It’s no secret that the Carolina Hurricanes have been struggling lately, and with the Vegas Golden Knights — who sit first in the Pacific division — coming into their backyard, the team had a tall task ahead of them. But when Carolina needed big-time performances against a big-time team, they got it.
Center Seth Jarvis scored the opening and game-winning goal, right wing Jackson Blake reached double-digit goals in his rookie campaign and netminder Pyotr Kochetkov stood on his head, stopping 29 of 31 shots. All of that and a couple of masterful defensive plays from left wing Jordan Martinook lifted Carolina (27-16-3) to a 3-2 victory over Vegas (29-13-3).
Before and during the game-winning goal, Martinook made a sequence of plays that prevented Vegas from taking the lead while setting up Jarvis’ goal.
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He first dove to break up a centering pass from Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin, then got back into the play to intercept another Hanifin pass intended for center Mark Stone who was wide open for a tap-in at the back post.
Martinook then retrieved the puck in the corner and flipped it up to Jarvis, who sprung a two-on-one. Jarvis and center Jordan Staal went back and forth, with the former scoring his 15th of the season.
“It’s Jordan Martinook,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “I’m glad you mentioned it because that’s the play of the game.
The alternate captain got the primary assist on Jarvis’ first goal too when he stuck with the play and backhanded to the 22-year-old who scored from right outside the crease.
The first 20 minutes saw Kochetkov and the Hurricanes suffer from a barrage of Golden Knight shots. In the first period, Vegas unleashed 13 shots on goal. The netminder did everything and more to keep it a 0-0 game heading into the intermission.
“[He] kept us in it,” Brind’Amour said. “Their first period was good. We were trying and they just kind of put it on us. So that’s what a goalie can do. Pick your [save]. … He was definitely solid.”
It was on Vegas’ second shot of the second period that one finally beat Kochetkov. Taking possession of a deflected pass, center Tomas Hertl quickly got the puck on his backhand and elevated it over Kochetkov’s glove.
Instead of letting a goal that he had little chance of saving affect his mentality, Kochetkov refocused. That refocusing was necessary when Vegas was awarded a penalty shot five minutes later. Right wing Keegan Kolesar skated in and had his shot pushed to the side by Kochetkov’s blocker. Kochetkov now moves to a perfect three for three on penalty shot attempts.
“I try not think about this and just save,” Kochetkov said. “[I] just say [to] myself, ‘No poke check at this time.’ I just try to save and happy to do it.
Instead of being down 2-0, Kochetkov had stopped the bleeding long enough for Jarvis to tie the game up with his first goal. The Russian goalie had 20 saves by the end of the second period, usually a total he sees for a full 60 minutes of action.
Getting first-line minutes for the first time in his young career, Blake made the most of it by recording his 10th of the season. Forty-six seconds into the third, Blake threw a puck toward the net and Hanifin tipped it between Vegas goaltender Adin Hill’s legs to make it 2-1. Blake is the fourth rookie to reach the 10-goal mark this season and the 12th Canes rookie since relocation to reach double-digit figures.
“It’s one where you don’t ask how,” Blake said. “I don’t mind those once in a while. Those ones feel just as good.”
Jarvis’ second goal gave the Canes a two-goal cushion — a needed extra measure as Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore brought the game back to within one on the power play. Despite a few close calls at the end of the game with Vegas pulling the goalie, the Hurricanes hung on to get a much-needed two points.
The Canes will look to put one win in front of another when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks who rank last in the NHL. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. on Monday.
