The Carolina Hurricanes dropped their fourth straight game Monday night with a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at PNC Arena.
The Ducks (6-8-4) entered the game as the lowest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging just 1.65 goals per game, but were able to score four times, while the Hurricanes (6-10-2), who have scored only five goals during their four-game losing streak, once again struggled to find the back of the net.
Anaheim opened the scoring in the first when Carolina goaltender Eddie Lack turned the puck over to Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano as he attempted the clear the puck out of the zone from behind his net.
Cogliano found his teammate, forward Carl Hagelin who threw the puck on net. The puck deflected off the skate of Ducks forward Shawn Horcoff and past Lack to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Officials reviewed the play and upheld the goal call as they ruled Horcoff did not kick the puck into the net.
The Hurricanes evened the score early in the second period thanks to defenseman Noah Hanifin’s first career NHL goal.
Canes forward Joakim Nordstrom rushed into the Ducks zone on the play and left a drop pass for Hanifin, who blasted a slapshot past Anaheim goalie Anton Khudobin.
Khudobin, a former Carolina Hurricane who was traded to the Ducks in the offseason, was strong in net, stopping 24-of-25 shots on the night to earn his team the victory after a three-game losing streak.
Anaheim regained the lead later in the second period on a goal from the red-hot defenseman Sami Vatanen who has four points in his last four games.
Vatanen received a pass atop the faceoff circle and made a beautiful fake-shot move on Canes defenseman Ron Hainsey, sending him sprawling to the ice. Vatanen then ripped a quick shot past the blocker of Lack and Anaheim took a 2-1 lead into intermission.
The Ducks added an insurance goal with less than four minutes remaining in the game. Hagelin jammed the puck past Lack after wrapping around the net, to record his third point of the night.
With Lack pulled for an extra skater, Anaheim forward Ryan Getzlaf scored his first goal of the season on an empty net for a 4-1 Ducks win.
With the loss, the Hurricanes’ record falls to a disappointing 1-4-2 in the month of November.
