The Carolina Hurricanes fell 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks in overtime Friday night at PNC Arena, bringing their season-high, four-game winning streak to a halt.
The Hurricanes (20-18-8) outplayed the Canucks (18-17-10) offensively for much of the second and third periods but ran into a brick wall, Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who turned away 38 of 40 shots on net.
Despite a sloppy start, the Hurricanes held serve with the Canucks until about seven minutes left in the opening frame when a Carolina mistake proved costly.
Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin turned the puck over in the neutral zone to Canucks defenseman Linden Vey, who rushed down the ice and beat Carolina netminder Cam Ward stick side for his first goal of the season.
“We were off [in the first period],” Carolina head coach Bill Peters said. “We got more committed as the game went along. We weren’t very committed to doing it right early.”
The 21-year-old Slavin showed the maturity of a veteran, putting the mishap behind him and responding with an assist on forward Kris Versteeg’s game tying, power-play goal in the final two minutes of the first period. Versteeg ripped a slap shot on net while Carolina forward Victor Rask skated in front of Markstrom, obstructing his view of the shot.
The Canes were given a golden opportunity to take the lead when Canucks forward Jake Virtanen received a double minor high sticking penalty in the final minute of the first period, but they ultimately couldn’t convert on the four-minute power play.
Carolina outplayed Vancouver for the vast majority of the second period, hemming the Canucks in their defensive zone and outshooting them 18-5, yet headed to the locker room down 2-1 where it counts. Vancouver forward Bo Horvat fired a laser over the glove of Ward to give the Canucks the lead after two periods of play.
“There were times in the game where we might have had a little lull and got a little sleepy,” Canes alternate captain Jordan Staal said. “Throughout the second and third, we got our legs going and started playing the way we know we can play.”
After putting relentless offensive pressure on the Canucks, the Canes were finally rewarded for their effort, as defenseman John-Michael Liles scored with 2:10 left in regulation. Liles threw the puck on net from a sharp angle, and the puck bounced off of a Vancouver defenseman and into the back of the net.
Horvat ended the game in overtime, scoring his second goal of the night and eighth of the season — four of which have come in two games against Carolina — to secure a 3-2 Vancouver victory.
“I’m glad we got the point [in the standings],” Peters said. “I’m glad we stuck with it and were able to find a way to get a point in a night where you don’t play a complete game.”
