For the first time since 2011, the Carolina Hurricanes retired a jersey as they lifted Eric Staal’s No. 12 into the rafters of Lenovo Center.
On a night honoring the longest-tenured captain in Hurricanes history, it was Anaheim Ducks rookie left wing Cutter Gauthier who got the last laugh. Scoring twice, Gauthier netted the overtime winner and took the life out of Lenovo Center as the Ducks beat the Hurricanes 3-2.
“Tonight was about [Eric Staal] and it was unfortunate we couldn’t get the win for him,” said defenseman Jaccob Slavin.
The Ducks’ defense pushed the Hurricanes to the perimeter of the ice and, as a result, the team largely struggled to generate high-danger opportunities for a majority of the game. It was almost 50 minutes of scoreless hockey for the Hurricanes before right wing Andrei Svechnikov scored his ninth power-play goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Once Svechnikov got the game within one, the Hurricanes mounted more offensive pressure, leading to a final-minute goal from center Seth Jarvis to tie it a 2-2 and send it to overtime. However, Gauthier played the spoiler in overtime, netting his seventh goal of the year.
“We got better as the game went on,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “It was a sluggish start, first wasn’t great, it wasn’t poor, just wasn’t great. We played pretty well after that. I loved how we fought.”
After Anaheim center Nikita Nesterenko found center Jansen Harkins who split three Canes defenders and fired a shot past Canes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov, the whole team went into shutdown mode, clogging up the middle of the ice.
Whether it was finishing checks or blocking shots, Anaheim’s physicality made it hard for the Hurricanes to get to the scoring areas, and when they did, they came up empty.
“We were stuck on the outside a little bit too much,” said center Jordan Staal. “That’s probably one thing we could have [done] a little better in getting in front of his eyes. There were still quite a few good shots with good screens and good tips that didn’t go our way.”
In the middle frame, the Ducks only tallied three shots on goal as the Canes peppered goaltender Lukas Dostal with shots that he deflected wide. At the rate the Hurricanes were playing when Gauthier scored 1:52 into the third, it looked to be the killing blow.
On a stretch pass, Slavin pushed Gauthier wide, giving him a shallow angle but the 20-year-old wasn’t phased and fired a snap shot above the near post shoulder of Kochetkov.
With the five-on-five failing to generate a goal, the Hurricanes looked to the man advantage to bring the game within reach.
Center Sebastian Aho appeared to have got the job done when he tapped in a rebound after establishing a net-front presence. Anaheim wasn’t convinced he did it cleanly and successfully challenged with a goaltender interference call that overturned the goal.
The Caniacs unleashed chants of ‘refs you suck’ and in a “puck don’t lie” moment, the Hurricanes did score on the power play with the remaining time.
Center Martin Necas threaded a pass to Aho who in turn threaded a pass to Svechnikov at the back post who got Carolina within striking distance. The momentum had swung and as a result, the Hurricanes kept shooting.
Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere returned to the lineup and his presence was immediately felt. Although not registering a point on either goal, he was on the ice for both and was a key facilitator of the puck whenever the Hurricanes were up a man.
“He makes great plays, five-on-five and power play,” Jarvis said. “So it’s always nice when you have a player of that caliber to come back in the lineup and be as effective as he was.”
Jarvis, in a move he has flashed before, received a pass from Necas and in one move, turned towards the net, roofing the puck past Dostal to tie it at two.
In the final minute, the Canes had tied it and forced overtime but the overtime point would be all they got. From a similar spot, Gauthier fired a shot along the ice that beat Kochetkov under the left pad in a goal he would like to have back.
Concluding a grueling three games in four days, the Hurricanes get two days off before they resume action on Wednesday at 6 p.m. when they take on the Sabres in Buffalo.
