Carolina Hurricanes lose lead in third period, fall to Nashville in overtime at PNC Arena
After being out of town for a few weeks, the Carolina Hurricanes came home, finally unpacked, said hello to the wife and kids and quickly left to play a little more hockey.
It was not a happy homecoming Friday at PNC Arena. The Nashville Predators took a 6-5 win in overtime on a Filip Forsberg goal 35 seconds into the extra period, Forsberg cutting to the middle to get off a shot that beat goalie Antti Raanta.
Stefan Noesen and Martin Necas each had a goal and assist for Carolina (16-12-2). The Predators (17-13-0), now 5-0 in overtime this season, got a goal and two assists each from Roman Josi and Ryan O’Reilly.
“We didn’t have any jump,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You could tell. We were just late on everything.
“I give the guys credit for trying. I just thought were a little off and a little fatigued. ... We were a little soft, a little late.”
The Canes had not played at home since Dec. 2, when they hammered the Buffalo Sabres, 6-2. Their schedule as been front-loaded with road games — 18 of the first 29 away from home.
During the six-game road swing that took them through western Canada and back through Detroit, the Canes lost the first four — captain Jordan Staal calling it the “road trip from hell” — before closing with wins against the Ottawa Senators and Red Wings.
The Canes led 2-1 after the first Friday, getting power-play goals from Stefan Noesen and Tony DeAngelo. That set up a second period when defense, at times, appeared optional.
In one 6½-minute stretch, six goals were scored. Three came in a span of 52 seconds before everyone exhaled a little as the period ended. Carolina, which led 4-2 and 5-3 during the second, held a 5-4 lead as Jalen Chatfield, Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas scored in the period.
The third was more tightly played, the only goal coming nearly 11 minutes in as Jeremy Lauzon scored off the rush for the Preds for a 5-5 tie.
“We’ve got to learn to protect the lead,” Noesen said. “We’re in game 30 now and we’ve got a lot of hockey left, so we’ve got to build off it.”
The Canes host the Washington Capitals on Sunday in a Metro Division game and Brind’Amour, who coached his 400th game Friday, is looking to have a more refreshed, energetic team.
“I hope everyone will come back with a little more fight to their game,” he said.
Takeaways from the game:
Going 11 forwards and 7 D
Brind’Amour, for the second straight night, went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. That again kept DeAngelo in the lineup. And on the power play again.
DeAngelo’s power-play goal in the first came after a faceoff win by the Canes, DeAngelo walking the line and getting off a long-distance shot goalie Kevin Lankinen could not track with the Canes’ Michael Bunting in front.
The power play appears smoother and the passing sharper with the crafty DeAngelo quarterbacking a unit. Six of his nine points this season have been on the power play.
After going 0-4 on the power play in the 2-1 win at Detroit on Thursday, the Canes picked up the two Friday in the first and were 5-14 in the past four games.
In an interesting twist, DeAngelo had more ice time on the power (2:58) tan at even strength (2:41).
Tough night in net
It was not a good night to be a goaltender, with both teams getting too many good looks — especially in the wild second.
Pyotr Kochetkov won the past two games for the Canes, stopping 56 of 58 shots, but Raanta was in net to close out the back-to-back set. He allowed a few goals he did not like, the Preds’ first score coming on a swiped backhander by Juuso Parssinen that sent the puck tumbling across the ice toward Raanta and through his pads.
In the third, Raanta gloved a shot by Philip Tomasino, who was open with 13 minutes left in regulation. Later, he stopped a quick shot by O’Reilly, who scored in the second on a power play.
But the Preds tied it with a well-executed rush down the ice, Jeremy Lauzon taking a pass from Luke Evangelista and beating Raanta with 9:03 left in third. Then, Forsberg in OT.
Raanta now has allowed 14 goals in losing his last two starts at PNC Arena, where he has starred so often.
“You can struggle as a forward or defenseman and no one notices it or talks about it very much, because you’ve got other guys covering for you,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s a tough position to play. It’s not on him. We were not good tonight.”
Building a season
The Jack Drury point steak continues as the center continues to impress. Talk about building a game; Drury is steadily building a season.
Drury had the primary assist on Noesen’s power-play goal in the first, getting off a quick shot from the circle that allowed Noesen, lurking in front, to knock in.
Drury had one assist in his first 15 games. The center now has four in the past five games, plus a goal. His five-game point streak is tied with Aho for the longest on the Canes this season.
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 10:19 PM.
