Rachel Barkley
Going into Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was believed that Nicolas Deslauriers would make his debut to help the Carolina Hurricanes step up their physicality against a team known for its feistiness.
Well, they didn’t get him into the lineup, but they certainly kept things physical – including a big brouhaha thanks to an unlikely player, Seth Jarvis, who recorded his first career NHL fight after Zemgus Girgensons landed a big hit on Sebastian Aho.
The Hurricanes defeated the Lightning 4-2 in their final matchup of the regular season, taking the season series victory 2-1in the three games played. The Hurricanes managed to edge out the Lightning not only in the final score but also in offensive generation and defensive prowess.
They outshot the Lightning 35-19, posted 28 scoring chances to their 21, and created an incredible 16 high-danger scoring chances versus the Lightning’s ten.
Defensive Contributions Cannot Be Understated
However, the real stars of the show were the Hurricanes’ blueliners, who made unreal plays throughout the game. If not for the defense’s skillful contributions, the Hurricanes would have had three additional goals against them.
In the first period, Jalen Chatfield risked life and limb early in the game, taking a Nikita Kucherov blast to the hand and head, which left him shaken up, but he remained in the game.
Meanwhile, in the third frame, Jaccob Slavin stopped what was fractions of a second away from becoming a tap-in goal as he shut down Jake Guentzel’s pass to Brayden Point, who stood by Frederik Andersen’s crease.
Soon after, Sean Walker added to the defensive core’s collection of game-saving plays, blocking a shot from Brandon Hagel mid-air with his right skate as Andersen desperately leaped to cover the massive area of the net that had been left exposed.
A Very Special Victory on a Very Special Night
It was a hard-earned win, but a special one for the Hurricanes, who had their mothers and mentors along for the ride. After the game, Andersen spoke about what it was like to have his mother there, who had made the trip from Denmark.
“Yeah, it’s great,” he said. “I think it’s far to go all the way over here, and it’s pretty special to have all our moms here. And obviously, for me personally, to have my mom be part of it – it’s awesome. So, yeah, we’ve enjoyed ourselves, and I’m sure they have, too.”
Additionally, it was Rod Brind’Amour’s 600th game as head coach. With their victory, he became the winningest coach in NHL history through the first 600 games, with 367 wins. Ironically, he surpassed the first-place record of Lightning coach, Jon Cooper, who had 364.
