The Carolina Hurricanes Get Goalied by Karel Vejmelka as the First Trip to Salt Lake City Ends in Defeat

After dominating their way through Sin City, the Carolina Hurricanes aimed to finish their road trip with their first-ever win in Salt Lake City. The Canes jumped on the Golden Knights early, chasing Adin Hill from the game en route to a 5-2 victory. Facing a team without a nickname, they hoped for a sweet victory to end a successful road trip.

The Hurricanes rolled the same lines from Monday night's win, meaning Seth Jarvis would miss his second straight game with a shoulder injury. Pyotr Kochetkov made his tenth start after stopping 30 shots against Vegas. The Hockey Club countered with Karel Vejmelka, who tends to be a "feast or famine" goalie when facing the Canes.

Utah came out with a few good chances early in the first period, but the Hurricanes controlled most of the play during the opening frame. Momentum began to swing back in Utah's favor after an unsuccessful power play and it was a bad bounce that would lead them to the first goal. Nick Bjugstad jumped on a puck that took an interesting journey off a stanchion, lifting it over Kochetkov's glove to score the lone marker of the period.

The second period was all Carolina. However, for all of their chances, they only managed one goal. It came midway through the period on the power play as Martin Necas blasted a one-timer past Vejmelka to extend his point streak to 11 games. Shayne Gostisbehere also deserves credit for a fake that drew all the attention away from Necas in the dot.

Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, that would be the last fun moment they would experience in Utah. The Hockey Club scored three times in just over two minutes in the third period to stretch their lead to 4-1. On the second goal, scored by Jack McBain, Kochetkov stayed down in visible discomfort but remained in the game. After Mikhail Sergachev made it 3-1, Kochetkov was pulled for Spencer Martin. Bjugstad promptly scored his second of the night after Martin was thrown right into the deep end and asked to survive.

The moment of the night that will leave everyone talking came when Michael Carcone laid a hit on Tyson Jost. Jack Drury took exception to the hit, having words for Carcone and giving him a tap with his stick. Instead of handling it like an adult, Carcone jumped Drury, throwing several punches to an unsuspecting Drury, who hardly had time to get his gloves off. While Carcone took it as an opportunity to get the crowd hyped, he was told to hit the showers, earning 17 minutes in penalties, including a game misconduct.

The incident gave the Hurricanes a rare seven-minute power play, five of which would be major time, meaning they could score as much as they wanted. With this opportunity to get back into the game, the Hurricanes got nothing. They even had 34 seconds of 5-on-3 time that came near the end of the major penalty that passed without making a dent in the deficit. Utah bore down, sacrificed their bodies to kill the penalties, and ended the night with a well-earned 4-1 win over the Canes.

Karel Vejmelka was unbelievable. It was one of the best goaltending performances I can recall against the Hurricanes in a few years. The closest comparison I have is Juuse Saros' 64-save game in Max Pacioretty's debut two seasons ago, though I'm certain there have been plenty since then. The Canes should've scored at least five or six goals with the number of looks they had. Vejmelka ended the night with 49 stops, setting a new career high and earning a standing ovation from the home crowd.

For a team that is now 11-4-0, this feels like a gut-check moment for the Carolina Hurricanes. Everything had been sunshine and rainbows through 14 games. Along with Seth Jarvis' shoulder, we now have to be concerned about whether Pyotr Kochetkov seriously hurt himself or if his yanking in Utah was purely precautionary. He clearly aggravated something in his right leg trying to stop McBain's chance, and Sean Walker colliding with him didn't help matters.

It also might be time to shake things up on the power play. While they converted on their first attempt in the second period, not scoring on a seven-minute man advantage is egregious. Utah did block a lot of shots and Vejmelka was a brick wall, it is starting to become a concerning trend. The power play has largely gone cold in November, with Necas' goal being only the second on the power play this month. They've had their chances. In Utah, it was a major factor in their loss.

As frustrating as this loss might be, I strongly urge every Caniac to keep a level head. The sky isn't falling yet. Potentially losing another goalie could be an issue, but it's not cause to throw in the towel this early in the season. This is merely a bump in the road. We'll wake up on Thursday morning, the sun will come up, and the Carolina Hurricanes will still be a very good hockey team.

Up Next: The Hurricanes will return home for a weekend back-to-back at the Lenovo Center. Saturday night in Raleighwood, the Canes will host the Ottawa Senators before regrouping less than 24 hours later to welcome the St. Louis Blues. The home cooking will be short-lived as they turn around and play their next three on the road.