Are the Hurricanes off the schneid? Breaking down the Canes' overtime win over the Flames.

Chip Alexander, The News & Observer on Mar 2, 2025

Published in Hockey

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RALEIGH, N.C. — For the second straight day, a team came into the Lenovo Center looking to get well against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Edmonton Oilers did that Saturday, beating the Canes to end a five-game losing streak. The Calgary Flames, shut out in their past two games, couldn’t do it Sunday.

The Flames took the game to overtime, but the Canes won it, 2-1, as Sebastian Aho ended it with 1:44 left in OT.

The Canes took a 1-0 lead into the third period Sunday as defenseman Jaccob Slavin scored off the rush with a half-minute left in the second. But the Flames tied it on Nazem Kadri’s power-play goal seven minutes into the third.

The Canes had four minutes of power-play time late in regulation after the Flames’ Blake Coleman was called for high-sticking after cutting Jordan Martinook. But Carolina’s power-play woes continued and it was soon on to overtime.

With the Eastern Conference tightening up, the Canes (35-22-4) went into Sunday’s game just six points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, who held the second wild-card playoff spot. After the loss to the Oilers and facing a road game against the Wings after Sunday’s game, the Canes could be starting to feel the squeeze.

The game Sunday was a scoreless snooze until late in the second period. By late in the third, both teams had scored and the Canes’ Andrei Svechnikov had dropped the gloves and gone after Joel Hanley for a heavyweight tilt with some big punches.

The fight came after Coleman bloodied Martinook with a high hit, drawing a four-minute double minor.

It took nearly 40 minutes Sunday to produce the first goal of the game.

The Canes’ Taylor Hall first put a big hit on Kadri along the boards to set a rush in motion. Winger Jackson Blake made the good pass in transition and Slavin finished, beating goalie Dustin Wolf sliding into the cage after the shot.

Slavin had his fifth goal of the season, Blake had his 10th assist and Canes fans had something to cheer.

Kadri, upset over the hit, had a few words with the referees and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving the Canes another power play.

Kadri made up for it by tying the score in the third. That came after the Flames could not convert on a 5-on-3 advantage but then had Kadri drill a shot past goalie Pyotr Kochetkov for his 21st of the season.

Until that point, neither team had mustered many dangerous offensive chances. The Canes had three power plays in the first two periods and could not convert, and the Flames were denied on their best looks a few times by Kochetkov.

In the second period, the Flames showed early jump. Morgan Farabee had a breakaway and Kochetkov made the stop. Later, Morgan Frost shook free on a breakaway and Kochetkov went with the poke check to deny Frost.

Another timely stop by Kochetkov came on a shot in front by Matt Coronato in the second.

Kochetkov appeared a little jumpy in his last start, a win against the Buffalo Sabres on Whalers Night, but was calmer in net Sunday.

Kochetkov did not have a lot of work in the first period. The Flames managed one shot in the period – a sharp-angle attempt by defenseman Rasmus Andersson.

That came with 2:28 left in the period. That’s the latest any NHL team has gone with season before getting their first shot on goal.

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