Rachel Barkley
What is with the St. Louis Blues’ goalies having some of their best games of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes lately?
The Hurricanes fell 3-1 versus the Blues in a game that started hot…but soon fizzled out. Carolina led in nearly all nightly statistics. They outshot them 32-17, out-defended them with 12 blocked shots to nine, and even held onto the puck better with 11 giveaways to 16.
Nonetheless, the second and third periods lacked the same urgency and effectiveness as the first frame did. Mark Jankowski was the lone scorer for the Hurricanes, who notched his seventh goal of the season (in highlight reel-worthy fashion) before even half of the first period was played.
The Hurricanes looked great in the first twenty minutes, but struggled to keep the fire burning for the next forty minutes, both defensively and offensively.
Jimmy Snuggerud scored with a shot between the legs of Jaccob Slavin, who simultaneously served as a screen for Brandon Bussi, and tied the game.
In the third period, with just under five minutes left to play, Snuggerud scored his second goal of the game after the puck bounced over the stick of Jalen Chatfield.
A few moments later, with the net empty, Seth Jarvis’ pass was intercepted by Alexey Toropchenko, who got it to Jack Finley, who then sent it to the goal scorer, Pavel Buchnevich, to seal the game 3-1.
With their loss to the Blues, the Hurricanes’ 12-game home point streak came to an end.
The Difference Maker
The Hurricanes’ downfall was not a complete lack of generation. In fact, they created 29 scoring chances and 15 high-danger scoring chances to the Blues’ 16 and three. Instead, the downfall was due to the skillful play of Jordan Binnington, who gave his team a spark with big saves and fanned those flames with consistent stops. It appeared to have been the 32-year-old veteran’s best performance of the season, as he notched a save percentage of .969 (his best non-shutout save percentage of the season) and made 31 saves.
Silver Linings
Brandon Bussi had a great game. Both goals scored on him were notably difficult shots, with one coming from behind a screen of his own man – and from between his skates, at that – and the other managed to slide between the pad and arm just as it was sealed, nearly being stopped.
However, a significant difference was his stickhandling. In his last game, he struggled with it, which eventually led to a goal against. In Thursday’s game, he made stretch passes down the ice, found the tape of teammates amidst high-pressure situations, and cleared pucks magnificently. Sometimes goalies can have off-days for certain aspects of the game, but it didn’t appear to linger in his mind for his next start.
As for another silver lining of the game, Logan Stankoven’s line operated as a true second line versus the Blues, with Stankoven himself logging 16:30 of ice time. Typically, Jordan Staal’s line is given those heavier minutes, but the technical third line was buzzing and definitely earned their minutes.
