The Carolina Hurricanes got a much-needed win on Tuesday night over the San Jose Sharks by a score of 3-2. Thanks to three goals, all from defensemen, the Hurricanes won the first game of a four-game homestand. They had lost four out of their last five coming into this one and utilized yet another third-period comeback to get the job done.
Best Defense Is More Offense
All three goals for the Hurricanes came from the back end. Shane Gostisbehere, Brent Burns, and Jalen Chatfield all lit the lamp. In order for this season’s iteration of the team to succeed, they are going to need offensive contributions from the defensive side of the puck. Against the Sharks, they got just that. On a sweet feed from William Carrier, Gostisbehere buried his sixth goal of the season and extended his point streak to four games.
Related: No Reason to Hit Hurricanes’ Panic Button Despite Current Struggles
Burns, who went to the locker room earlier after blocking a shot in the skate, tied the game at two after a nice passing play between Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho. The goal marks his second of the season and his first against the Sharks since he was dealt to the Canes in the summer of 2022.
In the final minutes of the game, Chatfield gloved down an attempted clear by Macklin Celebrini, settled it and ripped a laser wrist shot past Vitek Vanacek for his third goal of the season and first game-winner.
The Hurricanes are third in the NHL with 17 goals from defensemen, only trailing the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Shaky Goaltending
Pyotr Kochetkov gave his team a chance to win and made 20 saves on 22 shots. Luke Kunin was the only one to solve the young, Russian netminder with two goals of his own for the Sharks who have now lost three in a row. He made some great saves, including this rebound attempt from Tyler Toffoli.
Surely, he would have liked to have held onto the first shot, but Pyotr Kochetkov keeps out the rebound bid from Tyler Toffoli.
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) December 11, 2024
That looked like it was going to be an easy equalizer once it became available out front. pic.twitter.com/uhPN8AIMFp
However, one could argue that both goals are ones that he would want to have back. Every game that he is in net, it seems that one or two goals go in that should not. Obviously, it’s okay when the team wins the game, and all is forgiven. But that is not a recipe for success and isn’t sustainable, especially when you get down the stretch and into postseason play. You need to know that shots that are not supposed to go in, will not go in.
Last week, Spencer Martin was sent down and NHL/American Hockey League (AHL) journeyman, Dustin Tokarski, was signed to a contract after a remarkable stretch of games with the Chicago Wolves on a professional tryout (PTO). Kochetkov is sporting a 12-4-0 record but with a 2.64 goals-against average (GAA) and a .894 save percentage (SV%). Yes, he is still young, only 22 years old. But, is he ready to be the guy? Will this be the only move the Hurricanes make to supplement their situation in goal with Freddie Andersen out? Only time will tell what general manager (GM) Eric Tulsky and his team will do, but in the meantime, Kochetkov hasn’t been perfect, but is giving his team a chance to win.
Third Period Swag
The Hurricanes didn’t exactly look like the team we’ve come to expect over the first 40 minutes of the game. This young Sharks team, playing hard for Ryan Warsofsky, who is the former Canes AHL affiliate head coach, skated with the Canes and controlled much of the first two periods.
The Hurricanes looked a little sloppy and even Tripp Tracy mentioned on the broadcast that the team seemed a little lifeless. The Sharks were hemming in the Canes and getting plenty of scoring chances.
That all changed in the third period.
Even while down a forward with Jack Drury missing the entire second and third periods, the team looked like the one we all expected to see show up against the Sharks. Multiple shifts resulted in scoring chances and extended zone time. An excellent shift from Jesperi Kotkaniemi led to him drawing a penalty.
As we already know, Burns tied it just 4:11 into the third. Despite the extended zone time, the Canes did not get Chatfield’s winner until 2:39 left in the game. Vanecek had quite a bit to do with that, making 25 saves.
The Hurricanes are now a remarkable 4-6-0 when trailing after two periods. Ideally, you would be in control of the game going into the final frame. But the Canes know they are never out of a game even if they are down.
Next Up
The Hurricanes will host the Ottawa Senators on Friday night at 7 p.m. inside the Lenovo Center. The Senators have won two out of their last three and will take on the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night before traveling to Raleigh. It will be interesting to see if the team can put together a full 60 minutes of Rod Brind’Amour-approved hockey against Ottawa.
