Ben Salama/Archive
Center Victor Rask splits Lightning defenders on a fast break. The Carolina Hurricanes fell short of grabbing their fourth straight win, losing 4-3 to the Lightning at PNC Arena on Nov. 1, 2015. Rask finished the game with 3 assists and 4 out of 10 faceoffs won.
A season opener that looked promising for the Carolina Hurricanes quickly went sideways late in the third period. In a game the team led 4-1 in the final frame, the Canes (0-0-1) collapsed late as the Winnipeg Jets (1-0-0) defeated them 5-4 in the season opener for both teams.
A Victor Rask power-play goal early in the third period that put the Canes up 4-1 seemed to put the game away, but that was not the case. The Canes were awarded another power play immediately following Rask’s goal, but a Jeff Skinner giveaway led to a shorthanded goal for Jets forward Blake Wheeler, who had a goal and two assists in the game. That goal really seemed to shift momentum and started the rally for the Jets.
Jets rookie Patrik Laine scored his first NHL goal on a Jets power play at 13:33 of the third, firing one past Canes starter Cam Ward, who allowed five goals on 26 shots. The Canes were unable to hold on to their resulting one-goal lead late, as Jets forward Mathieu Perreault scored off a net-mouth scramble with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck on the bench for an extra attacker with 1:29 left in the game.
In sudden-death overtime, Wheeler forced a turnover at center ice and fed forward Mark Scheifele to complete the comeback and secure the victory for the Jets.
Before the Jets mounted their late comeback, the Canes dominated the game for much of regulation. Carolina did get off to a bit of a slow start, as Jets forward Shawn Matthias beat Ward from a sharp angle for an early 1-0 lead. The first period turned, however, when the Canes killed off 1:49 of a Jets 5-on-3 power play due to a tripping penalty to rookie forward Sebastian Aho and a hooking penalty to forward Jordan Staal. The Canes penalty kill had a very strong night overall, holding the Jets to one for five with the man advantage and not allowing a shot on goal on the penalty kill for four-straight Jets power plays.
The Canes tied it about halfway through the first, as free agent signee forward Lee Stempniak forced a turnover in the corner and zipped a pass across to Skinner, who tapped it in. Skinner finished the game with a goal, an assist, and a game-high five shots on goal.
The second period was by far the Canes best of the game, as they scored two of their four goals and outshot the Jets 11-7. The Canes took the lead as Stempniak tipped in a Noah Hanifin slapshot five minutes into the period to add to his successful Canes debut. Carolina got several good opportunities that it could not quite finish in the second, but was rewarded late in the period when forward Viktor Stalberg forced a turnover on defenseman Dustin Byfuglien that Staal promptly deposited in the back of the net to send the Canes to the second intermission with a 3-1 lead.
Rask capped the scoring for the Canes early in the fourth, ripping a shot past Hellebuyck on the tail end of a power play. Aho earned the assist on Rask’s marker for his first NHL point.
While this game saw plenty of positives, most notably the offense, led by the Skinner-Rask-Stempniak line that combined for five points, and special teams units (2 for 4 power play, 4 for 5 penalty kill), this one will leave the Canes with some things to fix as sloppy defensive plays and turnovers turned what should have been an easy two points into just one. In an NHL where every point is vitally important, that simply cannot happen.
Ultimately, it is one game out 82, and the Canes will have plenty of time to tighten things up with two days off before their next game. Carolina will continue its six game season-opening road trip Sunday night as it heads to Vancouver to take on the Canucks.