It was Hockey Fights Cancer Night in Raleigh on Sunday as the Carolina Hurricanes completed a weekend back-to-back against the St. Louis Blues. Saturday night saw the Canes earn their first shutout of the season and of Spencer Martin's career after making 24 saves against the Ottawa Senators in a 4-0 win. The power play scored twice in the game and Martin Necas extended his point streak to 12 games.
Pyotr Kochetkov was back in the net for the Hurricanes after leaving Wednesday's game in Utah early and being unavailable on Saturday. The rest of the lineup remained the same as Seth Jarvis missed his fourth straight contest. The Blues, who beat the Bruins 3-2 on Saturday during the first half of their back-to-back, countered with Joel Hofer. He was in the net and beat the Canes when they visited St. Louis in October.
With both teams playing on Saturday, the Blues looked like the more rested bunch. The Canes' disjointed start and inability to clear the puck led to the Blues opening the scoring. Jordan Kyrou knocked down Shayne Gostisbehere's clearing attempt and set up Jake Neighbours on the ensuing 2-on-1 to get St. Louis off and running.
It looked like the Canes were going to go into the intermission down a goal until Jackson Blake drew a last-minute holding penalty, giving the top unit a chance to tie it. Martin Necas took the opportunity to extend his point streak early in the night, finding Andrei Svechnikov at the backdoor for a chip-in to steal the momentum away going into the break.
The Hurricanes started the second period much better, taking the lead just 17 seconds into the frame. Dmitry Orlov made a great play to keep a puck in at the blue line before firing a low shot at the net. Hofer kicked it away but the rebound went right to Eric Robinson, who snapped it into the net.
Necas, who earned the secondary helper on Robinson's goal, would be on the receiving end from Robinson later in the period. As the Canes moved the puck up the ice, Robinson dangled the puck through Ryan Suter's legs before dropping it back for Necas, who became the first Hurricane to reach double digits in goals by making it 3-1.
While the Hurricanes were extending their lead, Pyotr Kochetkov was giving the Blues' offense fits. The Canes allowed some excellent chances for the Blues to get back into the game, but they couldn't get anything past Kochetkov. He was catching everything in sight and wasn't allowing many rebound opportunities. The Blues had nearly twice as many shots as the Canes through 40 minutes, but the Canes maintained their two-goal lead.
The third period closer resembled the dominance we've seen from the Canes this season. While the Blues were the team that needed to find offense, Carolina offered little space for them to steal the game back. To cap off the scoring, Necas completed his second four-point game of the campaign, getting some help from the shaft of Suter's stick as his shot fluttered over Hofer's glove. Robinson factored on the goal as well, giving him a three-point night. Kochetkov slammed the door the rest of the way as the Canes finished their weekend with a 4-1 victory.
The legend of Martin Necas continues to grow. With his four points on Sunday, Necas becomes the third player this season to eclipse 30 points, joining Nathan MacKinnon and Kirill Kaprizov. He's also the fastest to 30 points in franchise history, besting Eric Staal during his 100-point season in 2005-06. His 13-game point streak puts him alone in third for the longest streak in Hurricanes history. Should he score in each game during their back-to-back next week, Necas will be alone at the top.
The Hurricanes received excellent goaltending from both Spencer Martin and Pyotr Kochetkov this weekend. After Martin's shutout on Saturday and with Kochetkov dealing with an injury, I half expected to see Martin go in this game, too. Instead, Kochetkov started and was a major difference-maker. When the team started flatly, Kochetkov was there to bail them out. It was a nice return to form after having his win streak snapped in Utah.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes are hitting the road for another three-game trip, but they won't have to go as far this time. The next three games will be against the Metropolitan Division, beginning with the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. They'll turn around and play the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night to complete the back-to-back before visiting Columbus for the first time this season next Saturday.