For the past few seasons, Carolina Hurricanes fans have been spoiled by early-season success and steamrolling opponents in the first few months of the season, but now, for the fourth game in a row, the Canes have suffered a loss.
Carolina (14-12-1) has now lost every game on its Canadian road trip and is 1-5 in its past six games. After a rough loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday, the Canes needed to rebound quickly to take on the toughest Canadian team —- the Vancouver Canucks (18-9-1). Standing at fourth in the NHL, the Canucks are one of the most formidable teams in the league.
This game was more defensive than past games, with both teams tying at 24 shots on goal by the end of 60 minutes of play. Vancouver came roaring out of the gates to start the first period, scoring a goal just six minutes into the period. Center Sam Lafferty gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead off of a rebounded shot.
The Canes didn’t back down though, and had many opportunities to score late in the first frame. With back-to-back power plays, Hurricanes fans held their breath hoping for a game-tying goal, but even with 35 seconds of five-on-three play, Carolina couldn’t get the puck past Canucks’ netminder Thatcher Demko.
Both teams’ offenses took off in the second frame, with each bench scoring two goals. Vancouver struck first off a shot from right wing Ilya Mikheyev, assisted by center Elias Pettersson who tallied two assists and a goal by the end of the game. Down 2-0, the Canes needed an offensive spark to bring the momentum back on their side.
Left wing Jordan Martinook became the Canes’ spark, scoring his first goal of the season a minute after Mikheyev’s goal. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin and right wing Jesper Fast tallied assists on the goal, giving them some much needed points.
Vancouver struck again later on in the second period, bringing the score to 3-1. Center J.T. Miller notched his 15th goal of the season, slipping the puck past Carolina goalie Antti Raanta. Raanta would stop 20 of the 24 shots he faced, finishing the game with a .833 save percentage.
Carolina scored once more before the buzzer sounded on the second frame, courtesy of defenseman Brady Skjei. While on the power play, defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo got the puck to Skjei who cut the score to 3-2.
With the third period buzzer ticking down, it was do or die for the Canes roster. Right wing Stefan Noesen would be the hero from the bench, scoring a backhanded shot past Demko to tie the game at 3-3. About a minute and a half later, Pettersson brought the Canucks back on top and brought the final score to 4-3.
The Canes have one more opportunity to get a win on their Canadian road trip. Taking on the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m, the Hurricanes have to turn their game around to get back into the win column.
