The Carolina Hurricanes closed out the opening period with a slim one-goal advantage, but the early momentum quickly slipped away. They gave away the lead later on in the second period and were unable to recover.
The Canes (45-20-6) had a chance to reclaim victory after losing to the Montreal Canadiens (39-21-10) in January, but couldn’t hang on, ultimately falling 5-2. With a playoff spot on the line, the Canadiens kept their energy at a high level to maintain their position near the top of the Atlantic Conference.
A strong second period from Montreal allowed it to rise above the Canes and hold the lead. Almost halfway through the second, defenseman Mike Matheson received the puck and skated it around the Canes’ net, letting off a pass to the top of the zone. Defenseman Noah Dobson settled and crossed the puck to winger Cole Caufield, who let off a shot towards the goal. Winger Juraj Slafkovský deflected the puck past goaltender Frederik Andersen to tally the game-winner.
Less than four minutes before the game-winning goal, the Canes couldn’t clear the puck from their zone, allowing the Canadiens to skate circles around them. Center Nick Suzuki got the puck at the top of the zone and let off a snap shot towards the net. Andersen fell to block the shot, sending it sideways towards Caufield, who collected the puck and dumped it in the net before Andersen could get back into position, tying the game at two.
“I think after the first, we had a good period there, and we knew they were going to push, and they did that,” said defenseman Sean Walker. “I think they did a good job of having us in our zone. We weren’t breaking out with pucks very clean.
Just under three minutes into the first, defenseman William Carrier drew a penalty, giving Carolina the man advantage. Center Seth Jarvis and winger Andrei Svechnikov passed back and forth until Svechnikov found an open lane to winger Nikolaj Ehlers. Ehlers snapped the puck towards the net and got a deflection off a Canadiens player that goaltender Jakub Dobes couldn’t get in front of.
“The power play has been huge,” said center Jordan Staal. “You never know if you’re only going to get one, so you have to make sure you make the best of it. Obviously, it’s been hot early; it’s giving us a good edge. It was a great period, but it’s a 60-minute game, and they’re going to come back with a push.”
A final effort from Montreal in the third gave it the go-ahead needed to secure the win. Winger Ivan Demidov pressured defenseman K’Andre Miller in the neutral zone, creating a turnover, and took the breakaway opportunity to double the lead.
With one minute left in regulation, center Jake Evans recorded an empty netter to finish off the scoring.
The Hurricanes return home to take the ice against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, March 28, at 5 p.m.
