Was the Canes’ offensive burst against the Blues a one-night stand, or breakout game?
Hockey can be such a fickle, frustrating game.
Then, as fast as an Andrei Svechnikov one-timer, things can change.
In the three games before Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes put 132 shots on net and scored six goals, losing two of the three. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour remained calm, at least publicly, talking about such things as trusting the process, playing the right way and waiting for the bounces to change.
They changed Saturday. The Canes had a modest 28 shots and scored seven times in starting a three-game road trip with a 7-2 beating of the St. Louis Blues.
Granted, two of the Carolina goals came with an empty net. But five pucks went past Blues goalie Ville Husso. Svechnikov scored twice and 13 players had points in the offensive smorgasbord.
“You take those three games and we didn’t get those bounces that (go) into the net,” Svechnikov said after the win, which gave the Canes (43-15-7, 93 points) a five-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division. “Today we had some lucky bounces and we kept grinding away. I just try to work hard every game and I know the goals will come for me.”
Sounds simple enough. But before Saturday, Svechnikov had gone nine games without a goal and had one in his last 16. He had taken 48 shots on goal and had several others miss the net.
While there has been much to like about Svechnikov’s overall game and maturation in his fourth NHL season, the Canes count on the forward to use his powerful frame to score goals and have a bigger impact on games offensively. He now has 25 goals, a career high, and will continue to add to that down the stretch of the regular season.
The Canes are hoping Martin Necas is on the verge of an offensive tear of sorts. The winger, seemingly as fast as any player in the league, had a scintillating shorthanded goal Saturday in the first period to get the Canes started, and has scored in two of the past three games after a stretch of one goal in 25 games.
“It’s good to have a couple of goals lately,” Necas said. “Before I had a little streak where I couldn’t score. But sometimes one little bounce gets you going and you feel better about yourself and the confidence is higher.”
That can work for a team, too. The Canes before Saturday had put up 44, 41 and 47 shots in their past three games. But New York Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev shut out the Canes with 44 saves and Scott Wedgewood of the Dallas Stars shut down the Canes with another 44 in a shootout win.
But the road trip for Carolina began with 28 shots and seven goals. Six players scored and 10 had assists — Necas and defenseman Ian Cole each had a goal and assist — while goalie Antti Raanta got the job done in net with 30 saves and withstood a Blues push in the third.
It’s on to Washington and then Tampa Bay for what could be brutally physical games. The Canes face the Caps on Monday, then complete a back-to-back against the Lightning a week after the Canes’ 3-2 win, and a postgame bench-clearing kerfuffle in Raleigh.
The players said that wasn’t a big deal. It seemed like a big deal. We’ll know Tuesday.
Question: Was Saturday a one-night offensive stand or the start of something?
“Every game we had a lot of shots but couldn’t score,” Necas said. “But one little bounce and it turns around. Good to see, scoring more goals.”
Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals
When: Monday, 7 p.m.
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington.
TV/RADIO: Bally Sports South, WCMC-99.9 FM.
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 6:49 AM with the headline "Was the Canes’ offensive burst against the Blues a one-night stand, or breakout game?."
