After the Carolina Hurricanes sent the Florida Panthers out of Raleigh with an emotional 9-1 thrashing just one day before, it was expected that their next game would be far less flashy. And while it was much tamer versus the New Jersey Devils, it was not without its own heavy dose of glamour.
One area where the Hurricanes shined like new money was between the pipes. Frederik Andersen – who began the season with a fiery start, which quickly turned ice cold – had a terrific night. With 29 stops on 30 shots, he notched his best save percentage of the season (.967).
His performance was emphasized in the first half of the game, as the Hurricanes set a season low as they were outshot 4-10 in the first period.
Soon enough, reprieve found the netminder…with some style.
Still uncharacteristically outshot (12-17), Andrei Svechnikov tore open the game. With 6:48 left in the second period, he put the Hurricanes on the board. Just 57 seconds later, he did it again.
Svechnikov, with that aforementioned style, attempted his signature lacrosse goal soon after. Ultimately, it failed to find the net.
After the game, he gave a simple explanation of his thought process when he decided to attempt it.
“Why not?”
He then mentioned that he believed it had a decent chance to go in, but the coverage from Johnathan Kovacevic prevented it.
While Kovacevic crushed at least one hope and dream, what neither he nor the rest of the Devils’ blueline was able to stop was Jackson Blake’s goal amidst a delayed penalty, and Svechnikov’s eventual hat-trick goal. It was Svechnikov’s fourth career NHL hat-trick (sixth, counting playoffs), and came just one night after Nikolaj Ehlers achieved his own.
Despite a very slow start after an exhausting game the day before, the Hurricanes managed to pull a significant 4-1 win over their hungry Metropolitan Division rivals. Their strong performances in the back-to-back set showed more than just dual victories, but a strong drive to win up and down the lineup. Perhaps the return of cornerstone players, such as Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis, was the spark they needed.
Game Notes
For the first time since a substantial absence due to injury, Slavin played his first back-to-back set. He finished the game with 19:22 of ice time across 23 shifts.
Shayne Gostisbehere and William Carrier did not play due to injury.
Joel Nystrom drew into the lineup, while Mike Reilly was a healthy scratch.
Sebastian Aho gave the primary assists to all three of Svechnikov’s goals.
Ehlers and Svechnikov’s back-to-back hat-tricks were the first pair of Hurricanes to accomplish the feat since Ray Whitney and Eric Staal on March 6th and 7th, 2009, and just the fifth in franchise history to do it.
The Carolina Hurricanes are just the second team to reach 30 wins this season. Additionally, the win put them behind only the Colorado Avalanche in league standings.
