Securing their second shootout win versus Philadelphia in two nights, the Hurricanes took down the Flyers 3-2, this time on their home ice.
The Carolina Hurricanes (21-9-2) suited up against the Philadelphia Flyers (16-9-6) for the second night in a row, making the trip back from Philadelphia to host an early evening matchup. With its third-straight game heading to a shootout, Carolina once again came out victorious. Goaltender Brandon Bussi led the charge, tying Canes legend Cam Ward for the longest winning streak in Hurricanes history.
“I feel good right now, I feel confident,” Bussi said. “I feel that if I see the puck, I have a good chance to stop it. But our team made some good plays up front.”
After a scoreless overtime, winger Andrei Svechnikov stepped up to the ice and used his backhand to flick the puck over goaltender Dan Vladar and into the back of the net. With every other player missing their shot, Svechnikov recorded the game-winner and pushed the Hurricanes into third place in the NHL.
“I didn’t score for probably the last 10 shootouts, so I had to score this one,” Svechnikov said. “Just went from the left side and tried to make a move first … Sometimes, [the puck] could slide down, so it’s kind of 50-50. Sometimes you’re going to go in, but sometimes it’s going to slide down. I wouldn’t say it’s super hard, just a backhanded move.”
Starting things out, left winger William Carrier opened the scoring with an early goal just five minutes into the first, his third of the season. 10 minutes later, defenseman Alexander Nikishin drew a roughing penalty to give the Canes a man-advantage. Despite being 29th in the league on the powerplay, Carolina found the back of the net and doubled their lead. A pass across the ice from winger Jackson Blake gave Nikishin the opportunity to send in a rocket. Winger Taylor Hall, positioned in front of the paint, got a tip on the puck and redeflected it past Vladar.
“[Hall’s] a really solid player for us,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “We have a lot of good wingers here to fit in, but he’s dynamic. He’s definitely a threat when he is on the ice.”
With less than two minutes left in the game and the Canes up by one, the Flyers turned up the momentum. With Philadelphia pulling its goalie for the extra skater, the Canes couldn’t efficiently mark each skater, leaving open center Trevor Zegras. Playing to the advantage, Zegras found an open spot to the left of Bussi and waited for a pass. Once the puck found his stick, he buried it in the back of the net to take his team to overtime.
Having not played since the second game of the season on Oct. 11, defenseman Jaccob Slavin returned to the starting lineup, and his presence was evident.
“Great to have him back obviously,” Bussi said. “First time playing with him, officially, in a game, so you could see just kind of that calmness he brings. He’s a reliable stick, and we’ve missed him. It’s great to have him back.”
The Hurricanes begin a three-game road-trip in Nashville and take on the Predators on Wednesday, Dec. 17, with an 8 p.m. puckdrop.
