Hello again, Canes fans. It’s time for another week in review, and we have a lot to talk about with the big win streak, so let’s get to it.

Canes shut out Sharks- In a game that saw the Carolina defensive unit play its best game of the season, game two of the winning streak was a 1-0 shutout of the visiting San Jose Sharks Tuesday night. While the first period was fairly evenly played, with both Cam Ward and Sharks rookie Aaron Dell making some excellent saves. The first was notable for an amazing shift by the “TSA” line of Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen, and Sebastian Aho, who kept the puck in the offensive zone for a full two minutes, cycling it and generating several nice chances. The second saw the Canes dominate, but Dell continued to be sharp. In the third, the offense finally broke through, as fourth line forward Joakim Nordstrom followed up his own rebound and slipped a backhander by Dell. The Canes held on for the 1-0 win. This game is notable for the fourth line making a significant contribution, and Ward and the defense continuing their improvement. Matt’s recap of the San Jose game can be found here.

Canes beat league’s best team in Montreal- The winning streak continued Friday, as a big third period saw the Canes beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens, who have the best record in the league, 3-2. The ice was tilted against the Canes in the first two periods, but the team managed to avoid big breakdowns for goals against. Montreal broke through late in the second, as Ward was knocked down during a scramble in the crease and Jeff Petry fired the puck into the open net. The Canes challenged for goalie interference, but it was determined Noah Hanifin knocked Habs forward Daniel Carr into Ward, and the goal stood. The Canes came out firing in the third, as Jeff Skinner and Teuvo Teravainen both tipped in Ron Hainsey point shots, and Elias Lindholm made a nice play to set up Victor Rask for a nice goal from the faceoff circle. The Canadiens cut it to 3-2 late on an Andrew Shaw goal, but Ward made some nice saves and the Canes held on. This one is a big encouraging sign for the Canes, as they beat the best team in the league on a night when their best 60-minute effort simply was not there. Matt’s recap of this game is here.

Canes push winning streak to four against Jets- The Canes pushed their streak to three with a strong effort in a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The Canes were the stronger team in the first period, and were rewarded with Lindholm’s first goal of the season. Things got chippy in the second and third, and the Canes took the lead on a Rask goal on an early third period power play. Winnipeg made it interesting with a Mark Scheifele goal, but yet another Jets penalty gave the Canes a man advantage late, and Hanifin blasted one home to salt it away. Ward played another strong game in this one, and was today named the NHL’s second star of the week for his efforts. Matt’s recap of the Jets game can be found here.

Join me next week as we will have another four games, hopefully with similar results to discuss.