The Carolina Hurricanes dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night to begin their six-game road trip. The Canes held Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in check for 60 minutes, earning a 4-1 victory. The next stop on the journey saw the Canes in St. Louis to battle the Blues less than 24 hours later.
Pyotr Kochetkov was between the pipes for the Hurricanes after Frederik Andersen was magnificent on Friday night. The rest of the lineup remained intact in front of him. Joel Hofer started for the Blues after pitching a 34-save shutout and assisting on the game-winning goal on Thursday night in St. Louis' 1-0 overtime win against the Islanders.
If there were concerns about the Hurricanes being tired after Friday's game and travel, they were immediately alleviated. The top line connected for a beautiful goal less than 90 seconds into the contest after Sebastian Aho dropped a perfect pass to Andrei Svechnikov at the side of the net to get the Canes started. Almost the entirety of the period was spent in St. Louis' end, with the Canes outshooting the Blues 19-4 while holding their one-goal lead at the break.
All it took was a little crack to start showing for the Blues to work their way back into the game. While the Hurricanes successfully killed two Shayne Gostisbehere penalties, St. Louis began generating a lot of offense. Kochetkov did his best to keep the Blues out of the net, but the dam eventually broke.
During a 3:09 span in the middle frame, the Blues struck the right chord three times. The Joseph brothers partnered for the first St. Louis goal after Pierre-Olivier provided the secondary helper on Mathieu's goal in the slot. Jake Neighbours put the Blues ahead 73 seconds later, snapping a shot from the right dot upstairs on Kochetkov. Then, Dylan Holloway went between his legs to get the shot through Kochetkov's arm before tapping home the rebound to complete the trifecta.
The Hurricanes, knowing they were in a tough spot, came out in the third period and immediately retook control. An early power play yielded positive results. Gostisbehere extended his goal streak to three games by snapping a wrister through traffic and past Hofer to cut the deficit to one. Jack Roslovic started his goal streak 1:18 later, slapping a shot through Hofer's pads to stun the crowd and tie the game.
As soon as the Canes had tied the game, the Blues took the lead back. Martin Necas fumbled a puck in the neutral zone, allowing Kasperi Kapanen to swoop in, work around the Canes' defense, and beat Kochetkov to make it 4-3. This unfortunate sequence would be the backbreaker. Hofer would close the door on the Canes the rest of the way, preserving the lead and handing the Canes their first loss of the trip.
The Canes deserved better than what the final score indicates. The way they hemmed the Blues in their zone for the majority of the first period was surgical. However, things slowly started to unravel in the second period. It felt like it was only a matter of time before the Blues found something in the second. Their power play allowed them to slowly creep back into it, leading to their three-goal outburst.
This was the type of game we needed to see from the Hurricanes' top line. Aho, Svechnikov, and Jarvis combined for a goal and four assists, with Aho and Svechnikov finishing the night with two points each. They also accounted for 16 of the team's 40 shots, led by Svechnikov's eight. The trio, with Gostisbehere, were the team's biggest threats offensively, coming close a few times to tying the game late.
The Hurricanes' health will be something to watch before they take the ice on Tuesday in Edmonton. Dmitry Orlov, Brent Burns, and Andrei Svechnikov each were on the ice a little longer than we'd like them to be during the third period. While all three stayed in the game, it made for some uncomfortable moments. Burns' blocked shot off the side of his neck was especially tough to watch.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will look to rebound against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. The Oilers have gotten off to a slow start after winning the Campbell Bowl last season. After Edmonton, the Canes will complete their Alberta tour on Thursday against the Calgary Flames, who have been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Battles in Seattle and Vancouver will conclude the trip next Saturday and Monday.