Rod Brind’amour and the Carolina Hurricanes visited Joel Quenneville and the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. The Hurricanes were on the second game of their six-game road trip and were looking for a win as triumphant as their 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. The Ducks had home-ice advantage in their Honda Center opener, taking a 4-3 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. Chris Kreider entered the game against the Canes with four goals in two games, proving himself to be an incredible, valuable offseason pickup for the Ducks.
The Hurricanes currently lead the NHL in shots on goal, so Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal was sure to have a battle ahead of him and would need to look out for Taylor Hall, who led the team in points, and Seth Jarvis, the leader in goals. Hurricanes goaltender Freddie Andersen would be on the lookout for Kreider, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke, who have all been high-scoring Ducks skaters.
First Period
The game started with the Hurricanes quickly dominating play. However, they were unsuccessful on both of their power plays– a two-minute minor on Radko Gudas for interference and a two-minute minor for goaltender interference against Mason McTavish. 14:54 into the period, Jarvis continued to show his goal-scoring prowess, scoring his 100th career goal, assisted by Shayne Gostisbehere.
The period ended without any other fanfare and the Canes took the lead heading into the first intermission. They had 10 shots on goal to Anaheim’s eight. Anaheim was dominant on faceoffs, however, winning 12 of 17. They also led in both hits (eight) and blocked shots (nine) at the end of the period.
Second Period
After registering a couple of shots on goal to start the second period, the Hurricanes took their first penalty — a minor for boarding on Mark Jankowski. They were able to successfully kill it off. A few minutes later, the teams traded penalties when Sebastian Aho drew a two-minute hooking penalty on defenseman Jackson LaCombe, which resulted in yet another goal for Jarvis (assisted by Jackson Blake and Gostisbehere) and a 2-0 lead for the Hurricanes. In addition to being unable to have a successful penalty kill, they did not register a single shot on goal through the first half of the period.
Related: Kreider’s 3-Point Night Gives Ducks a 4-3 Win Over Penguins
The Ducks made up for it, though, when Leo Carlsson cut the Hurricanes’ lead in half with a 2-on-1 breakaway, assisted by Alex Killorn and Drew Helleson. The goal appeared to energize the home team, and they quickly registered ten additional shots on goal, got multiple breakaways, and forced turnovers repeatedly. However, the Hurricanes came out on top once again in shots on goal, registering 12 in the middle frame. They kept their 2-1 lead heading into the locker room.
After the horn, multiple brawls broke out on the ice, with Logan Stankoven, Mason McTavish, K’Andre Miller, Sennecke, Hall, Gauthier, LaCombe, Blake, Dostal, and Andersen all getting in on the action. Miller, McTavish, and Stankoven were all assessed two-minute minor penalties for roughing, and each goaltender received a two-minute minor for leaving their crease. The goaltender penalties were served by Blake and Sennecke.
Third Period
Due to the numerous penalties surrounding the end of the second period, the Ducks started the final frame on a power play, which they did not capitalize on. Soon after the power play’s conclusion, the Hurricanes’ Alexander Nikishin scored his first NHL goal, assisted by Sebastian Aho and Gostisbehere, to bring his team up 3-1. They were on the penalty kill once again after Aho slashed LaCombe, which was successful, and the score remained. A short while later, yet another power play for the Ducks was unsuccessful — this time following a slash by Blake. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Aho knocked the puck into the net off a rebound from Jarvis, giving his team a 4-1 lead. The goal was his first of the season and would be the final goal of the game. Carolina ended play with 31 shots on goal, and the Ducks had 24.
The Hurricanes took a decisive victory over Anaheim and will continue their western road trip on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks hit the road for five games, and will be looking for a win beginning in Chicago on Sunday.
