At a time when the Carolina Hurricanes were playing their best hockey of the season, a couple of blips against the Detroit Red Wings ended the Canes’ three-game win streak. On two separate occasions, Carolina suffered lapses of concentration, ending in two goals being scored less than 30 seconds apart in what eventually resulted in a 5-3 loss Friday night in Detroit.
Although a loss for the Canes (46-25-4) won’t affect their march towards the playoffs, a full two points for Detroit (35-33-7) will go a long way. The Hurricanes have already clinched a playoff spot — almost guaranteed the No. 2 spot in the Metropolitan — while the Red Wings remain four points out of the second wildcard spot in the East.
The Red Wings find themselves in an eerily similar situation to the end of last season, when the team fought until Game 82 to try and make the playoffs.
Undeterred by what they couldn’t control, the Red Wings came out strong, scoring the opening goal at 9:03 in the first period. On a follow-up to Detroit right wing Alex DeBrincat’s shot off the post, defenseman Ben Chiarot one-timed the rebound past Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov to go up 1-0. Then 26 seconds later, Red Wings center Marco Kasper forced a turnover, which led to him stuffing the puck across the goal line unmarked at the back post for a 2-0 lead.
Nothing he could do on either of the goals, Kochetkov has been on the unfortunate end of some tough team results as of late. In his last four games, starting with a 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, Kochetkov has given up 18 goals. He’s failed to reach a 0.875 save percentage each time.
While many have expected Kochetkov to rise to the occasion and take the starting role come the beginning of the playoffs, he’s falling apart at the worst time. Fellow goaltender Frederik Andersen, on the other hand, looks his best.
Winning seven consecutive starts, Andersen has given up two or fewer goals in his last eight starts. Since March 1, he leads all goaltenders who have played at least six games with a .940 save percentage.
Right wing Jackson Blake continued his hot streak, recording a goal 1:57 into the second period. Center Seth Jarvis stole the puck on a pass from below the goal line and found Blake, who skated into the slot and picked his spot to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Although Blake cut the deficit to one, it wasn’t long before that deficit rose up to three. At 9:05 of the middle frame, Detroit right wing Patrick Kane capitalized on a breakaway opportunity for his 20th of the season for a 3-1 advantage.
Knocked to the ice after being cross-checked multiple times, left wing Taylor Hall turned the puck over when he desperately tried to pass it back to defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who failed to corral the puck, and Kane took advantage of the mistake. The goal marked the 17th time Kane has reached 20 goals, passing Mike Modano for most 20-goal seasons by a United States-born player in NHL history.
At 9:26, Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen slipped past the Canes defenders and received the puck with his back to the net before he scored on his backhand to make it 4-1.
The Hurricanes clawed back into the game with goals from left wing Eric Robinson and defenseman Brent Burns, but it was too little, too late. In the final second, DeBrincat scored on the empty net, sealing the game 5-3 for the Red Wings.
Center Justin Robidas — who made his NHL debut on Friday — tallied his first NHL point on Robinson’s goal when he earned the primary assist.
The Canes have a chance to get back on the right track on Saturday when they take on the Bruins, who have lost 10 in a row and sit in last place in the Eastern Conference. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
