Stankoven Gets One Heck of a Homecoming as Hurricanes Overcome Canucks in Late-Night Game

Well, the Carolina Hurricanes certainly had an entertaining game against the Vancouver Canucks under those late-night lights in Rogers Arena, taking the win 6-3, though not without tension.

Seeing as it is half past three o’clock in the morning here on the East Coast, I will be keeping this recap quick, fast, and straight to the point! Saves me time and saves you time, dear reader – but you won’t be missing anything other than some extra flowery words and whatnot! So without further ado, let’s dig in!

As is tradition whenever Logan Stankoven faces the Canucks in his home province of British Columbia, he was joined by a battalion of supporters – friends, family, and those who cheered him on in his minor and major junior hockey days, making the 200+ mile trip.

“A lot of people that have cheered me on from my minor hockey days,” Stankoven said of the crowd before the game. “It’s a great supporting cast that I have, and I’m very grateful for that.”

And in poetic fashion, Stankoven was the first to light the lamp in the game.

From there on, it was a back and forth of goals, with the Canucks tying, then the Hurricanes getting the go-ahead goal, then tie again, then go-ahead again, all the way up until the third period, which was just a trio of goals from Carolina.

But, anyway, the second goal of the game was from the stick of Linus Karlsson.

Soon after, Nikolaj Ehlers got this beauty of a wide-open net goal.

And, of course, the tie-goal from Jonathan Lekkerimaki – a buzzer beater that came with just two seconds left on the clock.

In the second period, Nicolas Deslauriers scored his first goal in a Hurricanes sweater (and his first goal of the game…ahem…yes, he scored more than once).

However, Max Sasson managed to tie things up yet again after both Bradly Nadeau and Arshdeep Bains went sliding into Pyotr Kochetkov’s net.

As the third period opened, Deslauriers scored yet again with a nice little wrister by the net.

Then, midway through the frame, Ehlers flew down the ice when the puck squirmed away from everyone after the faceoff, wasting no time finding twine.

Finally, with the Canucks’ net empty, Ehlers once again found the puck on his tape. While he could have easily scored for a hat-trick, he instead passed the puck to Stankoven – the British Columbia native getting another goal in his home province.

With the game sealed, unsung hero Jackson Blake came away with a three-point night, assisting linemates Stankoven and Ehlers in three of the line’s four goals. Additionally, Juuso Valimaki played his first game as a member of the Hurricanes – which was also his first NHL game in over 600 days – pocketing an assist thanks to his crucial play on Stankoven’s first goal.

Hilariously, during the goalie hug line, Kochetkov genuflected to Deslauriers in a comical show of respect for the gritty enforcer’s pair of goals.

Gotta love the goofy side of the Hurricanes.

Related Headlines

• Carolina Hurricanes Game 11: Lines, Notes, Goalies, and How to Watch vs. Canucks
• Habs Daily: Slafkovsky’s Beautiful Goal, Engstrom’s Stats, Markov
• Canadiens Highlights: Habs Burned By A Lack Of Focus

Read more at Sportsnaut