Mom’s the word: Hurricanes power past Devils for second win in as many days
The Carolina Hurricanes might want to have the moms around more often.
The team’s “Moms Trip” started with a big road win Wednesday at Boston. The moms were back in a suite at PNC Arena on Thursday night, enjoying the Canes’ 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils and then celebrating on the ice with their sons when it was over.
“It’s really big for the moms but it’s big for us, too, creating memories,” Canes forward Teuvo Teravainen said.
Teravainen’s mother, Sari, has had a nice time. Her son scored and had an assist in both games.
Teravainen’s goal against the Bruins came on a play when the winger stuck his stick between the legs of Boston’s Charlie Coyle in the slot to get off a shot. Thursday, he got off a one-timer from the right wing on another power play..
Linda Staal has had her share of moms trips through the years with Eric, Marc and Jordan Staal playing in the NHL. Her night Thursday also was special as Jordan Staal redirected a Brady Skjei point shot for his first goal in 15 games.
But Antti Raanta’s mother, Teija, who has been in town a week and will stay for three, may have had the biggest smile at the end. Raanta, the winning goalie, was named the game’s first star and had Canes fans chanting his name during a postgame interview at the bench.
“It was obviously great for my mom to be there and experience that,” Raanta said. “It’s always special. And you know you did something right in the game to get that kind of ovation.
“That’s why you play hockey. You battle through the game and hope to hear good words from the fans afterward. That’s what makes it so enjoyable.”
Goalie Spencer Martin, in his first start for the Canes, was the winner Wednesday against the Bruins. Then it was Raanta’s turn as the Canes took a 3-0 lead into the third period before the Devils — with coach Lindy Ruff in the locker room after taking a puck in the face — managed their two goals.
“Spencer came in and played really well and that was exactly what we needed,” Raanta said.
The Canes are 10-2-1 in their past 13 games, with a game left against Arizona on Saturday before taking their bye week and being off for the NHL All-Star break. With a 27-15-5 record and 59 points, they were two points out of the Metro Division lead held by the New York Rangers.
“I think since the Christmas break we’ve been playing solid games and gotten the results we wanted,” Raanta said. “We stick with the game plan. We came out really well and obviously the power play was going and the penalty kill was huge again. It makes the goalie’s job easier when guys are dialed in.”
Staal’s goal pushed the Canes ahead 3-0 in the second period and ended the night for Nico Daws, the Devils’ starting goalie. In came Vitek Vanecek.
While the Devils are a much different team without injured forward Jack Hughes, one of the league’s most dynamic players, they’ve also dealt with injuries on the back end to Dougie Hamilton, Brendan Smith and Jonas Siegenthaler, who is out with a broken foot.
And Ruff now has not gone unscathed. He had the puck smack him in the right cheek in the second period and missed the third, turning the team over assistant coach Travis Green, who said Ruff “wasn’t feeling right” but appeared improved after the game.
Justin Dowling scored for the Devils in the third and Jesper Bratt with three seconds left after New Jersey pulled its goalie for an extra attacker.
In another weird scheduling twist common in the NHL, the two Metro teams were playing for the first time this season. The last time they took the ice it was for Game 5 of their 2023 Stanley Cup playoff series, when the Canes finished it off to advance to the Eastern Conference final.
The Canes led 1-0 on a Sebastian Aho goal after the first. Teravainen’s cross-ice pass resulted in a breakaway for Aho, who beat Daws with a backhander.
Teravainen’s goal, his 16th, came after Aho won the faceoff to start a power play. Michael Bunting got the puck to Teravainen.
Dowling, called up Thursday from the AHL, was left alone in front and scored in the third for the Devils to make it a 3-1 game. Bratt knocked one past Raanta in the final three seconds to finish the scoring.
The Canes again played without forward Andrei Svechnikov, out with an upper-body injury for a third game.
“Getting the two wins in the back-to-back shows you that you’re right there and is a really good confidence booster,” Raanta said. “We know we have to lock in for one more game. But its a good sign, the way we’ve been playing the last month.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 10:15 PM with the headline "Mom’s the word: Hurricanes power past Devils for second win in as many days."
