The Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night in the final game of a four-game homestand. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov backstopped his team to a 5-1 victory with 35 saves. With the win, the Hurricanes extended their winning streak to eight games with the last three coming against fellow Metropolitan Division rivals.
Pyotr Kochetkov Is Here to Stay
Pyotr Kochetkov, who won his sixth consecutive start, allowed one goal on 36 shots. With Frederik Andersen’s injury, he’s taken over as the number-one goalie for head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s club. The young goalie is now 7-1-0 on the season with a 2.51 goals-against average (GAA) and a .896 save percentage (SV%). While the save percentage will need to increase if the Hurricanes want to be successful long-term, he showed last night that the number is likely to increase.
Related: Hurricanes Stay Hot in 5-1 Win Over the Penguins
Kochetkov might just love playing against the Penguins. With the win, he is now 3-1-1 in his career against Pittsburgh with a .942 SV% and a 1.57 GAA. He was the story of the game early as he made some great saves to keep it scoreless after a quality start by the Penguins.
Red Hot “Rosy”
Jack Roslovic scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season last night. With no assists, some wondered if he would ever assist on a goal. He put that to bed with an assist on Jaccob Slavin’s first of the season.
Jack Roslovic is on hatty watch 👀 pic.twitter.com/pHHeGbpKuw
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 8, 2024
Roslovic, signed by general manager (GM) Eric Tulsky on the first day of free agency, has been a welcome addition to the Hurricanes. Playing on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, his quick release has benefitted from the built-in chemistry of his linemates. He had nine goals in 59 games split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers last season. He already has nine goals in only 12 games this season.
Related: Hurricanes Surging to Start the Season: 10 Thoughts Through 10 Games
This is his second multi-goal game of the season and his first three-point game since Oct. 26, 2023. If Roslovic can keep this pace, he is well on his way to a hefty payday come July. At 27 years old, any team would love to add a goal-scorer with his speed. Will that team be the Hurricanes? Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal took more of an in-depth look at this topic (from ‘Too soon for Hurricanes to extend Roslovic,’ North State Journal, November 7, 2024). Until then, the Canes are enjoying his services.
Hurricanes’ Active Defense
Carolina’s defense is one of the best in the league. All three pairs under assistant coach Tim Gleason can play in all situations against any matchup. Alongside their great efforts in their own zone to disrupt passing and shooting lanes and taking care of Kochetkov, the team’s blueline is active on the offensive side of the puck.
In order for the team to be successful, they need the defense to chip in on offense. Last night, they did. Jalen Chatfield, Jaccob Slavin and Dmitry Orlov all walked away with points. Chatfield had his first career three-point game with three assists – his first multi-point game of the season and the sixth of his career. His last multi-point game came in March 2023 when he had a goal and an assist against the Ottawa Senators. It was a great night for him after he took a tumble into the boards on Tuesday night during his warmup ritual of giving the bench a solid snow shower.
Slavin scored his first goal of the season, a blast from the point after a nifty pass off the boards from Aho. Layers of net-front affected Alex Nedeljkovic’s sightline, and the puck ended up in the back of the net.
Orlov extended his point streak to four games with an assist on what would end up being the game-winning goal from Roslovic in the first period. With eight points in 12 games, this is the hottest start of Orlov’s career. He is tied with Shayne Gostisbehere and Brent Burns for the team-lead in assists among defensemen this season and is second on the backend in total points.
Another Road Trip?
After outscoring their opponents 23-9 and sweeping the four-game homestand, the Hurricanes look to continue their dominant play on their second West Coast swing of the season. They are 5-1-0 as the visiting team and 4-1-0 against Western Conference teams. The Canes will take on the injury-riddled Colorado Avalanche on Saturday before visiting the Vegas Golden Knights, and the newly minted Utah Hockey Club.
