Facing Stars winger Mikko Rantanen for the first time since trading him away, the Hurricanes fell 3-2 after letting up three unanswered goals, with Rantanen assisting on two.
The Carolina Hurricanes (6-2-0) went into the start of the game against the Dallas Stars (4-3-1) hot and entered the second period with two goals in hand. Dallas had a change in momentum and took it all from its opponent, shutting them out for the rest of the game. The Canes couldn’t find a way to stop the Stars, losing 3-2 and helping Dallas end its four-game losing streak.
Rantanen, who was traded from the Canes in exchange for center Logan Stankoven last March, made sure his former team knew what they were missing. The 6-foot-4 winger used his speed and agility to be all over the ice, making game-changing plays, leading him to two assists.
Speaking of players that are no longer in the Canes’ lineup, Carolina iced three rookies on the line after recalling them from their AHL affiliate team to replace injured players. In addition to the two skaters sidelined from the game against Colorado, who are out indefinitely, defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, K’Andre Miller and Jaccob Slavin remain out of the lineup.
The deciding goal came in the middle of the third period from defenseman Miro Heiskanen on the power play, who also opened the scoring for the Stars. Center Wyatt Johnston fed a pass across the ice into the stick of Heiskanen, who let one fly towards the net. Defenseman Mike Reilly dove for the block but ended up doing more harm than good. He deflected the puck past goaltender Frederik Andersen, who never had a chance to get a glove on it.
The Stars’ first goal, also from Heiskanen, had a similar look to the last. He skated through the Canes players as if they were statues, then sent what he thought was going to be a cross-ice pass to his teammate. It was deflected off the stick of winger Nikolaj Ehlers and into the back of the net, cutting the Canes’ lead in half.
What has truly hurt the Hurricanes is their special teams, especially on the power play. The last time they were able to capitalize on the power play was against the Anaheim Ducks four games ago. They have had 15 chances on the power play in their last four games. Without being able to score on the man-advantage, they should at least make it up on the penalty kill. They couldn’t make up any ground in that area, allowing Dallas to go 50% with a man up.
Winger Jackson Blake did what he could, opening the scoring for the heavily injured Canes. He took possession of a loose puck off a face-off and wasted no time ripping it into the netting, marking his second goal of the season.
After two weeks on the road, the Hurricanes will return home and take on the Golden Knights on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Lenovo Center.
