For the fifth stop of six on their road trip, the Carolina Hurricanes made a quick stop below the border in Seattle to face the Kraken. The Canes entered the night having won three of their four games on the trip, including back-to-back wins in Alberta over Edmonton and Calgary on Tuesday and Thursday.
The Hurricanes dressed the same 18 skaters for the seventh straight game to open the season. Frederik Andersen took his turn in the rotation, looking to extend his win streak to three games. Joey Daccord took the net for the Kraken, who were looking to snap their short two-game losing streak to close their five-game homestand.
The start was a tad rusty for the Hurricanes, but the power play would get an early chance to turn the tides in their favor. Martin Necas, adding to his incredible road trip, made an excellent pass to Andrei Svechnikov on the wing, who snapped it past a sprawling Daccord less than five minutes into the contest. Outside of a Seattle power play opportunity, the rest of the period was controlled by the Canes, though the lead remained 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The second period started to feel like deja vu. The Hurricanes continued to dominate the Kraken, but the puck wasn't finding the back of the net. Some of that was Daccord. Some of it was the Kraken defense putting their bodies on the line. Some of it was bad luck. The longer the game went with the score still 1-0, the more it felt like the Kraken were one shot away from doing the same thing the Blues did last Saturday.
Fortunately, the Hurricanes' fourth line gave the Hurricanes some breathing room late in the frame. After being snake-bitten through six games, Jack Drury finally found the back of the net, courtesy of a beautiful pass from Jackson Blake for his first NHL assist. Along with a clutch breakaway save on Jared McCann at the end of the period, the Canes went into the third period with a two-goal lead.
McCann would get the better of Andersen midway through the third period to force the Caniacs still awake on the East Coast to hold their collective breaths. As Saturday turned to Sunday, Seth Jarvis allowed everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. Knocking down Jordan Martinook's pass in the neutral zone, Jarvis made Daccord look silly to bury a breakaway goal and restore the two-goal advantage. Dmitry Orlov would seal the deal with an empty-net goal as the Canes handled business in Seattle with a 4-1 victory.
This rivals the Pittsburgh win for the most complete victory of the road trip. The Hurricanes dominated from the outset, taking the lead early and never looking back. While the power play only scored once on six attempts, the one time they converted kickstarted the scoring. Once again, the penalty kill was perfect, going 3-for-3 to continue its dominance on the road trip. All three zones during all three periods belong to the Hurricanes.
While the top guys had been in charge of the offense during the trip, the bottom six got it done in Seattle. The fourth line was finally rewarded for their hard work, securing what became the game-winning goal, and the Staal line was on the ice for both goals late to put the game away. The first two groups had their chances, and Svechnikov got the power-play tally for the first unit, but it was cool to see the rest of the lineup get their flowers.
The goalie rotation has worked well for the Hurricanes to begin the season. Neither goalie has needed to be overworked on this trip, allowing them to put forth their best efforts each time out. Frederik Andersen has been dynamite. The best word to describe his game continues to be "timely." He wasn't busy for most of the night, facing no more than seven shots in any period on Saturday. Still, Andersen never gave Seattle an inch when they tried to get back into the game early. By the time they did beat him, it was too late.
Up Next: The light at the end of the trip is nearing for the Carolina Hurricanes. There is only one stop remaining. The Canes will close the trip on Monday night in Vancouver against the defending Pacific Division champs. After that, they'll play four straight games at the Lenovo Center, beginning on Halloween against the Boston Bruins.