Despite holding two two-goal leads, and a 3-2 advantage with 8:31 to play in the third period, the Carolina Hurricanes came up short against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-3 overtime loss at PNC Arena Saturday night.
Forward Brock McGinn scored twice for the Hurricanes (6-5-4), while forward Derek Ryan added two assists and forward Jeff Skinner picked up his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Goalie Scott Darling stopped 26 of 30 Blackhawks shots in his first start against his former team. Forward Alex DeBrincat chipped in a goal and two assists for Chicago (8-7-2), and goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 35 of 38 shots.
“It’s tough,” Ryan said. “Whenever you go into the third period, especially at home, with a two-goal lead, you’ve got to be able to close those ones out. I thought they got a couple bounces, but at the same time we have to make sure we’re locking it up defensively and we didn’t do that.”
Special teams continued to be an issue for Carolina in this one, as Chicago struck right after a power play in the second period, and the Canes went 0 for 3 with the man advantage, running the scoreless streak on the power play to five games.
“Tough segment for the power play,” head coach Bill Peters said. “Five games, didn’t score. [Chicago got one]. Don’t think it showed up as a power-play goal, but our guy didn’t on the ice yet, so in essence it’s a power-play goal. When you’re not winning the special teams battle, it makes it hard.”
In overtime, Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad took a pass from DeBrincat at the right circle, delayed and snapped a shot through Darling’s pads to complete Chicago’s comeback.
The game could not have started much better for the Canes. Darling stopped Saad on an early penalty shot after he was hooked from behind by Canes defender Noah Hanifin on a shorthanded breakaway. His big stop allowed Carolina to take a 2-0 lead to the first intermission off goals from McGinn and forward Jeff Skinner.
Chicago cut the lead in half about eight minutes into the second; at the tail end of a powerplay, Chicago forward Jonathan Toews and DeBrincat came in on a two-on-one rush, and Toews made a perfect pass across the crease that DeBrincat finished to make it 2-1.
McGinn’s second of the game about halfway through the second restored Carolina’s two-goal lead. Ryan found him through the middle up the ice for a partial breakaway, and McGinn came in with a head of steam and again finished top-shelf on the backhand for a 3-1 Canes lead.
The Blackhawks again struck back within one just over three minutes into the third; DeBrincat beat Darling five-hole from between the circles for his second of the night to make it 3-2.
“I felt like we were working hard, executing, just maybe the puck wasn’t bouncing our way a little bit there in the third,” Ryan said. “We’ve got to make sure when we have the puck on our stick we’re making the right decision, especially in our own zone.”
After the Canes failed to capitalize on numerous chances to make it 4-2, including a third unsuccessful power play, Blackhawks defenseman Gustav Forsling tied the game at three with a point shot that beat a screened Darling with 8:31 to play.
“I think the power play’s been struggling as of late,” Skinner said. “We’ve got to find a way to turn that around. It’s costing us in some situations where we need a bit of a jump and we could maybe use one from the PP but we’re not getting it. It’s got to be better.”
Neither team could find the back of the net for the final eight and a half minutes of regulation, sending the game to overtime, where Saad ended it.
The Canes will be back in action Monday night at 7 p.m. against the Dallas Stars at PNC.
