With Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm back in the fold, the Carolina Hurricanes’ offense is now sneaky-deep. There was nothing sneaky about their win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, though.
Just consider the flow of this game:
First period: Carolina goes up 1-0, game gets tied, Hurricanes regain lead at 2-1. No big deal.
Second period: Sven Baertschi scores his second goal of the game, gets an assist and Vancouver rattles off four unanswered goals for a 5-2 lead. Vancouver scored three times in less than five minutes.
Third period: The Hurricanes scored four goals through the first six minutes, then Jordan Staal scored what would be the game-winner 12:38 into the third. Brandon Sutter made it closer at 7-6, but Lee Stempniak’s empty-netter ended it at 8-6. There was only one penalty in this period, too, so this wasn’t just weird because of special teams.
The “deep” thing does carry over, too.
Yes, there were some multi-point nights, but seven different Hurricanes scored a goal. From Justin Faulk (goal, two assists) to Derek Ryan (three assists) and Jeff Skinner (two goals), plenty of promising young players reminded us of why this team is considered an interesting “dark horse” in the East.
As far as the Canucks are concerned? PHT’s own Cam Tucker wonders if this is one of those explosive games that could cost someone their job.
I remember that embarrassing third-period loss to the Islanders near end of Gillis Era. This collapse every bit as epic. What happens next?
— Cam Tucker (@CamTucker_Sport) December 14, 2016
It’s certainly not the sort of night that sneaks under the radar. Not many 8-6 hockey games do, especially when you blow a big lead.