Lucas Wallmark

Staal’s OT goal lifts Hurricanes to Game 1 win over Islanders

By Adam GretzApr 26, 2019, 10:12 PM EDT

After scoring the game-tying goal in the third period of their Game 7 win in Round 1, Jordan Staal scored another massive goal for the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night when he scored at the 4:04 mark of overtime to lift his team to a 1-0 win over the New York Islanders, giving them an early 1-0 lead in the series.

It is Staal’s fourth goal of the playoffs and capped off a defensive slugfest that was highlighted by great goaltending, close calls, and a couple of premature celebrations for Islanders fans that probably only added to their frustration in the loss.

Maybe it was just a feeling out process between two teams that are new to this stage.

Or maybe it was the result of the Islanders still shaking off the rust from a week-long layoff and the Hurricanes still trying to come down from a double overtime Game 7 in Washington.

Or perhaps it was simply the play of goalies Robin Lehner and Petr Mrazek (or more accurately a combination of all three factors), but offense was nearly impossible to come by on Friday night.

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

Both goalies made stunning stops on breakaways, with Mrazek making a beautiful glove save to rob Josh Bailey in the first period, and Lehner stoning Greg McKegg in the second period with a sprawling toe save.

The Islanders had two other close calls throughout the night.

In the second period, Mathew Barzal appeared to score when he deposited the puck into an open net only to have it immediately called back because of a goaltender interference penalty on Anders Lee, even though Lee appeared to be shoved into Mrazek by Carolina’s Lucas Wallmark.

With under six minutes to play in regulation, Ryan Pulock blasted a one-timer that sounded the goal horn at the Barclays Center and ignited the crowd, only for everyone to realize the puck did not actually go in, but was instead lodged on the outside of the net.

They never really came close to scoring after that.

After sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1, this is the Islanders’ first loss of the 2019 playoffs.

Game 2 of Hurricanes-Islanders will take place on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Orpik plays overtime hero as Capitals take 2-0 series lead

By Scott BilleckApr 13, 2019, 6:39 PM EDT

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When you need a hero in Washington you call… Brooks Orpik?

Indeed. Brooks Orpik, playing in his 151st playoff game, hammered a one-timer into the top corner behind Petr Mrazek 1:48 into the extra frame for his fourth career playoff goal that sends the Washington Capitals to Carolina with a 2-0 series lead on the back of a 4-3 overtime win on NBC on Saturday.

The playoffs are about finding big goals from unlikely places, and Orpik’s marker embodied all of that. He jumped off the bench, found a spot without a defender, and when Evgeny Kuznetsov laid the sauce on his stick, Orpik didn’t disappoint, sending Capital One Arena into a frenzy.

The mathematics suggest that 86 percent of teams who go down 2-0 in a series never recover. Despite a valiant effort from the Hurricanes in Game 2 of their series with the defending Stanley Cup champions. If only they could sort out their starts…

Like Thursday when they went down 3-0 after 20 minutes, the Hurricanes spotted the Capitals with another lead, this time 2-0 inside the first 10 minutes.

The Capitals looked like a grizzled playoff team showing a young pretender that there are levels to this in the first frame. To recite a passage from the Hockey Cliche Handbook, Washington is tough on pucks, don’t give up a lot of space and are hard to play against.

Sometimes simple hockey boredom speech actually paints an accurate picture. A broken clock is right twice a day. Every now and then, those cliches are going to stand up and they certainly did in the first.

Carolina found success when they got pucks in deep and ground the game out down low. Both Lucas Wallmark and Sebastian Aho, the latter who scored his first goal in 16 games, brought the ‘Canes level heading into the third period.

Tom Wilson regained the lead for Washington just before the nine-minute mark, but with five minutes to go, Jordan Staal tipped a point shot back Braden Holtby to send the game to overtime.

The series shifts to Raleigh for Game 3 on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET on CNBC.

