The Carolina Hurricanes slugged out a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in the SAP Center on Friday, Oct. 14.
It was one of those games where both teams played very well but one of them had to lose. Fortunately for Carolina (2-0-0), center Sebastian Aho secured the win with a go-ahead goal in the final two minutes, redirecting a puck from defenseman Brett Pesce into the Sharks (0-3-0) net.
“You know how we’re gonna play and we just keep playing our game,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “… I thought we were playing okay, not great in the first and then in the second and third we got right to our game. We got rewarded for a pretty good effort.”
The game featured several storylines on and off the ice, but chief among them was the amount of players who sported the opposing sweater in prior seasons. Defenseman Brent Burns spent 11 years in San Jose before getting traded to Carolina. That deal also sent Sharks center Steven Lorentz from Raleigh to San Jose. Sharks goalie James Reimer also spent two seasons in Carolina from 2019-21.
Burns’ departure from San Jose, where he spent 11 seasons, earned three All-Star selections, played in the 2015-16 Stanley Cup Finals and won the Norris Trophy in 2016-17, warranted a pre-game ceremony to honor the long-time Shark.
“It’s a great group of guys over there, it’s definitely tough,” Burns said. “That’s the hardest part is to leave those people. It’s exciting as an older guy, it’s been good. I’ve said it before, but you get a fresh boost of energy and nerves and that part of it’s good, but it’s always hard to come back.”
The sibling rivalry between right wing Andrei Svechnikov and Sharks left wing Evgeny Svechnikov also found its way to the spotlight. Evgeny netted the game’s first score late in the first period by catching the Hurricanes off guard during a line, sending San Jose into the first intermission with the lead. Andrei had the last laugh, however, as he assisted center Martin Nečas for Carolina’s first goal.
Nečas, for his part, continued his hot streak to start the season. Outside of his second goal in as many games, Nečas looked electric on the ice even when everyone else was slow to get going.
“Now he’s just gotta keep doing that,” Brind’Amour said. “This is what we knew about that he had this capability. It’s two games, but it’s a pretty impressive two games.”
Though the Canes emerged victorious, Reimer went toe to toe with goaltender Antti Raanta and the Canes all night before Aho scored the difference-maker. Even though Carolina outshot San Jose 35-19 across the 60, Reimer stood tall while his defense eased the burden by blocking 22 shots. On the other end, Raanta stepped up in the clutch by making several key saves down the stretch.
“He didn’t have a lot of work, and then when he did all of a sudden he was huge,” Brind’Amour said. “There was one penalty kill where he made two or three grade-A’s and at the end of the game came up with a couple of big ones. You gotta have that, that’s what it takes.”
Carolina will look to convert its early run of form into three straight wins when it travels to Seattle on Monday, Oct. 17 to take on the Kraken. Puck drops at 10 p.m.
