-Gabriel Dorris-

The Recap

The Overview

The Kraken came into this game with just two goals in three games, but they were quick to add to that total, scoring a third on their 4th shot of the game just 7 minutes in, as Yanni Gourde tipped in a shot from Andre Burakovsky. However, the Canes would knot the game at one less than 20 seconds later, as Jesper Fast scored his first goal of the season tipping in a Jaccob Slavin shot. But less than five minutes after that, the Kraken took the lead back as Jaden Schwartz was given way too much time alone on the powerplay, and slid it through Raanta’s five hole. The Kraken still weren’t done, though, and a Seth Jarvis turnover on the powerplay allowed the Kraken to strike shorthanded, as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the first goal of his NHL career after a Vince Dunn shot bounced off Raanta. The Canes nearly got one back with 4 seconds left in the 1st, but Necas was absolutely robbed by Joey Daccord.

The second period opened with the Canes down 3-1, but they came out on fire, leading shots 5-1 early on in the frame. But they would end up taking another penalty, and a Vince Dunn shot from above the circles would find it’s way past Raanta, ending his night and bringing in Pyotr Kochetkov. The rest of the period was relatively uneventful, although Kochetkov did save every shot he faced in the 2nd, including an early robbery on a breakaway chance. Allowing the Canes to at least not let the deficit get even worse.

In the third period, the Canes managed to bring the game back to a two goal margin, as Seth Jarvis notched his third goal of the season barely a minute in. He took a really nice pass from Stefan Noesen and wristed it into an open net. Five minutes after that, the Canes were able to make the Kraken lead only 4-3, as Jesperi Kotkaniemi took another really nice Noesen pass and threw it in between the glove and body of Daccord. However, that was the closest the Canes would get for the rest of the game. Jared McCann sniped the puck to the far side of Kochetkov, and Tye Kartye put the game out of reach on a delayed penalty chance 21 seconds later. The Canes would get one more playing 6v4, courtesy of Seth Jarvis, but the Kraken would manage an empty netter for the 7-4 final.

The Postgame

The Canes were a mess all game, taking too many penalties and giving up too many odd-man rushes. This has been a problem since game 1 of the season, and needs to stop. Giving up 7 is already terrible, and giving up 7 to a team with two in three games is completely unacceptable. Luckily, it’s October, not April, and the Canes have plenty of time. This was also a second straight game without Aho, and with him and Svechnikov hopefully coming back soon, that should help the Canes a ton. Post game, Rod Brind’amour expressed disappointment in the team, saying that “[The Canes are] shooting [themselves] in the foot with [their] hand.”, and noting that they were giving the other team’s forwards may too much space. He also noted that this poor defensive play is very unusual for the team, and gave Kochetkov credit for a nice performance coming in halfway through, and the team credit for at least making it a game.

In order, my three stars (Canes players only) would be Pyotr Kochetkov (***), who came in midway through and allowed the team to get back in a game that looked like it may have been completely out of reach, Stefan Noesen (**), who had the second lowest TOI of any of our forwards but still put up two really nice assists, and Seth Jarvis (*), who made up for some nasty early turnovers with two goals to make it 4 third period goals, three on the powerplay, in his last two games.

The Preview

The Overview

The Canes will be playing their 6th game of the season and 5th on the road against the Colorado Avalanche tonight at 9PM EST. The Canes are 3-2-0, while the Avalanche are still undefeated with 4 wins in 4 games. The Avalanche have 14 GF and just 4 GA, while the Canes have let up more than they’ve scored. Aho and Andersen are both questionable for tonight’s game, and it’s anyone’s guess which of the Cane’s three goaltenders will play. The Avalanche, meanwhile, are likely to start Alexander Georgiev for a 5th time, as he is 4-0 with a .98 GAA and a .965 save%. If they don’t, backup Ivan Prosvetov will start, although he has only played 13 games in his young career. The Canes need to tighten up on defense in general, but also on the penalty kill, where they have a terrible 74% success rate. However, they need to keep doing what they’re doing already on the powerplay, where they have gone 7-25 for a 28% success rate this season. The Avalanche have played 4 great games, and their goal should be to simply continue that.

Players to Watch

No matter which goalie starts for Carolina, they’ll be interesting to watch. Frederick Andersen and Antti Raanta have had poor starts they hope to bounce back from, as Andersen has a 4.14 GAA and a .855 save% in two games, while has a 4.41 GAA and a .818 save% in three starts of his own. Pyotr Kochetkov would be playing his second game of the season, after what was a solid first outing even if he didn’t play the full game. Dmitry Orlov has had a poor start as well, but is still adjusting to the Canes system. His growth will be important to watch, especially considering that Brent Burns had a weak first 20 or so games in his first season as a Cane as well. Seth Jarvis has 6 points and 4 goals this season, with 5 of those points coming in the last 2 games. He is looking for a breakout season after an underwhelming sophomore season last year. Brady Skjei also has 6 points, tying him with Jarvis for 1st on the team.

Prediction

The Avalanche came into this season boiling hot, and the Canes have been more lukewarm. If their defense doesn’t improve, they aren’t going to win games against teams as good as the Avalanche; and I do think it will improve, but that will be a process, not a magical one game transformation. Because of that, I think Colorado takes this one tonight.

4-3 Avalanche

Record: 3 (correct winner) – 2 (incorrect winner) – 0 (predicted OT/shootout loss and lost in regulation, or vice versa.)