The Carolina Hurricanes ended 2023 with a bang after defeating the Toronto Maples Leafs 3-2 in a Saturday-night showdown. Center Sebastian Aho kept his offensive momentum going for the fourth game in a row, totaling three points.
Carolina (20-13-4) has had many offensive struggles this season, but this game seemed to be a turning point for the roster. Four different Canes players recorded a point, with Aho and right wing Andrei Svechnikov leading the charge with three and two, respectively. Aho is now the fourth player in the Canes or Whalers franchise to have at least three points in three consecutive games. Toronto (17-10-7) on the other hand has now lost five of its last six games.
It was also a big night for left wing Michael Bunting who played his first game back in Toronto since signing a multi-year contract with the Hurricanes on July 1, leaving the Maple Leafs. The Ontario native opened the scoring for the night two minutes into the first period.
On the first power play of the night — courtesy of Toronto left wing Micahel Knies hooking a Canes player — center Seth Jarvis and Aho battled at the board to eventually shoot the puck to the middle of the zone. Bunting gliding down the ice had the perfect one-on-one opportunity against Leafs netminder Martin Jones and quickly put the puck in the net.
While the scorecard might show a low-shooting night, both teams were buzzing up and down the ice and trying hard to get the puck between the pipes. Carolina goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov — starting his 18th game of the season — made clutch saves all night to keep the Canes up all game. Robbing defenseman Morgan Rielly and right wing Mitch Marner in the first period, Kochetkov showed he can hang against some of the best scorers in the league.
Carolina scored once again on the power play in the second period to bring the score to 2-0. Svechnikov fed a cross-zone pass to Jarvis who placed the puck in the net and gave Carolina more momentum. Jarvis has 13 goals on the season, just one goal shy of tying his 2022-23 high of 14 goals.
It was in the third period where the Maple Leafs gained some ground on the Canes. Five minutes into the period the home team got on the board with a quick-fire goal from defenseman Timothy Liljegren, his first of the season. Both teams struggled for the next 14 minutes to keep each bench in the game over the other.
Carolina scored next on an empty-net goal from Aho, with only 55 seconds left into the game. Toronto didn’t give up hope though. A dramatic shot from left wing Nicholas Robertson gave Leafs fans hope, but it took some time before the scorecard reflected the shot on goal.
Kochetkov became an acrobat, moving from pole to pole within his crease, making a glove-side stop on Robertson’s shot. His glove got caught right behind the right side of the net though, showing that the puck crossed the goal line — putting Toronto on the board with 10 seconds left and bringing the final score to 3-2.
The Canes are off for two days and will ring in the new year in New York City, taking on the Rangers on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m.
