Carolina Hurricanes come from behind again. How the Canes toppled the Penguins at home
Antti Raanta was back to his old self at PNC Arena on Saturday night — and he needed to be.
Raanta stopped 25 shots, many of the Grade-A variety, and the Hurricanes got just enough offense against the Pittsburgh to counter a pair of goals from Sidney Crosby and earn a 4-2 win over the Penguins.
Sebastian Aho, Brent Burns and Seth Jarvis scored for Carolina, with Jarvis netting the winner with 11:52 remaining in regulation on a tip-in past Tristan Jarry, and adding the empty-netter on a power play with 37.7 second remaining.
The goals were Jarvis’ sixth and seventh of the year, and completed the Canes’ fifth come-from-behind victory of the season.
Carolina had all the best chances to score in the first 10 minutes of the opening period. The Canes hit the post three times, and Aho had two Grade-A chances in the low slot at about the 10-minute mark of the frame, both of which Jarry deflected with his left pad. Brady Skjei followed that sequence with the Canes’ third post.
The Penguins, however, struck for a goal first just moments later when Noel Acciari fired the puck off balance from the top of the right circle into traffic in front of Raanta. The puck missed everyone and everything — except Crosby’s skate. The Pens’ captain kicked the puck to his backhand and shoveled it into the open cage for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead.
Aho equalized for the Canes at 13:06 of the second period after a broken play turned into a three-player pass-and-go. From the halfwall, Jarvis got the puck to Teuvo Teravainen, who slid it on his backhand across the low slot to Aho, who swiped it into the cage past Jarry to tie the game.
Just as a slashing penalty to Jake Guentzel expired just 2:46 into the third, Burns fired a slapshot from the left point through traffic on a feed across from Jaccob Slavin that whistled through legs and sticks — and through Jarry — to give the Canes their first lead of the game.
But after a successful coach’s challenge from Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan negated what would have been Andrei Svechnikov’s first goal of the season, the Penguins rode the momentum to the equalizer. Crosby got that one, too, knocking the puck into the cage on a delayed penalty amid a quagmire of bodies and sticks in front of Raanta.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
So close for Andrei Svechnikov
One could forgive Svechnikov for celebrating a little harder than normal just shy of the midway point of the third period Saturday.
The Hurricanes’ winger, typically among the team leaders in points and goals scored, has been snakebitten this season since returning from offseason surgery to repair a torn ligament in his knee. Having played now in nine of the Canes’ first 17 games, Svechnikov, who scored 23 goals a year ago, and 30 the year before, is still searching for his first of the 2023-24 season.
With 11:28 to play in the third period and the Canes leading by one, Svechnikov finished with a perfect snap shot at the left side of the cage to beat Jarry and apparently give the home team a two-goal advantage.
But the long outlet pass to Martin Necas at the right boards near the blue line in front of the Penguins’ bench bounced softly off the snow along the dasher, causing Necas to overskate the puck just enough to make the play offside, though the play was initially called onside in real time by the linesman.
After Svechnikov scored — and celebrated — the Penguins called for a coach’s challenge review, and were successful.
Playing from behind
The Hurricanes played from a familiar position Saturday.
In 17 games this season, the Canes have trailed after the first period in 10 of them — including Saturday — forcing the team to try and come from behind, be more aggressive with its chances in the offensive zone and take more chances.
That, in turn, has opened up the ice for opponents to have more offensive chances than Carolina is accustomed to allowing, and has forced the goalies to face more quality scoring chances than they’ve been used to.
It happened again Saturday when Crosby scored in the first — the 22nd goal the Canes have allowed in the first period this season to just 14 scored.
The Hurricanes are 5-5 in those games this season, though, speaking to their ability to play successfully from behind, but that’s something the coaching staff would rather they not do.
The Canes tied the game up in the second period Saturday on Aho’s strike, and went into the third with an even slate. In those situations this season, Carolina is now 3-1 after Jarvis’ pair of late goals.
Two defensemen diverged …
This past summer, the NHL market for defensemen was considered top-heavy. Dmitry Orlov, a free agent most recently with the Boston Bruins, and Erik Karlsson, a high-priced trade target with the San Jose Sharks, were at the top of the class.
Karlsson was coming off a Norris Trophy campaign for the Sharks. He’d put up 25 goals and 101 points, but his $11.5 million-per-year contract didn’t jive with the Sharks’ desire to tear down their roster and rebuild around some of their younger players.
Orlov had been a mainstay in Washington for years, but the Capitals, sensing they were out of the playoffs early last season, traded him to the regular-season juggernaut Bruins. He promptly scored several goals for the Bruins and was a key piece to Boston’s late-season push to the best record in NHL history. Of course, the Bruins also crumbled in the first round of the playoffs with Orlov as part of their blue line group.
Come summertime, the Canes and Penguins each made a splash. The Pens traded for Karlsson, adding to a lethal, though aging, offensive group. The Canes signed Orlov, hoping to add to an already apparently deep blue line.
To date, it appears the Pens’ gamble has paid off well.
Saturday night, Karlsson had an assist and was a plus-1 to bring his season total to five goals and 12 assists for 17 points and a plus-10. He did, however, take a penalty in the game’s final minute, which then led to Jarvis’ winner.
Orlov, despite the win, was a minus-1 in fewer than 15 minutes of ice time. The sturdy defenseman has had a tough go of it this season, posting just a goal and five assists with a jarring minus-11 rating through his first 17 games.
Kotkaniemi settling in
Jesperi Kotkaniemi is always going to have a little extra scrutiny attached to his stat line, given the circumstances of his arrival in Raleigh — and departure from hockey hotbed Montreal.
The astronomical offer sheet to which the Hurricanes signed the young Finn in 2021 raised eyebrows everywhere, and attached pressure — whether realized or not — to his every move.
In his first season with Carolina, playing mostly fourth-line minutes, he mustered 12 goals in 66 games. Last year, while playing in all 82 regular-season games, he hit a career high with 18 goals and 25 assists, but with an increased role in the offense, many felt that represented more regression than progression.
Early in 2023, Kotkaniemi, still just 23 years old, has shown signs of having a breakout season. He’s more confident with the puck; he’s driving the net harder; he’s digging in the corners – and winning the battles.
Oh, and he’s scoring more, too.
Through Friday, Kotkaniemi was tied for the team lead in points with 13 in 16 games. Last year, it took him 40 games to hit that number.
Saturday against the Penguins, Kotkaniemi was a plus-1 and played most of his game in the Penguins’ zone.
They’re special
The Carolina Hurricanes were among the best teams in the NHL on the penalty kill in 2022-23, leaving many to wonder what in the world happened to them in the offseason after they started an ugly 22-for-32 through seven games.
With new pieces to integrate into the team’s special teams schemes, it was bound to take some time for things to meld. But 68 percent? Oof.
Something clicked after that initial West Coast road trip, though, perhaps some home practice time having something to do with it. Since then, in 10 games, the Canes’ penalty kill has gone 24-for-26 (92%).
Saturday, against a vaunted Penguins power play unit, the Canes were a perfect 2-for-2 on the kill, while also scoring on the power play (and nearly doing so twice, with Burns’ tally coming seconds after a penalty expired).
