little bit before the horn sounded to confirm that Svechnikov had, in fact, scored. The goal set the tone for the Hurricanes' 4-1 victory, picking up their 50th win of the season in the process.
2. Martinook Does it for the Moms (January 24 at Boston)
It is always a special time when the team brings the moms or dads with them for a road trip. This meeting with the Bruins was made a little more special with the debut of Spencer Martin after being claimed off waivers. Through two periods, Martin had been phenomenal, but two goals by Boston early in the third period had the Canes and Bruins tied 2-2.
Late in the game, Jordan Martinook got loose on a breakaway. He didn't quite hit his spot, but Martinook's shot had enough momentum behind it to sneak over the goal line past Linus Ullmark to put the Canes back ahead 3-2. The Canes would go on to win, though the icing on the cake was the post-game interview Martinook and his mom, Wendy, did with the TNT crew after the game. It was a very wholesome way to finish the night before the Canes returned home.
1. Fishy Ends an Instant Classic (February 22 vs. Florida)
After the bitter end to last season at the hands of the Florida Panthers, having them back at PNC Arena opened up some old wounds for the Hurricanes. For 60 minutes, they went to war with one another. Early injuries to Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling put the Panthers short-handed for most of the night, but the incredible performance from Sergei Bobrovsky helped to alleviate some of that pressure.
For as well as Bobrovsky was playing, Pyotr Kochetkov was going above and beyond to keep the game scoreless. The Panthers had a goal wiped off the board late in the third period after an offside review, allowing the Hurricanes to breathe a sigh of relief. In the final seconds, it was the Canes' All-Star who got it done. Andrei Svechnikov's initial shot was blocked, but Sebastian Aho was there to pick up the rebound, spin, and fire one over Bobrovsky's glove to break the tie with 18.9 seconds left. It cemented a 1-0 win for the Canes over the defending conference champions in one of the most electric games of the season.