The Carolina Hurricanes picked up their third win in a row last night, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 on the road.
In the opening frame, it looked like the Hurricanes may have pulled ahead early off a shot from Martin Necas. The puck found its way through Jeremy Swayman, but despite falling down behind him, the puck was deemed to have not fully crossed the goal line on somewhat of a controversial call, and the game remained scoreless.
That marked most of the drama in a relatively uneventful opening frame, and the teams ended the period at just 4-4 in shots.
However, Carolina did start to get the better of the opportunities through the middle frame, outshooting Boston by a huge margin. Despite not being able to capitalize on not one, but two early power plays in the period though, along with some really strong chances, Andrei Svechnikov got the Hurricanes on the board midway through the period, converting on another Michigan goal. While that initial first period goal getting called off could be frustrating, the Michigan was a heck of a way to open the scoring for real this time.
Then only minutes later, Teuvo Teravainen was able to take a short pass from Svechnikov to push a puck under Swayman in-close, extending the lead to 2-0. However, despite killing off a penalty later in the frame and limiting Boston to only 10 total shots through 40 minutes, the Bruins struck late in the second period, when Charlie McAvoy wired a one-timer past Pyotr Kochetkov, cutting the lead in half.
Carolina managed to reinstate the two-goal lead midway through the third period though, when Jake Guentzel put a rebound off Swayman that landed right on the goal line, and despite Pavel Zacha going to clear it, he ended up putting it off Swayman and back into his own net.
The Bruins did have some power play chances from there, but instead, the opportunities were highlighted by a shorthanded goal from Seth Jarvis, who came down the wing with speed, then took a rebound off his own shot and beat Swayman with a wraparound, putting the game out of reach and securing a 4-1 win for Carolina.
It’s a solid win for the Hurricanes against another top team in the East, and serves as a bit of a bounce-back after losing to the Bruins last week.
Seth Jarvis also reached a milestone in the win, with his 30th goal of the season. Jarvis has been a great fit since making the jump to the NHL straight out of junior, as a hard-working, high-energy and defensively-responsible winger. That said, while we knew he’d be able to put up solid offensive numbers, I don’t think anyone could’ve expected him to have this kind of a season, especially this early on in his career.
That top line in general just continues to roll, with Jake Guentzel also now at 22 points across just 15 games since joining Carolina. Heading into the postseason, it’s great to know this year the Hurricanes not only have quality depth, but are also dynamic enough at the top of their forward group to be able to count on consistent offense.
Meanwhile, Svechnikov's Michigan goal marks the third of his career already. Considering he just turned 24 years old, we probably haven't seen the last of them.
It was another good night in net for Pyotr Kochetkov as well, which means the goaltending decision for the playoffs hasn’t gotten any easier, even if Frederik Andersen may be the frontrunner to start Game 1. While solid defense has obviously played a role, the Hurricanes have only allowed seven goals across their last six games.
With the win, the Hurricanes are 11-2-1 over their last 14 games, as they continue their roll post-trade deadline. The New York Rangers still stand three points ahead of Carolina also with three games remaining, but if New York stumbles in their final few games, the Hurricanes still have a bit of a chance to catch them for the Metropolitan Division title.
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On another note: the Hurricanes continued their run of recent signings, adding Juha Jaaska and Jackson Blake on entry-level contracts.
Jaaska is a 26-year-old undrafted forward, who’s spent his entire career in Finland to this point. This season, Jaaska posted 10 goals and 30 points in 57 games, and his entry-level deal will be for one year, carrying a $850,000 cap hit.
Blake, on the other hand, is one of the Hurricanes' more well-known prospects. He was selected by the Hurricanes in the fourth round of the 2021, and has put together back-to-back really strong years in the NCAA. This season, Blake posted 60 points in 40 games with the University of North Dakota, and it’ll be exciting to see what he can do at the professional level. His entry-level deal will run until 2026.
The Hurricanes will be back in action on Friday, when they face the St. Louis Blues.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL
- Canes look poised for success entering final stretch of regular season
- Canes recover from loss to Bruins, beat Capitals to split back-to-back set
- Canes shut out Columbus in last home game of regular season, sign Nadeau
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