The Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Ottawa Senators on Friday, Dec. 13, at Lenovo Center for the second time in the 2024-25 season. The last time these two teams met was on Nov. 16, when the Hurricanes shut out the Senators 4-0 with a Spencer Martin masterclass. In the second of three meetings for the season, the Hurricanes lost to the Senators 3-0 for their second shutout loss of the season.
Who stood out in the game that featured the two great netminders of Pyotr Kochetkov and Linus Ullmark?
Game Recap
The first period saw the home team have many chances with two power play opportunities. While they went zero-for-two, they saw a couple of chances from Seth Jarvis who was all over the Senators’ defense, especially Ullmark. The Hurricanes had 10 shots on goal with seven scoring chances while limiting the visitors to only four scoring chances on six shots. The play that was a main takeaway was defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere stutter-stepping on a Senators player and sending him into a slide back into the neutral zone.
While the first period remained scoreless, it was a somewhat even game between the two sides with the Hurricanes having a slight edge in opportunities on the man advantage and shots on goal. Both netminders stood tall when needed to as well.
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The second period saw the Senators outshoot the Hurricanes 11-9 but only lead 1-0 after a Shane Pinto goal. He scored 4:04 into the middle frame after a few non-clears by the home side ended up costing them after Pinto ripped a shot past Kochetkov over his glove. It seemed like the Russian netminder did not see the puck, but there was nothing he could do there with a few bad clear attempts. Gostisbehere was excellent all night as he was on all chances for the Hurricanes. He wasthe most noticeable player for both sides outside of Ullmark. The Hurricanes were still outshooting the Senators 19-17 after 40 minutes and only down by one goal going into the third period.
Going into the third period, it seemed that the Hurricanes were poised to find the equalizer. However, the Senators had other plans as Nick Jensen beat Kochetkov between the legs moments after the Hurricanes penalty killers killed off an interference penalty. It remained 2-0 until 46 seconds left in the game when Pinto got the empty net goal, his second of the night, to make it a 3-0 game. In the end, the visitors won on a 32-save shutout performance by Ullmark. Kochetkov played a solid game stopping 19 of 21 despite giving up two goals while in the net.
This loss puts the Hurricanes at 18-10-1, while the Senators moved to 14-13-2 with the win.
The Schedule Does Not Stop
The next game for the Hurricanes is the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. Eastern as they look to get back in the win column. Regarding the Senators, their next matchup is on Saturday, Dec. 14 as they head back home for the second game of a back-to-back when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. The puck drop for the two teams is set for 7 p.m. Eastern in the Capital of Canada.
