Jordan Staal scores again, but the Canes fell to Red Wings on an OT power play goal
Antti Raanta may have played his best game of the season Tuesday but the Carolina Hurricanes couldn’t make their goalie a winner.
The Detroit Red Wings took a 4-3 overtime victory at Little Caesars Arena, ending the Canes’ five-game win streak. A power-play goal by forward Lucas Raymond with eight seconds left in the OT decided a game that had Raanta make a season-high 37 saves.
The Canes’ Teuvo Teravainen had a shot hit the far post in overtime -- Carolina that close to victory and the two points. The Canes then were penalized for having too many men on the ice, setting up the Wings for a four-on-three power play.
The Canes’ penalty killers, who lead the NHL, stopped the Red Wings on three power plays in regulation but couldn’t get the game to a shootout. All in all it was a tough way for the Hurricanes to lose, even if a point was secured.
“I felt like I was on top of my game,” Raanta said. “Obviously we got the point, so it wasn’t that bad. You’d rather take the two points and the ‘W’ but some days hockey is like that and the bounces don’t go your way.”
The Hurricanes (37-11-5) maintained a five-point lead in the Metropolitan Division and earned a point for the seventh straight game. But they couldn’t hold a third-period lead as the Wings’ Dylan Larkin jumped on a Canes turnover and scored 38 seconds after Jordan Staal had given Carolina a 3-2 lead with 3:48 left in regulation.
The Wings (24-24-6) then had seven shots in the overtime, four on the power play. Raanta stopped the first three but Raymond collected a loose puck beside the crease, had an open net and did not miss.
“He was great, solid all night and especially in overtime,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Tough ending for him but he was great.”
Sebastian Aho had a first-period power-play goal and Jesper Fast scored in the third after the Wings, young, quick and aggressive, had taken a 2-1 lead on a Michael Rasmussen goal.
The game was a matchup between Raanta and the Wings’ Alex Nedeljkovic, the former Canes goalie. Brind’Amour decided to give Frederik Andersen the night off and start Raanta, who was appearing in his third game since Jan. 29. Nedeljkovic, traded to Detroit after last season, had 27 saves.
“Some weird things happened but overall we weren’t that great and still in position to win the game,” Brind’Amour said. “They were spirited, they played a hard game, give them a lot of credit. I think we were pretty average tonight.”
Aho’s goal came after Teravainen made a quick stick play to keep the Wings from clearing the zone. He got the puck low to Vincent Trocheck, who found Aho open for the shot and score.
Aho’s 24th goal of the season marked the 172nd time that Aho and Teravainen have teamed up for a score. That broke the franchise record set by Ron Francis and Kevin Dineen.
“They read the game the same way,” Raanta said of the two Finns. “Maybe it’s a little out-of-this-world connection but it’s fun to watch. It’s the Finnish mafia going on in Raleigh and those two guys are something special.”
Teravainen kept his point streak intact. It’s now at nine games, the longest of his career and the longest for the Canes this season.
The Wings outplayed the Canes most of the second period, tying the score 1-1 when Carter Rowney outfought Jordan Staal for position in front of the net. Raanta was forced into some tough saves in the second, including a one-on-one confrontation with Tyler Bertuzzi.
The Wings continued to shake loose for odd-man rushes and Rasmussen scored 2:45 into the third for a 2-1 lead. But Fast, after taking a big hit along the boards, skated in for an open shot to tie it.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 10:35 PM.
