Sometimes your best offense is your defense, and that was certainly the case in the Hurricanes’ 3-2 win over the Sharks. Defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, Brent Burns and Jalen Chatfield all tallied a goal in a bounce-back win for Carolina.
“Tonight was fun for that to happen, but we couldn’t have done it without a full team effort,” Chatfield said. “It’s good for anybody to score.”
Not every win will be a pretty one and for a team that came into the game losing four of its previous five, you take what you can get. San Jose (10-16-5) was in it from the beginning, even holding a lead after the first 40 minutes, but Chatfield’s goal with 3:39 remaining sealed it in Carolina’s (18-9-1) favor.
In a game where the whole team was off, few Hurricanes played as well as Burns did. Jumping up on the rush will certainly be the highlight, but the 20-year NHL veteran was doing more than just that.
“For us, he was our best player out there,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “Blocking shots, he was really competitive, [did] a lot of the little things really well that probably went unnoticed … and obviously that goal was huge.”
The first of a trio of goals from the defensemen came 4:26 into the first period. In transition, center Jack Roslovic circled back and dumped the puck off for left wing Wiliam Carrier in the offensive zone, who passed it across the slot for a trailing Gostisbehere. Scoring his sixth goal of the season, Gostisbehere beat Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek.
Gostisbehere’s goal marks his 16th point in his last 14 games. In his second stint with the team, the defenseman has elevated the blue line at even strength and on the power play.
Giving the Canes problems all night was the Sharks’ line centered by rookie Macklin Celebrini. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft has 16 points in 19 games played and although he didn’t register a goal tonight, he was inches away many times.
“Certainly that No. 1 pick is a No. 1 pick, I’ll just say that,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a special player for that age and you can just see he’s going to be a good one.”
Celebrini’s eighth assist of his NHL career came on the Shark’s first goal just before the first period came to a close. Dangling through a couple of Hurricane defenders, Celebrini passed the puck off to center Luke Kunin who did the rest.
Firing a shot, Kunin’s attempt was muffled by the leg of Gostisbehere but the rebound bounced right back to his stick and he fired off a second shot that beat Canes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov. Kunin scored his second of the game in the middle of the second period, tapping in a pass from left wing William Eklund.
It was another game where the Hurricanes had to mount a comeback in the third period down a goal, but this time also down a key player. Center Jack Drury did not return to the game after his last shift coming with 3:12 left in the first period.
Officially ruled out with an upper-body injury, after the game Brind’Amour said that Drury’s injury “is not looking good” and that he assumes Drury “is going to be out for a while”.
The Canes didn’t waste time getting back on an even playing field with the Sharks thanks to Burns’ offensive awareness. Forcing a turnover, center Martin Necas turned up ice with the puck and found center Sebastian Aho, who cunningly faked a slapshot and made a slap-pass to Burns, getting to the net and tapping in the puck.
“It was a great play by [Aho] and [Necas] on the rush,” Burns said. “I’m just glad I didn’t fall or miss it.”
His goal kicked off a highly-contested final frame with each team struggling for high-danger chances. After center Jesperi Kotkaniemi drew an interference penalty from the Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro, right wing Andrei Svechnikov hit the post on the power play.
Not being able to covert on its chances, it looked as if both teams would leave with at least a point, but Chatfield’s fifth-career game-winning goal dismissed that.
On a desperate clear attempt from Celebrini, Chatfield leaped into the air as he grabbed the puck, settled it onto his stick and ripped a shot under the blocker arm of Vanecek. Although it wasn’t over, rebound-less saves from Kochetkov with the Sharks’ goalie gave the Canes a much-needed two points.
The first of a four-game homestand, Carolina will look to build off this gutsy win and carry the momentum to Friday when they take on the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m.
