Hurricanes win final playoff tuneup, close out regular season with big win over Devils
The grind, 82 games of it, is over. Now, the fun stuff.
The Carolina Hurricanes closed out the regular season Thursday against the New Jersey Devils, rolling to a 6-3 victory on fan appreciation night at PNC Arena that Canes fans appreciated.
Next up: the Stanley Cup playoffs, the best time of the year.
The Canes, who open the playoffs at home next week against either Boston or Tampa Bay, closed out the regular season 29-8-4 on home ice as goalie Antti Raanta won his 15th game of the season. It was Carolina’s sixth straight victory, boosting its overall record to 54-20-8 and point total to 116.
As forward Jordan Martinook put it, “All eyes ahead. It’s about getting ready and starting the next journey. Now, we’ve got to prove what kind of team we are.”
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, back in the lineup after missing 13 of the past 15 games, had a goal and two assists -- in the first period. Defenseman Ethan Bear and forward Martin Necas scored in the first 5:33 of the game -- Necas redirecting an Ian Cole shot from the point — before Kotkaniemi made it 3-0 as starting goalie Andrew Hammond had a rough period.
“It was actually easier than I thought, to get back on the pace,” Kotkaniemi said.
Teuvo Teravainen made it 4-1 late in the second period, and Steven Lorentz and Martinook picked up goals in the third as 13 players ended up on the scoresheet.
Raanta, who had 27 saves, took it from there. He allowed a first-period goal to Fabian Zetterlund, and was beaten by Jesper Bratt and Jimmy Vesey late in the third, but was moving and anticipating well.
Raanta and Frederik Andersen combined to win the 2021-22 William M. Jennings Memorial Trophy as the goaltenders playing at least 25 games for the team that allowed the fewest goals. The Canes have given up a league-low 202 goals this season.
“That’s a good capper to the season,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s a good commitment from the group.
“They come, they work and they’re good guys. It’s a fun group to be around and I’m excited to see what comes next.”
With the Metropolitan Division won, Brind’Amour gave captain Jordan Staal, defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forward Andrei Svechnikov the night off — an extra day of rest. He switched up the lines, putting Lorentz on Sebastian Aho’s line with Seth Jarvis.
“It was certainly one of those games that you didn’t want to have an injury,” Brind’Amour said. “I think we avoided that and it’s nice to get the win, too.”
It was Raanta’s first time in net since he left Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders with a lower-body injury. He said Thursday morning that he had a “little tweak” in the Islanders game but felt fine.
The status of Andersen is still in question. Brind’Amour said Andersen has not skated since the April 16 lower-body injury at Colorado but has been getting in full off-ice workouts.
“He’s doing everything that our medical staff is asking him to do,” Brind’Amour said Thursday morning.
It has been a tough go for Kotkaniemi since taking a big hit from Washington’s Lars Eller late in the March 28 road game. He missed eight games with a lower-body injury, returned for two, then needed more time off.
Itching to get back and play, Kotkaniemi assisted on the goals by Bear and Necas, then stuffed one home for his first goal since Feb. 20 against Pittsburgh.
It took all season but former Canes defenseman Dougie Hamilton finally was able to return and play at PNC Arena. Hamilton, who left Carolina in free agency after last season, suffered a broken jaw in his first year with the Devils.
Of note
The Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association selected Andersen as the Canes’ MVP for the 2021-22 season and named Svechnikov the winner of the Josef Vasicek Award recognizing cooperation with the local media.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Hurricanes win final playoff tuneup, close out regular season with big win over Devils."
