Rachel Barkley
The Carolina Hurricanes won…somehow…and Alexander Nikishin nearly had a Gordie Howe hat-trick.
Facing the Pittsburgh Penguins for what will be the first of three meetings in March, the Hurricanes were nearly choked out by a lack of discipline and some honestly questionable calls in a game that certainly instilled some playoff-style energy.
Logan Stankoven started things off early with a goal just under eight minutes into the match, but not long after Nikolaj Ehlers fell to injury after he was tangled with Erik Karlsson in the corner boards. Thankfully, he returned at the start of the second frame and played the rest of the game.
Less than 20 seconds after Ehlers’ injury, Anthony Mantha tied the game with under a minute left to play in the first period.
As the second period opened, so did the onslaught of penalties.
The Hurricanes spent eight minutes in the box, with six of those being in the Penguins’ favor. The third penalty – drawn as William Carrier closed his hand on the puck – resulted in a power play goal from Bryan Rust, which gave Pittsburgh the lead.
The fourth penalty, however, was taken by Alexander Nikishin, who also drew one on Noel Acciari as he pulled the Penguins winger into a duel while their teams duked it out in a scrum. However, it only resulted in matching roughing penalties as they more or less just gripped onto each other.
Things Got Wild in the Third Period
In the third period, the Hurricanes finally got control of their game and kept a clean frame, with Mark Jankowski tying the game and Seth Jarvis giving them the go-ahead goal.
This time, the Penguins kept the penalty box bench warm, and even gave the Hurricanes a pair of two-man advantages.
Nikishin was able to convert on a very well executed back-and-forth play to even out the special teams goals and give the hurricanes the two-goal lead. If the scrum with Acciari amounted to anything more than roughing, Nikishin would have gotten a Gordie Howe hat-trick. It wouldn’t be the first time he came close to one this season, and I would be surprised if it was the last.
However, with over two minutes left in the game, the arena DJ thought it wise to blare out the Hurricanes’ celebratory song, ‘Sweet Caroline’, which is typically played in the final seconds of a sure-fire win game.
And can you guess what happened? Acciari and Rust evened the game out while Stuart Skinner hit the bench.
And Then Came Overtime
Overtime ensued, which saw the rare sight of Jaccob Slavin entering the penalty box after hardly a slash to the stick of Anthony Mantha. However, it was apparently no issue that Mantha followed it up by mowing down goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Despite some attempts back and forth, no goals were scored which then led into the shootout.
Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Jackson Blake went out for the Hurricanes, while Ben Kindel, Egor Chinakhov, and Anthony Mantha did so for the Penguins. Both Svechnikov and Blake were able to find twine, but Kindel was the lone Penguin to have such luck.
The Hurricanes took the game 5-4, but will have to see them again next Wednesday.
Special Teams Performed Well
Going into the game, the Hurricanes were at a notable disadvantage, as they ranked 11th (22.5%) in the power play and 14th (79.4%) in the penalty kill to the Penguins’ sixth (25.3%) in the power play and second (84.4%) in the penalty kill. Additionally, they were without their usual power play quarterback, Shayne Gostisbehere, who missed his second straight game due to a lower-body injury.
Nonetheless, they had four notable runs shorthanded, and killed four of five penalties while scoring on one of five power plays.
