The Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night (Feb. 1) took on the Los Angeles Kings for the first time during the 2024-25 season. They were hoping to extend their point streak to eight games. However, the Kings snapped that run and their own four-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes. It was a night that saw Carolina battle a sickness going through the locker room.
Following the loss, The Hockey Writers (THW) got questions in with Jackson Blake, Eric Robinson, and head coach Rod Brind’Amour. What did those three say after their loss to the Kings?
Sounding the Siren Postgame
Jackson Blake
Blake was the first to meet with the media following the Hurricanes’ loss. His line including Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen was dominant all night, but could not cash in on its chances. Per Natural Stat Trick, the trio out-chanced the Kings 25-4 but were turned away by tough luck close to the goal and solid goaltending by Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper robbed Aho on one chance that even the netminder himself did not know if he stopped or not.
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When asked by THW about how his line was creating chances all night but to no avail, he stated, “Fishy [Aho] didn’t play last game, but we’re four games in with Rants [Rantanen] now and I feel like we’re kind of building that chemistry a little bit. Unfortunately, that one didn’t count, Fishy’s goal, but I feel like we gotta find a way. I think Rod expects us to pot some and we have to find a way to find the net. But overall, I think we dominated, just couldn’t get the result.”
When you out-chance the Kings by 21 in sixty minutes, there’s nothing more you can do when the netminder is playing out of his mind. Ever since being placed with Aho and Rantanen, Blake’s confidence has continued to grow. He is someone who has been consistent every night. Being third in rookie scoring – 11 goals – shows that he can finish. With the two Finnish stars, he has the chance to get better. Nights like this are tough for a top line that should have had at least two goals, maybe more, on the night.
Eric Robinson
Robinson showed out for the Hurricanes despite the loss to the Kings. He scored his 12th goal of the season, tying his career high that was previously set when he played with the Columbus Blue Jackets (2022-23). Robinson managed to tie that total in 19 fewer games. Not bad for a guy who signed a one-year, $950,000 deal this past summer to come to Carolina. He has more than earned an extension to stay in Raleigh past this season.
On his goal, Brent Burns got the assist for his 900th career NHL point. THW asked Robinson about what it meant for his goal to contribute to Burns’ milestone moment. “It’s really cool,” stated Robinson. “Obviously, I’m really fortunate to get to play with guys like Burnsy and Jordo [Jordan Staal] who have done it for so long and done it the right way. [Those are] guys I looked up to when I was younger. To see 900 points is pretty crazy.”
Related: Carolina Hurricanes’ 3 Stars of January
Burns became the 13th defenseman to achieve the 900-point milestone of his career. While the goal is amazing for Robinson, he will probably think about it more as how he was able to help a guy like Burns notch a huge moment in his career. Either way, what a special moment for Robinson and Burns, which saw the former tie his career-best goal total with 29 games left in the 2024-25 season.
Rod Brind’Amour
During the postgame press conference, it was clear that Brind’Amour was not in good spirits after his team saw their seven-game point streak snapped. Officiating was questionable all night, with missed penalties and quick whistles. Not a night that the head coach wanted to see. However, the team played hard despite having multiple guys under the weather and Andrei Svechnikov out due to an upper-body injury.
THW asked Brind’Amour about how Juha Jääskä is not talked about enough and how his play style fits in well with the Hurricanes. “He plays hard every shift,” Brind’Amour stated. “He’s trying to do whatever he can to make an impact and I’ve thought every game he’s done a really good job.”
For a guy like Jääskä, who has averaged only 8:56 of time on ice per game, he has made the plays to keep him in Carolina. He has three points – all assists – with one of them being on a Seth Jarvis shorthanded goal. Furthermore, Jääskä has a plus-3 rating and 11 shots on goal in 15 games for the Hurricanes. He has had chances to score his first NHL goal in those 15 games, but it just hasn’t worked in his favor. He is due, though, and it will eventually come. He managed to stick up for himself after being boarded face-first by Akil Thomas on Saturday night against the Kings. He got up and won a quick brouhaha with Thomas for his first NHL fight.
Start a New Streak
The Hurricanes will go on the road for a quick two-game road trip, which starts on Tuesday, Feb. 4 in Winnipeg against the Jets. It is the first matchup of the season between the two sides, with game two being back in Raleigh on March 9. The 32-17-4 Hurricanes look to kick off a new winning and point streak against the number one team in the NHL (77 points) in the 37-14-3 Jets.
The Jets are 20-5-3 at home while the Hurricanes are 12-11-3 on the road. It’ll be a measuring stick game for Carolina, the fifth-best team in the NHL (68 points). Tuesday night’s game between the two will be must-watch TV.
