For the second time in eight days, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers met in Pennsylvania. When they last met last Saturday, the Canes emerged victorious, earning their first win and kicking off a four-game win streak. Last night, they thumped the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2. Meanwhile, the Flyers were still looking for their first win of the season.
After initially anticipating the same lines as last night, the team announced that captain Jordan Staal would miss tonight's contest with a lower-body injury. This brought Nicolas Deslauriers back into the lineup for the first time since their loss to Washington last Friday night. Pyotr Kochetkov and Joseph Woll battled for the second time this season in a rematch of last weekend's clash.
The opening 20 minutes were incredibly sloppy for both sides. One might attribute it to being the second half of a back-to-back. Neither team looked particularly dangerous on the power play, with the three combined chances yielding next to nothing. Meanwhile, both goalies looked very solid, giving us a scoreless opening frame as the offenses went back to their drawing boards.
We remained scoreless until halfway through the second, when the dam finally erupted. Andrei Svechnikov broke the seal with a snipe off the blocker-side post and in. Sebastian Aho extended his point streak with an all-world pass to Shayne Gostisbehere, doubling the lead. Christian Dvorak got the Flyers on the board, but Aho responded 88 seconds later, giving the Canes a 3-1 lead after two.
The Flyers came out for the third period with a bee in their bonnet, doing everything they could to get back into the fight. The Canes refused to let them. They held onto their two-goal lead for most of the frame before Mark Jankowski realized he had a streak to extend. After Jordan Martinook's chance was blocked, Jankowski put a bow on things, scoring in his fourth straight game to seal a 4-1 win.
The top line brought the group to life in the second period
There might not be a trio on this planet hotter than the Hurricanes' top line. Locked in a scoreless contest midway through the second period, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and William Carrier got the offense rolling. Once the first one went in, they kept going. They were a big part of why the Hurricanes' win streak now sits at five games.
Svechnikov got the night started with his lethal shot to finally crack Joseph Woll's armor, with the help of Sean Walker. He couldn't have placed it any better. Then, Aho put an unreal pass on Shayne Gostisbehere's tape for the second goal, getting his point streak to six games. To cap it off, Aho pulled into a tie for the league lead with his sixth goal. All three forwards finished with two points.
What feels even more important about their recent play is how they're doing it at even strength. Aho and Svechnikov were piling up points on the power play, but that was one area of the Canes' game tonight that was a lowlight. All three of their goals came at 5-on-5, including the all-important bump-up shift after Philadelphia got on the board. Who would've thought that this trio would work so well?
Both goalies are rolling, giving the Canes a good problem to have
Every time I talk about how Pyotr Kochetkov should be the team's starter, Brandon Bussi goes out and turns in a stellar performance. Then, in response to his goalie partner, Kochetkov does the same in his next start. After Bussi looked great against Chicago, Kochetkov was nearly perfect against the Flyers. I'd say it was a pretty good weekend for the Canes' tandem.
As has become customary when he's in the crease, Kochetkov didn't face a ton of rubber tonight. The Flyers managed just 19 shots, one more than they had last Saturday against him, and Kochetkov tied his season high by stopping 18 of them. The one that beat him was a redirection that he stood no chance of stopping. Otherwise, it was smooth sailing.
Through three starts, Kochetkov has allowed just five goals. He has looked the part thus far, giving the team a tough call for Tuesday's game. I don't think there's a wrong choice, especially with three days between games. Regardless of who gets the nod, this is a pretty good problem for the Canes to have. They love deploying their tandem evenly, so it's a good sign when both are finding ways to win.
Without the captain, the Canes' centers handled business
Jordan Staal's absence tonight was destined to loom large, even with the captain getting off to a slower start. He's an important piece of the puzzle in every dimension of the team's game. Having him out for the night meant Mark Jankowski would move up to the third line, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi moved from the wing to his natural spot, centering the fourth line. The Canes didn't miss a beat.
The one area they really missed him was on the power play. The Canes were just 1-for-8 in the dot in the offensive zone while on the man advantage. However, they were pretty good at beginning the penalty kill with the puck, going 4-for-6. Jankowski and Aho had down nights in the dot, but Kotkaniemi won 56 percent of his draws, and Logan Stankoven won 80 percent.
It doesn't hurt when Jankowski gets a late goal, extending his goal streak to four games, to go along with Aho's two points. His goal earned Jordan Martinook his 200th point as a Hurricane. Kotkaniemi and the fourth line looked very good, too. We didn't get much of an update on Staal after the game, and while you'd like him back as soon as possible, the standard remains with or without him.
With their fourth straight win on the road, the Hurricanes take their win streak back to Raleigh with them for a rematch with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. It will be the final home game for two weeks before the team hits the road for the next five games as the State Fair rolls into town. This year's journey is their Western Canada tour, beginning Saturday in Winnipeg.
Add us as a preferred source on Google