Saturday afternoon, the Carolina Hurricanes stepped up to center ice in Canada Life Centre as the puck dropped to begin the game – but for one player in particular, who was on the wing as Mark Jankowski prepared for that opening face-off – it was a game that meant a little bit more.
For Nikolaj Ehlers, it was the second time in his career that he’d stepped into the Winnipeg Jets’ arena as an opponent – and considering his decade’s long tenure as a crucial member of their lineup, it wasn’t surprising to see the love the city still has for him. The stands were filled with No. 27 sweaters – a sea of Ehlers, as it were.
After clearing customs in the airport, one of the bag handlers even made a point to congratulate the Danish forward for his Stanley Cup win last summer.
“It still feels weird,” Ehlers said before the game, regarding his second trip back to Winnipeg, “One thing, I never got to say thank you to the city of Winnipeg, and the fans, for my last game here. It was incredible, the welcome that I got, and I’m very proud of that. So, I love coming back here.”
As the game commenced, the first period ultimately went scoreless as chances were exchanged – and swallowed by both goalies, Pyotr Kochetkov and Clay Stevenson.
However, the second frame certainly had more action – though still entering the locker room after those twenty minutes still with a tied score.
Mark Scheifele was the first to get on the board, cashing in on a turnover from Ehlers for a pretty slick backhander that beat Kochetkov.
A few minutes later, however, on the power play, Mark Jankowski scored – his sixth goal in as many games for the league lead in longest active goal streak.
The Jets lost Mario Ferraro for the rest of the period after he appeared to take a deflected puck to the face, leaving blood behind as he made his way off the ice. He did return later in the game, though!
Nonetheless, the Jets came back with another goal on a mishandled puck as Kochetkov was unable to get the handle on it with his stick – Alex Iafallo getting the tally on that one.
Even still, the Hurricanes didn’t just lay down for the frame, as Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored on a net front tip-in from a Shayne Gostisbehere blast – Kotkaniemi getting his first goal in 36 games.
Finally, in the final period, the Hurricanes got exactly what they needed. On the power play once again, a rebounded puck made its way to Gostisbehere, who found the tape of Ehlers, who proceeded to put a slapshot past Stevenson for the game-winning goal, as well as the final goal of the game, for a 3-2 win. It wasn’t just Ehlers’ first goal of the season, but also his first in Winnipeg as part of another team. It was a storybook ending to the first game of the Hurricanes’ Western Conference road trip.
Genuinely, it was a pretty special game to watch.
Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on Sportsnaut. Painting stories with … More about Rachel Barkley