The Carolina Hurricanes lost for the first time in two weeks on the second night of a back-to-back, and Calgary picked up their second win of the season thanks to a late third period goal by Yegor Sharangovich. The 3-2 loss ended the Cane’s winning streak at seven, and was their first road loss of the year.
The loss came with some rough news before puck drop as Mark Jankowski was scratched as a game time decision, leading to Nicolas Deslauriers having to draw in and Jordan Martinook to play center on the normal Staal line. Already missing Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall, the Jankowski injury left the Canes scrambling, and after the game it sounded as if it was something to worry about as he was sent back to Raleigh to have it checked out according to Rod Brind’Amour
The action really didn’t get going until the second period. The first had plenty of back and forth, but both Brandon Bussi for Carolina and Devin Cooley for Calgary handled the shots in front of them well. The Canes outshot Calgary 14-8, but as tends to happen with the shots that get through Carolina’s defense, the Calgary shots were some high-quality ones that required good stops by Bussi.
In the second it was more of the same until Jesperi Kotkaniemi decided it was time for him to score again. With the loss of Jordan Staal, Kotkaniemi has had steady ice time playing mostly on the fourth line. He was rewarded for his patience on Saturday with a goal in Winnipeg, and on Sunday he found the back of the net again thanks to a great pass from Nicolas Deslauriers. Watching the highlight, you can see that Kotkaniemi was happier about Deslauriers getting the point than he was about getting the goal.
The Canes were rolling along, and late in the period they hemmed in the Flames for several minutes, taking advantage of the long second period change. They did everything but score—and that was arguablye the turning point of the game as on the clear Calgary decided to attack instead of just push the puck out and get a change in. A shot surprised Bussi, who bounced the puck out instead of covering it, and on the rebound Matvei Gridin nailed the puck into the back of the net to tie the score. To compound the issue, shortly after the ensuing faceoff Mike Reilly was called for delay of game with a shot that cleared the ice and didn’t touch glass. The Canes’ PK was unable to get a clear, and just 1:09 after the first goal, Morgan Frost was able to hit an open net to give Calgary a 2-1 lead.
It was a catastrophic turn of events as the penalty occured with less than two minutes remaining in the period, and it looked like a game that Carolina had mostly dominated was going to go into the second intermission with a Calgary lead. However, with just three seconds left, Sebastian Aho won a faceoff in the defensive zone, and Carolina managed to confuse Cooley on the faceoff play to where he was unable to mark Jalen Chatfield. Chatfield nailed his shot and the Canes were able to salvage a 2-2 tie after two.
The third, however, was almost all Calgary and it was a really good performance by Bussi that kept the Canes in it until late. Calgary outshot Carolina 14-11 in the period, and that’s with the Canes getting about two minutes of empty net action at the end. The winning goal came on a bad sequence by K’Andre Miller who failed to get a puck deep in the offensive zone, and then on the ensuing Calgary rush was a little “puck focused” as Tripp Tracy said on the broadcast, leaving Sharangovich all alone to get a shot on Bussi, and he didn’t miss. Carolina would have a push but Cooley stood on his head to give Calgary a much needed win.
Bussi still made 31 saves on 34 shots on the night, and made several solid saves to give Carolina multiple chances to leave Calgary with a point. Cooley shined in his first action since allowing seven goals against Colorado on October 8th, as his 34 saves won’t include three posts hit by the Canes. It was truly a nice where the bounces didn’t go Carolina’s way and the opponent took advantage.
The Canes hit the air again toward Vancouver for a late start on Tuesday Night as the State Fair Road Trip continues, and then a matchup that many will likely have circled hits on Thursday with the return to Alberta and the Canes versus Edmonton.