Hurricanes top Avalanche behind Martin Necas hat trick, despite another goalie injury
With 27 seconds left in the first period Thursday, Martin Necas had a natural hat trick, the Carolina Hurricanes were holding a 3-0 lead over the Colorado Avalanche and PNC Arena was a happy place.
Five seconds later, it was 3-2. At the end of the period, Canes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov was pulled and Antti Raanta went into net.
For the Canes, after all the Necas fireworks, after the sudden turn in fortune, it was more of a hard grind the rest of the way in taking a 5-2 victory.
Before the game ended, Raanta was gone — injured — and Kochetkov was back for the third, stopping 10 shots in the final period.
Michael Bunting added a power-play goal in the second period, and Teuvo Teravainen set a career high with four assists as the Canes (29-16-5) rebounded from a tough-luck loss Tuesday to the Vancouver Canucks.
Not to be overlooked: the Canes killed off six penalties with some hard work, stopping the Avs’ last power play with six minutes left in regulation.
Seth Jarvis later was awarded an empty-net goal after an Avs slashing penalty.
“The kill was great,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They had a couple of chances, but with the talent they’re throwing out there, to give up what we gave up was pretty impressive.”
Necas scored twice in the first 6:25 of the game, showing off his speed and puck-handling skill on his first goal and his one-timer on the second, on a delayed penalty against the Avs. When Teravainen fed Necas for a third goal with 3:09 left in the period, hats were flying onto the ice.
The hat trick was the first of Necas’ career, and tied the franchise record for goals in a period. The winger was the second Hurricanes player to have a natural hat trick in the first period — Cory Stillman had one against Washington in November 2007.
“It was nice, a good start to the game, “ said Necas, who said his last hat trick came playing in the Czech league. “I’ve kind of become more of a shooter the past few games, and I feel like that’s something I need to be better at.
“It feels nice and it was nice to get a ‘hatty’ with a win.”
The Avs (32-16-4), now winless in their first three road games after the NHL All-Star Game break, quickly came to life late in the first.
Veteran Zach Parise, playing his third game for Colorado, scored four-on-four to make it 3-1 with 26.3 seconds remaining in the period. Late-period goals can sting a team and the Canes gave up one.
Then, two.
After the Avs’ Andrew Cogliano won the center-ice faceoff, defenseman Samuel Girard winged the puck 89 feet, off Kochetkov’s glove and into the net -- a stunner.
Kochetkov took a seat on the bench in the second period, but was needed in the third after Raanta’s lower-body injury and got the job done.
“Give him a lot of credit, because obviously he wasn’t happy with what happened,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s not thinking he’s going to get back in there but he did and he played great. That’s got to be a real big confidence booster for him.”
With Raanta out — Brind’Amour had no update on his condition — Spencer Martin quickly threw on his goalie gear and was available, sitting in the locker room.
The Canes converted on the power play in the second as Teravainen skated toward the net and passed to an open Bunting for a shot from the slot that beat Alexandar Georgiev. About eight minutes into the third it was 4-2.
The Canes played without defenseman Brett Pesce, who was ill and a late scratch. Dmitry Orlov moved to the second pairing with Brady Skjei and played his off-side well while Tony DeAngelo was back in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 5.
The Avs’ Cale Makar had an eight-game point streak end, and Nathan MacKinnon was held without a point for second consecutive game, a rarity.
“I thought our guys played extremely hard,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re a really good team and keep you under pressure all over the ice.”
Especially in killing penalties.
“They’re coming at you,” Bednar said. “They’re coming hard and skating hard. We didn’t handle the pressure very well.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Hurricanes top Avalanche behind Martin Necas hat trick, despite another goalie injury."
