Center Seth Jarvis’ first NHL goal was the first of three unanswered scores by the Carolina Hurricanes in their come-from-behind win on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, Nov. 3.
The Canes (9-0-0) faced the potential of their first loss of the season when the Blackhawks (1-8-2) took a 3-1 lead near the halfway point. Left wing Alex DeBrincat scored his sixth goal of the season and second of the game, getting a shot past Canes goalkeeper Frederik Andersen with 11:36 left in the second period.
A pair of goals by right wing Jesper Fast and center Martin Necas early in the third period completed the comeback, but it all started with Jarvis’ goal. The 19-year-old rookie was especially jazzed to score his first goal off of Chicago goalkeeper Marc-Andre Fleury, just like Jarvis dreamed of doing in his childhood.
“I grew up doing that,” Jarvis said. “I think I imagined myself scoring on every goalie in the NHL, Marc-Andre and all those guys.”
Even after Necas’ goal made it 4-3, the Hurricanes did themselves no favors down the stretch, giving Chicago three power plays on eight PIM in the final period. A double minor for high sticking called on defender Ethan Bear with 5:26 left to play signaled four crucial minutes for the Canes’ penalty kill.
Chicago upped the stakes when it pulled Fleury off the ice during the last power play for a 6-on-4 advantage. The Canes’ PK stepped up the challenge however, stifling the Blackhawks’ power play to stave off the tying goal and seal the victory.
“It’s the penalty killers’ jobs to make sure, in a situation like this, that they come up big,” said center Derek Stepan. “That’s exactly what they did. And obviously, the most important thing on a penalty kill is our goaltender. When he needed to make some saves, he made some giant ones there at the end. That’s what good teams do.”
Although they were able to pull off the comeback win, it seemed peculiar that the Canes found themselves down 3-2 after the second intermission despite outshooting the Blackhawks 25-18 over the first two periods. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour didn’t blame Andersen for any of the three Chicago goals, however, simply citing some bad luck.
“You couldn’t fault him for any of those goals,” Brind’Amour said. “The puck kind of left him out to dry on those ones.”
The Hurricanes defense will have little margin for such errors in their next game, a showdown against the Florida Panthers on the road. The Panthers currently sit atop the Atlantic division at 8-0-1, although they have a game against the Washington Capitals on Thursday before they can start preparing for Carolina. Still, Brind’Amour is well aware of the quality that Florida brings to the ice.
“Florida’s as good as they come, and have been for a few years,” Brind’Amour said. “We played them a lot last year, we know what we’re getting there. That’s gonna be a tough one.”
The Hurricanes’ matchup against the Florida Panthers is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6.
