Hurricanes head to holidays on sour note. Inside another third-period collapse
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Canes lost third straight after surrendering five third-period goals, 5-2 defeat
- Key defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forward Seth Jarvis sidelined week-to-week
- Coach Brind’Amour cites turnovers, missed assignments; team must fix third
It won’t be a restful Christmas for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Not after another collapse. Not after losing a third straight game where they could not hold a lead and, try as they might, again could not find a way to beat the Florida Panthers.
The Canes, playing at home, determined to gain some payback for a very painful road loss to the Panthers on Friday, took a 2-0 lead into the third period at Lenovo Center.
And gave up five goals. And lost, 5-2.
For Canes fans, in a festive mood a few days before Christmas, it was a painful turnabout.
In the game at Florida, the Panthers trailed 3-0 in the third but scored three times in the final 10 minutes of regulation – twice after pulling goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for an extra skater. The Panthers then won in a shootout as the Canes limped out of town, having lost both forward Seth Jarvis and defenseman Jaccob Slavin to injuries in a physical game.
For the first two periods Tuesday, the Canes were at their best. Eric Robinson scored in the first period and then Andrei Svechnikov in the second after jumping out of the penalty box to beat Bobrovsky on a breakaway.
“We had a great first and second, and then we didn’t do anything very well in the third,” Canes cpatain Jordan Staal said. “We’re up two goals, and we’re looking for the third, fourth, fifth, sixth. Against a team like that you’ve got to be content with moving the puck forward, getting in their end and just grinding them down and make them go the whole ice before getting a shot on net.
“I have to do a better job as leader, obviously. I guess it’s three in a row of that crap. We’ve got to do a better job playing with the lead and playing with some confidence in the third and burying teams. We just sat back and turned pucks over and it looked the way it did, again.”
After losing at Florida, the Canes again took a 3-0 lead the next night against Tampa Bay in the first period. But the Lightning quickly tied it up and went on to a 6-4 win that Staal termed a “meltdown.”
There was another coming Tuesday in the third period. Here’s how it unfolded:
The Panthers’ first goal came when Niko Mikkola’s shot glanced off a Canes skate after goalie Frederik Andersen, making his first start since Dec. 4, had made a terrific save.
Luke Kunin then scored after Canes forward Jackson Blake could not get the puck out of the zone at the blue line, Florida’s Aaron Ekblad grabbing it and getting off a long shot. Andersen again made the initial stop but an unchecked Kunin skated in to score off the rebound for a 2-2 tie.
The Panthers’ go-ahead goal came after Eetu Luostarinen forced Blake into a turnover along the boards. Luostarinen crossed the ice to get the puck and get off a shot that was blocked, but Sam Reinhart set up Anton’s Lundell score seven minutes into the period.
The Canes appeared shell-shocked after that. So solid in their D zone the first two periods, making smart plays, there were a string of miscues and missed assignments.
“We stopped making the plays we were making, skating, everything kind of slowed down for us,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
The Panthers’ fourth goal came off a fortunate bounce after A.J. Greer’s pass down the boards somehow caromed back toward the net where Sam Bennett grabbed the puck, turned and beat Andersen.
When Florida’s Seth Jones later scored on a power play, the lead was 5-2 and many fans began hitting the exits.
The injuries to Slavin and Jarvis in the Friday game both seemed preventable — Slavin took a hit from behind from Greer, and Jarvis was tripped by Evan Rodrigues while driving the net and crashed hard into the post. Both now are listed “week-to-week.” and the Panthers took the ice to thunderous boos Tuesday.
The Canes also played Tuesday without injured forward Jordan Martinook and forward William Carrier, who was sick and unable to go.
“It’s tough,” Brind’Amour said. “We were playing really well considering what we’ve been going through, and they get one and I don’t know what the mindset is but we try to do things differently than we were doing and it clearly didn’t work.”
The Canes (22-11-3) next play Saturday, hosting the Detroit Red Wings in a game matching the two Eastern Conference leaders, both with 47 points. Staal first said he was glad to have a three-day break to rest up and re-set, then changed his mind with the three-game skid too fresh in his mind.
“I don’t want to sit on that to be honest,” he said.
“It’s hard, but we’ve got to have some confidence in our group. I mean, our team is good.”
