The Carolina Hurricanes failed to stage a third-period comeback against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, Feb. 12, losing 3-2. The Canes faced a 3-0 deficit not long after the second intermission, but a pair of goals by right wing Andrei Svechnikov wasn’t enough to spark an equalizer.
Despite a scoreless first period, Carolina (32-11-3) went toe-to-toe with Minnesota (29-11-3) for all 60 minutes. A pair of stellar showings by goaltender Frederik Andersen and Wild goalie Cam Talbot tapered the goal-scoring action, but the puck flew up and down the ice for the vast majority of the game.
“It’s a playoff type of feel to the game against a good, physical team, said defenseman Tony DeAngelo. “… I thought we handed them a couple there to push the game to 3-0, but besides that I thought we played a pretty good game. 30-something, almost 40 shots, so we keep playing like that and do it for 60 minutes, I’m not too worried.”
One counterexample of this fast pace of play came midway through the second period when the Wild finally opened the scoring. After Andersen parried away a flurry of chances, Kevin Fiala found a crack in Andersen’s armor and gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
The Canes looked on the verge of a rebound to start the third period, but things got much worse for Carolina before they got better. Kirill Kaprizov and Frederick Gaudreau each added their name to the scoresheet to extend Minnesota’s lead to 3-0. The Canes kept their competitive spirits until the very end, but it was simply a matter of too little, too late.
“At the end of the day you gotta win the games, you gotta find a way,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “When you play a pretty good game and certainly create enough to win, those are tough.”
Despite several stretches of offensive firepower by Carolina, the Hurricanes had trouble beating Talbot. When the Wild weren’t blocking 18 shots, Talbot was nearly unbeatable to the tune of 37 saves.
Despite Talbot’s performance, Svechnikov made a valiant effort to make the game competitive in the dying minutes. A snipe of a goal with just under 15 minutes left in regulation avoided the shutout. Just 1:21 later, Svechnikov struck again on the power play to make it a one-goal game. Even though the Canes didn’t complete the comeback, Svechnikov’s brace kept his team in it until the final buzzer.
“He’s been really good in a lot of games,” Brind’Amour said. “He deserved what he got tonight with the [two] goals, and he probably could have had one right at the end that just missed too. He was all over it tonight. He was good.”
The Hurricanes will get a few days of rest before returning to action in Raleigh on Wednesday, Feb. 16 to take on the Florida Panthers. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
