The Carolina Hurricanes bounced back from an abysmal first period Friday night in PNC Arena, eventually topping the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in a shootout.
The Canes (6-3-1) fell behind 2-0 in the opening frame but came flying back with three second-period goals to take the Sharks (5-3-2) into overtime. Canes forward Brock McGinn netted the only goal in the shootout, securing two points for Carolina to push the Canes to the top of the Metropolitan Division.
“That’s exciting,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That’s the way hockey should be played, I think. I know there were a lot of mistakes, but I was on the edge of my seat. And I had a pretty good one. The guys just battled hard.”
Canes goaltender Petr Mrazek picked up his third win of the season, stopping 20 of 23 shots faced. On the other end of the ice, Aaron Dell took the loss after saving 38 of Carolina’s 41 shots. In the end, Dell couldn’t stop a nice move on the shootout goal from McGinn.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence,” Mrazek said. “If you’re going to play the right way, like we did in the second period. We outplayed them. If we play this way we are going to have success.”
After a rough first period that saw San Jose net two goals, defenseman Dougie Hamilton opened the scoring for the Canes less than two minutes into the second period, picking up his first goal in a Carolina uniform. McGinn added a second for the Canes later in the frame, and forward Teuvo Teravainen picked up the third.
“We just came in here and regrouped,” McGinn said. “We knew that wasn’t our best period out there in the first. We just wanted to go out and play the way that we could. I think in the second period and third period there, we showed the way we can really play.”
Forward Sebastian Aho assisted Teravainen’s game-tying goal, extending his season-opening point streak to 10 games. That mark is a record for the Carolina Hurricanes, and just one game short of Ron Francis’ franchise record set with the Hartford Whalers.
The Sharks took advantage of some Hurricanes mistakes and missed opportunities early. Following a missed open net from Canes forward Jordan Martinook, Sharks forward Antti Suomela netted his first-career goal. Suomela dragged the puck across the front of the net with a defenseman draped on him, backhanding it past Mrazek for the 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, San Jose forward Timo Meier doubled the Sharks lead with a power-play goal. He cleaned up a rebound on a shot from the point from defenseman Brett Burns.
“We just didn’t have our mindset ready going out in the first period there,” McGinn said. “We came in and regrouped as a team and we went out strong in the second.”
The Canes wasted no time in the second period to get back into the game as Hamilton made it 2-1 with his first goal in a Carolina uniform. Forward Micheal Ferland, who was Hamilton’s teammate in Calgary last season, fed Hamilton at the point. Hamilton’s slap shot took a friendly deflection off of Burns to score.
The Sharks answered right back, scoring their second power-play goal on as many chances to make it 3-1. Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin’s attempt to clear the puck from the defensive zone was thwarted, and two crisp passes led to an easy finish for San Jose forward Tomas Hertl at the net.
Midway through the second period, Canes forward Brock McGinn made it a one-goal deficit yet again after an ugly San Jose turnover. Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon couldn’t control a pass behind the net, and the puck made its way to McGinn with Dell scrambling to get back in goal. McGinn slotted it into the empty net for his first goal of the season.
“[McGinn’s] been good all year,” Brind’Amour said. “He just keeps plugging away.”
Carolina tied it at 3-3 with just under five minutes left in the second period, thanks in part to another bad giveaway from San Jose. Kane made a receiver-less pass across the Sharks defensive zone, straight to the stick of Canes forward Sebastian Aho.
Aho fed a pass to Teravainen, who wristed from the top of the circle past Dell in net to tie the game. It was Teravainen’s first goal since Oct. 7, and got the Canes even with one period left to play.
“This year we know we can outscore teams,” McGinn said. “If we’re down two goals going into the second period, we know we can fight back. We never want to give up on each other in here.”
Neither team scored in the third period, despite a few good chances on both sides. Carolina missed a couple of breakaway opportunities that could have netted the game winner. Martinook made a highlight-reel defensive play early in the period, chasing down a Sharks breakaway with a diving poke check to preserve the tie.
Carolina forward Warren Foegele was electric in the overtime period, creating chance after chance for the Canes. Foegele couldn’t find the back of the net despite his best efforts, as the game went to a shootout. San Jose failed to convert on any of its three shots, as McGinn sent the Canes home with a win after making Carolina’s second attempt.
The Hurricanes will get one day off before hosting the New York Islanders in PNC Arena on Sunday.
“We’ve just got to keep this confidence going,” McGinn said. “If we can build on this win here we can carry it into the next one.”
