The Carolina Hurricanes are heading down the final stretch as they entered Chicago on Sunday looking for two more points against the Blackhawks. After extending their win streak to four games on Friday night in St. Louis, the Canes tried to remain engaged against a Blackhawks team trying to get a win in their home finale.
Pyotr Kochetkov took his turn in the rotation on Sunday, playing for the first time since his outstanding performance in Boston on Tuesday night. Three of the four regulars who missed Friday's game were back in the lineup, with Teuvo Teravainen missing his second straight game. Brady Skjei would also get the night off, as Tony DeAngelo remained in the lineup. Chicago turned to former Hurricane Petr Mrazek. He was looking to bounce back after allowing three goals on three shots in his last start on Wednesday against St. Louis.
The game was wide open to start, with both sides getting excellent chances to break the ice. The Blackhawks were unsuccessful on a power play, though they came dangerously close on a rebound chance. Martin Necas somehow wasn't able to finish a wrap-around, and Jack Drury fanned on the rebound chance with an open net. That whiff would prove costly.
Shortly after that flurry, Seth Jones sprung Frank Nazar on a breakaway. Having just signed with the Blackhawks on Saturday, Nazar buried his first shot past Pyotr Kochetkov to open the scoring a little over halfway through the period. The Hurricanes would go on to outshoot the Blackhawks 9-2 in the period, but Chicago would lead 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The Hurricanes came out much hotter to start the second period, and it would allow them to draw even. Jordan Staal appeared to be shooting for a rebound, but the rebound came right back to him. The captain flicked his second chance past Petr Mrazek just over four minutes into the period to tie it up. Both teams would get chances to get ahead, but neither goalie broke. As Mrazek and Pyotr Kochetkov stood tall, the two sides entered the third period with the game tied at one.
Andreas Athanasiou was all over the early portion of the third period. First, he scored on a rebound opportunity less than two minutes into the period to pull Chicago back ahead. Then, Athanasiou was the victim of a Pyotr Kochetkov poke check, only to draw a tripping penalty from the Canes' netminder. Finally, he blew a tire and ended up in Kochetkov's net, and he was slow to get back to the bench. All of that happened in the first five minutes of the period.
After killing their third penalty of the night, the Canes finally got their chance on the power play for the first time after Alex Vlasic was called for interference. It took a lucky bounce, but they would tie things up again. Seth Jarvis' redirection found the back of the net with some help from Chicago's Ethan Del Mastro to extend Jarvis' goal streak to three games. Neither Jake Guentzel nor Brent Burns earned points because it was an own goal, but they deserve some praise for their roles in setting up Jarvis.
The game would remain in the Canes' favor for most of the period, but they weren't having any luck getting another into the net. Seth Jones would cross-check Sebastian Aho into the boards to put the Canes back on the power play. Once again, Jarvis was a menace in front of the net. Brent Burns' clapper was stopped, but the rebound popped to Jarvis with Mrazek out of position for the tap-in and the lead with 3:33 left. Sebastian Aho would put it away late with an empty netter to complete a three-goal period in a 4-2 win.
With his win in Chicago, Pyotr Kochetkov is in a class of his own among rookie goalies in franchise history. Dating back to their inception in Hartford, no goalie has won more games in a rookie season than Pyotr Kochetkov after picking up his 23rd victory of the season against the Blackhawks. The win helps him pass Peter Sidorkiewicz's 22 wins during the 1988-89 season for the honor.
Special teams are the reason the Hurricanes were able to get the job done. The penalty kill was fantastic all night, but their kill in the third period after Chicago took a 2-1 lead is what allowed this to happen. The Canes' kill only allowed two shots on three chances, neither of which was particularly dangerous. It gave way to the Canes' power play, which tied it early before winning it late. It also helped that Connor Bedard was completely taken out of this game by the defense. Bedard played over 20 minutes but didn't record a single shot.
The Staal line had another great game. In St. Louis, it was Jordan Martinook getting the goal. In Chicago, it was Jordan Staal's turn as he reached double digits for the season. Andrei Svechnikov picked up a pair of assists, extending his point streak to four games. Jake Guentzel also added to his streak, recording an assist on the empty-net goal to reach eight straight games with at least a point.
The stakes going into the final game will be made crystal clear for the Hurricanes once the New York Rangers play on Monday against the Ottawa Senators. With just one point separating the two division rivals, all the Canes have to do is tie the Rangers to win the division. If the Rangers lose in any fashion on Monday and the Canes beat Columbus on Tuesday, the division will be theirs once again. If the Rangers win on Monday, it will lock Carolina into second as they await their potential matchup with the third-place team in the division.