Hurricanes’ eight-game homestand begins with 3-2 loss to Dallas Stars
The Carolina Hurricanes’ longest homestand of the season began on a sour, losing note.
The Canes, in the first of eight games at PNC Arena, were beaten 3-2 Saturday by the Dallas Stars.
The Canes (24-9-3) led 2-1 late in the second period before a careless slashing penalty on forward Andrei Svechnikov in the offensive zone. It came with 46 seconds left in the period, allowing the Stars (13-12-10) to swing the game momentum.
Jamie Benn scored 17 seconds later on the Dallas’ power play, knocking in a rebound, and Tanner Kero then scored early in the third as the Stars moved ahead 3-2. Goalie Jake Oettinger took it from there, finishing with 41 saves.
“I don’t like the penalty ‘Svech’ takes because that’s 150 feet away from our net and he doesn’t need to do that and it leads to a goal,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Momentum was all going our way for sure.”
Kero’s second goal of the season came at 2:52 of the third after a strong forechecking shift for the Stars. Svechnikov, who appears to be struggling with his confidence, had a turnover in the Canes zone during the sequence.
Andrew Cogliano scored the game’s first goal for the Stars in the opening period, deflecting a shot by Mark Pysyk, but Dougie Hamilton’s 100th NHL goal and fourth of the season tied it in the first.
Hamilton’s goal came on a setup pass from center Vincent Trocheck, who notched his fourth point in three games since returning from injury. Hamilton, deep in the zone, outwaited Oettinger and beat him with a rising shot — Hamilton had nine in one of his most complete games of the season.
“Just a read and reaction for me,” Hamilton said. “I saw he was kind of a little late coming to me. I didn’t really want to rush the shot.”
Haydn Fleury’s first goal — and first point — of the season gave the Canes a 2-1 lead in the second. Fleury’s goal came after a big hit in the offensive zone by Cedric Paquette, who then screened Oettinger on the Fleury shot. But Fleury, in turn, believed he was at fault for the Stars’ third goal by Kero.
“My fault. A little too casual and that cost us the game,” Fleury said.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, named the NHL Rookie of the Month in March, took the loss for the Canes, who had topped the Stars in the first four games between them this season.
“I thought we played well,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s a good effort from start to finish. A couple of mistakes you’d like to not have but they’re going to happen.”
No time to dwell on it, either. The Canes and Stars go at it again on Sunday night at PNC Arena.
“That’s playoff style hockey,” Hamilton said of Saturday’s game. “We’ve got to play better and hopefully we can do that tomorrow.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 6:27 PM.
