Hurricanes defense key to 5-2 win over Wild, but Canes’ Max Pacioretty injured again
The Carolina Hurricanes were about 19 seconds away from a satisfying 5-2 win Thursday over the Minnesota Wild when everything changed, in a flash.
Forward Max Pacioretty, looking to pass from behind the Wild net, suffered a non-contact injury, grabbing the back of his right leg, grimacing in pain. Pacioretty, who suffered an Achilles tendon tear to the leg in preseason and underwent surgery, had to be helped off the ice, not able to put any weight on the leg.
For a winning team, the Canes’ locker room was a somber place after the game. The players were somber. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour was somber.
“It didn’t look good,” Brind’Amour said. “I mean, we don’t know, but it doesn’t look good. Hopefully it’s not as bad as we think, but I’m not too optimistic right now.”
Pacioretty missed the first 38 games of the season as he recovered from the initial tear, jumping into the lineup Jan. 5. He played four games — scoring three goals — before another injury against Columbus kept him out for two games.
He was back and ready Thursday. Now this.
“We’ll have tomorrow to pick up the pieces and move on,” Brind’Amour said. “Right now, it’s tough to be too happy about a win when you know more than likely what’s happening here.”
Until the late injury, the Canes (28-9-8) had put together some solid hockey against a good team.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen, starting for the third time in four games, did his job in outdueling the Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury. Andersen was at his best during a five-minute Wild power play in the third after an undisciplined Andrei Svechnikov penalty.
The Canes’ defensemen continued to find the net as Brent Burns, Brady Skjei and Jalen Chatfield all scored. And an improving penalty kill produced another shorthanded goal as Teuvo Teravainen scored after a hustling Chatfield play and setup pass -- Chatfield with his first multi-point NHL game in being named the game’s first star.
The Canes’ power play was hit and miss, but Skjei’s 10th of the season came with the man advantage in the second period and Martin Necas scored a power-play in the third off a Seth Jarvis pass.
The Wild (25-15-4), which edged the Canes in their first game in mid-November, came to PNC Arena with a three-game winning streak and scored the game’s first goal as forward Kirill Kaprizov tapped in a rebound on a second-period power play — the 100th goal of his career.
Matt Boldy scored on a breakaway in the third after Carolina had built the lead to 5-1 on the Necas goal.
Another downside for the Canes: Svechnikov banging the Wild’s Brandon Duhaime into the boards from behind in the third. Svechnikov picked up a five-minute major, a game misconduct and headed to the locker room, his night over.
“He’s got to be smarter,” Brind’Amour said. “I know how competitive he is but we’re up by three and that’s not a time you can think about being physical. He’s got to learn. He’s got to dial it down.”
Takeaways from the game
▪ For a big man — and Andersen has the size of a tight end at 6-4 and 238 pounds — he has an economy of movement when he’s dialed in. And he’s dialed in.
“Amazing,” Skjei said. “He was rock-solid back there.”
▪ Some players are natural goal scorers and the Wild’s Kaprizov is one of the NHL’s best. Every time the puck is on his stick the Russian forward has that dangerous feel to him. And the puck seems to find him, too..
▪ Svechnikov, headed to the All-Star Game, had two assists Thursday but has yet to score a goal in 2023. That’s nine straight games without one, leaving him stuck on 19 for the season.
▪ Teravainen started the game on the fourth line but Brind’Amour may soon have to move No. 86 back to Aho’s line. Maybe drop Seth Jarvis down for a few games.
▪ Before the Pacioretty injury, another scary moment for Brind’Amour was seeing Brett Pesce go down to the ice late in the second after the puck hit Jordan Staal’s skate, then hit Pesce in the face.
▪ Rough night for Wild’s Ryan Hartman. He took an undisciplined 10-minute misconduct penalty in the first. In the second period, he inadvertently kicked the stick out of Fleury’s hand before Burns tied the score 1-1 with a forehand-to-backhand shot.
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Hurricanes defense key to 5-2 win over Wild, but Canes’ Max Pacioretty injured again."
