Hurricanes defeat Kraken for first time behind two power play goals, Necas game-winner
Martin Necas said he didn’t see the puck go into the net. He was, after all, falling as he took the shot and there were bodies in front of the crease.
Nor had he seen the puck go in the net very often of late. The Carolina Hurricanes winger had gone 18 games without a goal, a drought that had left him frustrated and pressing at times.
But Necas had the winning goal Sunday against the Seattle Kraken in a 3-2 victory at PNC Arena. Grabbing the puck in front of the Kraken net, he whipped a shot past goalie Philipp Grubauer, who had beaten the Canes once this season and was after a second win.
Necas then had a new twist to his goal celebration. As he skated in front of the benches, he reached back with his right hand as if swatting an invisible “monkey” off his back, then thrust his arm high in what he called a “feeling-at-the-moment” kind of celly.
“I was trying to not count the games I haven’t scored but of course it’s a little bit in your head,” Necas said. “Through my career I never really waited that long for a goal. But it happens.
“The last few games I started feeling a little better and getting more chances, and today it finally went in. It’s a good feeling and a great win.”
Necas was named the game’s first star and had Canes fans loudly chanting, “Mar-ty, Mar-ty!” Goaltender Antti Raanta, who had 28 saves in his second consecutive start, was the second star and easily could have been the first.
The Canes’ first two goals came on second-period power plays as Nino Niederreiter and Teuvo Teravainen, playing his 500th career game, got the goals. The Teravainen score came four seconds into the power play as Sebastian Aho controlled the faceoff to Vincent Trocheck and Trocheck pushed the puck to Teravainen.
The Canes (39-12-5) again had to come from behind, just as they did Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kraken (17-36-5), the NHL’s newest team, got a power-play goal from Alex Wennberg in the second period — in nine seconds — and then took a 2-1 lead on Calle Jarnkrok’s even-strength goal 66 seconds after the Niederreiter score.
Playing the day after a 5-2 loss in Washington to the Capitals, the Kraken were playing with energy and confidence in their first visit to PNC Arena, just as the expansion team did in November when they beat the Canes 2-1 in Seattle behind Grubauer. But Teravainen’s goal, his 16th, tied the score and the Canes were the better team in the third, their pressure style having an effect.
Necas’ go-ahead score, his ninth of the season and his fifth game-winner, came soon after the Canes had killed off an Aho hooking penalty. Necas won a board battle to get the puck to defenseman Brett Pesce, who pushed it across the ice to Brady Skjei for a shot from the left point.
Necas, to Grubauer’s left, collected the loose puck and got off a shot as he was falling, the puck going under Grubauer’s left pad and into the net.
“I actually didn’t see it,” Necas said. “I just saw guys celebrating.”
That was good enough for Necas, who said Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour had talked to him about going more to the front of the net and getting a “dirty” goal to end the drought. That’s what he did.
“All through the season most of my goals were like kind of nice goals,” Necas said. “Not many goals came from in front of the net and stuff, like today. I need to score those dirty ones more often.”
The Kraken pulled Grubauer with less than three minutes left in regulation for an extra attacker but the Canes were able to lock down the victory as Raanta made four stops.
Brind’Amour said after Sunday’s morning skate that goalie Frederik Andersen was “not 100 percent” but that his injury was “nothing too serious.” Goalie Alex Lyon, recalled Saturday from Chicago of the AHL, was the backup Sunday.
The Canes took time in the first period to recognize two former players — forward Morgan Geekie, who was in the lineup, and defenseman Haydn Fleury, who was not. The biggest hand was for John Forslund, the Canes’ longtime play-by-play announcer and now the voice of the Kraken in their first season.
“It was a good two points,” Brind’Amour said. “I’m happy we were able to win and get everybody leaving the building feeling good.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2022 at 9:40 PM with the headline "Hurricanes defeat Kraken for first time behind two power play goals, Necas game-winner."
