The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Montreal Canadiens in their home opener last night by a 4-3 final in a shootout.
The energy sounded electric in PNC Arena and it was apparent right from the get-go that it had been far too many months since we’ve seen meaningful hockey. Let’s get to the game.
Sebastian Aho nearly opened the scoring with what would’ve been one of the nicests goals we’ve ever seen to start a Hurricanes season. He was 1-on-1 with Jonathan Drouin, shifted to the backhand to get around him but couldn’t put his shot past Carey Price (who was great last night).
The first goal of the year instead belonged to Lucas Wallmark on a goal that he really did all the work for. He won the offensive zone faceoff, then got to the front of the net to deflect a Brett Pesce shot, before tapping the rebound past Price. It wasn’t flashy but it was a hardworking goal for Wallmark.
The Hurricanes went up 2-0 in the second period in a similar play, where Martin Necas tipped down a Dougie Hamilton shot, completely changing puck’s direction and leaving Price without a chance.
Montreal was quick to battle back though- off a defensive zone draw, Joel Edmundson was checked so Warren Foegele went to clear the puck and it was picked off at the blue line by Tomas Tatar. He had all the time and space in the world to beat Mrazek and he didn’t miss. It’s no secret that there is a ton of movement in Petr Mrazek’s game and oftentimes this benefits him, where he’s able to make a phenomenal post-to-post save. On Tatar’s shot though, this was one of the times that someone like Price, who’s so calm and cool in the net, would’ve had a better chance at making the save. It almost looked like Mrazek wanted to be prepared to get to a rebound before he stopped the actual shot, which went right through him as Mrazek was already starting to bounce back up into the air from a butterfly.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi tied it later in the second, after Mrazek stopped initial shot before Kotkaniemi put in the rebound. I truly believe the goaltender interference calls have made the game worse for wear but this was blatantly goalie interference… until I watched the replay and realized it was Dougie Hamilton who had poked Mrazek high with his stick, not Artturi Lehkonen. Mrazek was in a similar situation to viewers, immediately calling at the referee for an interference review.
Montreal’s third goal was one of the plays where Martin Necas showed some inexperience. He didn’t provide a zone-entry stop or takeaway, not only taking himself out of the play but allowing for Nate Thompson to keep possession in a situation where he never should have. He got the puck to Paul Byron, who put it to Jordan Weal after Doguie Hamilton couldn’t intercept it and there was no chance for Mrazek.
Though shots were close, if it wasn’t for Price making two pretty incredible saves in the second, the Hurricanes may have had the lead heading into the second period. He made a brilliant stick save, before then making a sliding pad save on a 2-on-1.
To start the third period, Mrazek made a huge third period breakaway save on Cale Fleury. This gave the Hurricanes an opportunity to tie it up on a power play, when after Erik Haula missed an open net tap-in, he got pretty much the exact same chance 15 seconds later and didn’t miss the second time around.
The game went to overtime, which wasn’t wildly eventful, though Mrazek made a good save on Kotkaniemi from close range.
Shots ended 43-36 for Carolina and both goalies were strong. In the shootout, Dougie Hamilton scored the lone goal, going five-hole on Carey Price, while Petr Mrazek stopped all three Montreal shooters, poke-checking Nick Suzuki to secure a Carolina win.
Overall, it was a fun game to start the season. As mentioned, the atmosphere seemed excellent and while it was by no means a perfect game on Carolina's end, it got the job done. Jordan Staal and Ryan Dzingel may not have found the back of the net but each had a couple of really good chances. Mrazek was good and it was a great way to kick off the year.
Carolina’s next game comes tomorrow on the road against the Washington Capitals.
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OTHER HURRICANES ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
Hurricanes Updates- Gauthier, Forsberg and captaincy
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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