The Carolina Hurricanes saw their three-game winning streak snapped in a thrilling back-and-forth game against the Chicago Blackhawks that was decided in a shootout.
What proved to be a frustrating night for the Hurricanes on the power play started ugly as Ilya Mikheyev drew first blood just over 10 minutes into the opening stanza with a shorthanded goal. Mikheyev’s initial shot leaked through Frederik Andersen, and he was able to beat K’Andre Miller to the loose puck with his stick to knock it in.
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A minute and a half later, rookie defenseman Joel Nystrom wired home the first goal of his NHL career to level things up at 1-1, a score that lasted into the first intermission.
Even as Carolina continued to carry the play in the second, Chicago again took the lead when Nick Lardis took advantage of a defensive lapse from Alexander Nikishin in front of the net to make it 2-1.
The Canes again wasted little time in getting the game back to even, as captain Jordan Staal fooled Connor Bedard on a 2-on-1 by selling pass before sending a laser to the twine that beat Spencer Knight up high.
Nikishin made his presence felt physically in the second period, as he laid a hit on rookie Nick Lardis near the Chicago bench. Oliver Moore took exception, dropping the gloves to fight Nikishin, who quickly sent him to the ice after a brief but dominant scrap.
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From the opening puck drop of the third period, Chicago clearly found a different level. After Carolina dominated territorially for almost the entirety of the first 40 minutes, the Blackhawks flipped the scrip.
Andersen stood tall until Connor Murphy danced around him and tucked it home to give Chicago a 3-2 lead with a shot that made the margin in that department 8-2 in the final frame.
It didn’t take long for the Canes to snap out of their funk, though, as Jackson Blake tied the game less than a minute later as he tapped home a feed from Logan Stankoven for his 16th goal of the season.
The final five minutes went by without a goal, so it went to 3-on-3 overtime. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour went with his customary strategy of starting with Jordan Staal and Jaccob Slavin in a bid to win possession.
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The gambit backfired as Staal lost the draw to Frank Nazar, but a whistle on a collision between Slavin, Nazar and Andersen bought the Canes a whistle and a change after over a minute of Chicago possession.
The Blackhawks later trapped Slavin, Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers out for a brutally long shift, but a turnover spring the tired Canes for a 2-on-1. Knight’s save sprung Moore on a breakaway, but Andersen made the save of the game to keep the contest going.
Carolina opted to go first in the shootout, sending out Blake for an unsuccessful attempt. Chicago responded with Lardis, who missed to Andersen’s stick side after coming in with plenty of speed.
Brind’Amour tapped Svechnikov for the No. 2 spot, and the surging Russian beat Knight with a shot after a nifty move to give his team the advantage. It was Bedard next for the Blackhawks, and the 2023 No. 1 overall pick beat Andersen low to level things up.
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Jarvis was next for Carolina, and he lost the puck as he attempted to complete his move. Nazar had the game on his stick for Chicago, but Andersen came up with a blocker save to extend the game.
Miller and Andre Burakovsky were both unsuccessful in the fourth, and Knight made a flashy glove save on Stankoven in the top of the fifth. That set Ryan Donato up for another chance to win it for Chicago. Andersen made a ridiculous last-second pad save to keep it going.
Mark Jankowski got the next go for the Canes, only to be greeted by another glove save from Knight. It was then Moore for Chicago, and he beat Andersen to give the Blackhawks a big win in the Western Conference playoff race.