After mostly sleeping through consecutive games earlier in the week, the Hurricanes awoke in a big way on Sunday night in Edmonton.
The Canes scored first when Nino Niederreiter scored his first as a Hurricane on a Sebastian Aho pass off the rush on the first shift of the game.
The Hurricanes are a completely different team when it scores first, so sure enough the early goal was the start of more good things to come. Next Andrei Svechnikov who had been mostly invisible in January scored on a tip of a Jaccob Slavin point shot. That also seemed to get him going. Then a strong first period saw Niederreiter score again on a power forward’s delight. He was second to a dump in behind Adam Larsson, but he rode Larsson into the boards separating him from the puck and then deftly wheeled off the boards and out to the front of the net where he made no mistake finishing. The goal was equal parts physical play, nice footwork and finishing. Meanwhile, the Oilers elicited Bronx cheers when they mustered their first shot on net midway through the first period. The Oilers did score late in the first period to make it 3-1.When the dust settled on the first period, the Hurricanes led 3-1 on the scoreboard and had fired 19 shots on net to Edmonton’s 10 mostly late in the period.
The Hurricanes pounced again in the second period when Brock McGinn finished on a heady Svechnikov odd angle shot aimed at generating a rebound which it did. Lucas Wallmark scored on the power play, and then Jordan Martinook finished a pretty three-way passing play with Teuvo Teravainen and Warren Foegele to get the Hurricanes to six goals. The Oilers would again score late to get within 6-2 at the end of the second period.
The Oilers finally pushed when they scored early in the third period, gained momentum from the goal and continued to mount an attack. The Hurricanes slowed the Oilers down a bit when they killed off a penalty early in the third period. But tempting fate one too many times, Niederreiter took his second penalty early in the third period and the Oilers scored on a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play to pull the Oilers within two goals at 6-4. The Hurricanes would survive a few decent chances against and hold the fort on the way to a 7-4 win after an empty-netter was added.
Player and other notes
1) Nino Niederreiter
In a single game, he both showcased his upside and also the looseness that has plagued his game at times. The second goal he scored in the first period was a thing of beauty with the physical play and then the finish. But then after a two-goal first period, he followed it up with two penalties in the third period that fed Edmonton’s rally. All in all, I will count it as a net positive with the goal scoring from the wing that the Hurricanes need.
2) Andrei Svechnikov
He has had a tough January mostly going quiet offensively while mostly getting noticed for his issues with stick infractions. But a slight tip of the Slavin shot that netted him a goal seemed to shock him back to life. His assist on McGinn’s goal was a heady offensive play, and he added another assist later to collect his first three points in January. He came close to a four-point night when he shot off the outside of the goal post off the rush in the third period. Here is hoping that this jump starts him into a second wind.
3) Petr Mrazek
His trajectory is worth watching. By no means was he the problem earlier this week when the team in front of him was outplayed. But at the same time, he has not been as sharp for multiple games now. When Mrazek is playing well, his anticipation is as good as any goalie the Canes have had. He reads plays well and seems to always be a half step ahead of the play such that he is waiting and/or moving into shots. In recent games, his game has been much more reactionary trying to make saves instead of just being in position for them.
4) Points aplenty
Almost under the radar on a six-goal night, Jaccob Slavin picked up three assists and Lucas Wallmark had a power play goal, an assist and an empty-netter. Sebastian Aho had three points on what was actually a fairly quiet night for him. And of the Canes forwards, only Justin Williams, Greg McKegg and Saku Maenalanen failed to get on the score sheet.
5) Need to finish strong
With a 1-2 week this week and a six-point deficit (adjusted for games played) below the last playoff spot, the Hurricanes really need to pull a big upset against the familiar faces on the Western Conference-leading Flames and also get two points against the Canucks heading into the All-Star break.
Next up for the Hurricanes is a Tuesday match up against Bill Peters, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin of the Calgary Flames.
Go Canes!
I stayed up to watch the first period, it was fun, good to see Nino take it to the Oilers.
This is the annual “too little too late” canes surge, so I am much more focused on what pieces can be traded, what can be added and just overall what is missing.
IT’s interesting that the Canes barely ever combine the two good aspects of their game, scoring and defense.
We either get low scoring games with few goals against or high scoring games with a lot of goals against. I need to check but I don’t think I’ve seen anything like a 5 1 game this year. I’d like to see the team find a way to put these two together, at least for a game or two, to show they can dominate a game.
I feel almost sorry for the Oilers, that’s a team the canes do not want to become, nor any team in the NHL.
The Oilers clearly demonstrate that smart roster management and good coaching are keys to success, pure talent/top draft pedigree alone are not sufficient.
I think the Taylor Hall trade set back the Oilers significantly, the Eberle trade as well, though not to the same extent.
Then over commitment to 2 superstars (over 20 mill) makes it hard to prop up the necessary support cast to build a parannual winner. Finally, signing Lucic to such an overpriced contract for toughness has come back to bite them seriously. Toughness is good, but overpaying for toughness at the cost of skill is not a formula for success, something to consider in the case of Ferland.
It’s about putting a roster with a variety of skills on the ice that can take on any opponent, any style.
With the bigger and faster additions the Canes are coming much closer to being that type of roster.
They need to ensure continued solid goaltending and they need at least one more playmaker center that can score and distribute the puck.
The scoring appears to be picking up and I think the team is headed down the right path, but I honestly believe it is not to be in 2019. I invite the Canes to do the impossible and prove me wrong, then I owe all my fellow C&C commenters a beverage of choice at a tale gate before playoff game #1 at P&C Arena.
Excellent summary Matt. I stayed up and watched the whole game, and am now paying the price!
The first part of the game was really a fun brand of hockey. Carry the puck into the zone, get it to the middle with traffic.
The first goal was a great example, in my opinion the highest danger shot in the game. Off the rush, Slavin was driving the net with speed with a defender in tow. Grade A traffic. Aho had carried the puck in, and passed to the trailer, who was coming straight up the middle of the ice ice. El Niño finished it
Later came a hockey tradition for a team with a big lead. The canes just “got it in deep”, in other words turn the puck over and go off for a change. Never mind that the possession game created a 6-1 lead. I guess it is good for the sport and good for concessions if the team getting crushed is allowed to get back into the game. It is bad for my blood pressure though and I don’t like it. Habits are always being created.
That said when the boys drove possession it was a thing of beauty, let’s hope they get back to it right away.
#takewaring #elnino
Did anyone else catch the interview with Svechnikov after the game? When asked about playing with Wallmark again he broke into song:
“Reunited, and it feels so good
Reunited ’cause we understood
There’s one perfect fit
And, sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited ’cause we’re reunited, hey, hey”
asheville. I did not see that interview–thanks for sharing. Before the season there was a great deal of talk about Necas at center creating chemistry with Svechnikov at wing. However, I think Wallmark might just be the center who brings out the best in Svech. I see Wallmark as having more potential than most others who think he is eventually a 4C. When I saw him play for Charlotte last season he was obviously better than other players on the ice. While his scoring hasn’t translated much to the NHL in his first full season, I think his trajectory could be similar to other European centers: Erik Haula, Frans Nielsen, maybe even Tomas Plekanec. I wouldn’t be surprised next season if Wallmark puts up 15 goals and 30+ assists. I think Aho/Wallmark/Staal will be solid down the middle. It won’t be Pittsburgh’s, Toronto’s, or Tampa’s centers. However, I do see Wallmark centering a second attacking line that will allow the Canes to play the way they have winning 8 of the past 11.