The Carolina Hurricanes closed their short stay in Raleigh on Thursday night, welcoming the St. Louis Blues. The mini two-game homestand began with a thrilling 5-4 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. This occasion was made even more special by some of the players' mothers being in attendance, ahead of the team's biennial Mom's Trip this weekend.
Brandon Bussi had his nine-game winning streak snapped during the final stop of the team's road trip last Saturday night. He'll have the same group in front of him as he looks to get back on the right track after three subpar outings, by his standards. The Blues countered with Jordan Binnington as St. Louis played the first half of a back-to-back.
Outside of a small stretch late in the period, the opening frame was dominated by Carolina. They pressured Binnington almost non-stop. Eventually, they broke the seal. Mark Jankowski put forth an incredible individual effort, intercepting a puck, dangling around a defender, and burying it over Binnington's blocker. The Canes owned a sizeable advantage in shots, but only a 1-0 lead after 20.
The Blues pushed back during the second period. Early on, Jimmy Snuggerud took advantage of a screen to snap a shot from just inside the blue line past Bussi, tying things early. The Canes had two golden chances on the power play to reclaim the lead, but neither looked good at all. While both teams had opportunities, no one broke ahead, sending the game into the third tied at one.
All it took was the slightest amount of daylight for the Blues to eventually get the go-ahead goal. Late in the frame, a pass around the boards eluded Jalen Chatfield's stick. It ended up with Dylan Holloway, who fumbled it to Snuggerud for his second of the night, putting the Blues ahead. With the goalie pulled, Pavel Buchnevich put it away for good, sending the Blues home with a 3-1 victory.
The fourth line has been the Canes' most consistent line
Don't look now, but Mark Jankowski is on another goal streak. He's the only Hurricane to find the scoresheet tonight, which is probably not a sentence you want to say, hear, or read on a nightly basis. Still, his effort to score the goal was spectacular, and it speaks to the growing narrative surrounding the state of the fourth line.
The trio of Jankowski, Eric Robinson, and William Carrier has done some considerable damage over the last few games. While they're playing the fewest minutes of anyone on the team, you notice them positively almost every time they're on the ice. On one hand, that's exactly what you want from your fourth line. On the other hand, you need the rest of your team to follow suit.
It was a rough night for the Canes' best defensive groups
Two of the Blues' goals came from the same line tonight, and the same group of Hurricanes was on the ice for both of them. The Staal line, with Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield, had two bad shifts, and they both ended in goals against. On the first goal, Jordan Martinook does a decent job of forcing Jimmy Snuggerud inside, but Slavin screened Brandon Bussi, who never saw the shot.
On the winning goal, Jordan Staal was a step behind Snuggerud to get to a loose puck before the puck jumped over Chatfield's stick. Once again, Staal was far enough off Snuggerud to allow the Blues forward to get his shot off. Obviously, it's one that you would like stopped, but tighter defense might've prevented the chance entirely.
Additional Thoughts
I didn't think Bussi played a bad game. Both goals felt stoppable, though the group around him didn't do much to help things. On a positive note, there was noticeable improvement in his puck handling. He nearly sprung a breakaway on the power play, and there weren't any moments that left the fans holding their collective breaths. It was a step in the right direction, despite consecutive losses.
While they lost the game, it certainly wasn't for a lack of chances. Jordan Binnington was outstanding tonight. Sebastian Aho finished with a game-high seven shots, and he was victimized a few times. Logan Stankoven was too, hitting the post and having the pad flashed against him. It's the second time in a week and a half that a goalie has really stood on their head against the Canes.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes, and their moms, will head to Tampa Bay for a quick trip to Florida on Saturday night. This meeting will conclude the season series between two of the East's best. The Canes have another road test in Columbus on Tuesday night, beginning a divisional back-to-back that concludes in Raleigh against the Penguins on Wednesday.