[MORE: Capitals vs Hurricanes preview]

[MORE: NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 1 schedule, TV info]

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

WATCH LIVE: Capitals host Hurricanes on NBCSN

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By Sean LeahyMar 26, 2019, 6:00 PM EDT

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Tuesday night’s matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

With six games to play, Washington leads the Metro by just one point over the Islanders. Washington is vying for its fourth consecutive division title. They are coming off a big 3-1 win at home against Philadelphia on Sunday, and now face a tough three-game stretch against two of the league’s top teams.

Since winning seven straight games from Feb. 24 – March 10, the Caps are just 3-3-1 in their last seven, including losses to Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Tampa twice. Sunday’s win snapped a two-game skid which saw Washington lose twice at home – to Tampa in OT on Wednesday and Minnesota on Friday.

Carolina has been one of the best teams in the NHL over the last two months. CAR is 18-6-1 since the All-Star Break and could potentially end the NHL’s longest active playoff drought this spring.

Sebastian Aho – in his third NHL season – is having a career-year with 30 goals, 50 assists and 80 points. The former 2015 second round pick leads Carolina in goals and points and has truly emerged as the team’s superstar this season (has most points. by Hurricanes player since Eric Staal’s 82 in 2007-08).

Carolina has won four of their last five games, including two straight. They last played on Sunday, defeating the Canadiens 2-1 in OT. Rookie Andrei Svechnikov (who turns 19 today) scored the OT winner – his 20th goal of the season. The 2018 No. 2 overall pick has five goals in the last seven games.

If the playoffs started today, Washington and Carolina would meet in the first round of the playoffs.

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals
Where: Capital One Arena
When: Tuesday, March 26, 6 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Hurricanes-Capitals stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINES

HURRICANES
Nino Niederreiter – Sebastian Aho – Justin Williams
Andrei Svechnikov – Jordan Staal – Teuvo Teravainen
Micheal Ferland – Lucas Wallmark – Jordan Martinook
Brock McGinn – Greg McKegg – Saku Maenalanen

Jaccob Slavin – Dougie Hamilton
Brett Pesce – Justin Faulk
Calvin de Haan – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Starting goalie: Petr Mrazek

CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson
Carl Hagelin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana – Lars Eller – Brett Connolly
Andre Burakovsky – Nic Dowd – Travis Boyd

Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos – John Carlson
Brooks Orpik – Nick Jensen

Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

John Forslund (play-by-play) and AJ Mleczko (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Pre-game coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Paul Burmeister alongside Jeremy Roenick and Anson Carter.

Hurricanes sign Teravainen to a five-year, $27 million extension

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By Joey AlfieriJan 21, 2019, 11:11 AM EDT

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The Carolina Hurricanes don’t have many forwards under contract next season, but they managed to secure one more on Monday, as they signed Teuvo Teravainen to a five-year, $27 million contract extension ($5.4 million AAV).

The 24-year-old is currently second on the team in points, with 39. He also finished second on the team in scoring last year, when he amassed 64 points in 82 games.

“Teuvo has improved every year of his NHL career and has established himself as a cornerstone forward for the Hurricanes now and into the future,” president and general manager Don Waddell said in a release. “He has shown that he is capable of adapting and expanding his role with our team, becoming a key penalty killer for Rod this season. He’s still just 24 years old and we believe he will only continue to grow as a player.”

Teravainen was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Pen to paper! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/3zvsr4wmw4

— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) January 21, 2019

This signing is a no-brainer for the Hurricanes, especially because Teravainen has been productive and they’re lacking it the scoring department. He’s improved his point production in each of the last three seasons and he’s on pace to surpass last year’s point total, too.

The ‘Canes now have Teravainen, Nino Niederreiter, Andrei Svechnikov, Warren Foegele and Lucas Wallmark as forwards under contract next season.

Carolina will now turn their attention to Micheal Ferland, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. Ferland is reportedly looking for a long-term deal that would pay him $6 million per season. Even though he hasn’t been as productive as Teravainen, Ferland has more leverage because he’s eligible to hit the open market.

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

Hurricanes the team to watch as trade deadline approaches

By Adam GretzJan 15, 2019, 5:59 PM EDT

1 Comment

The Carolina Hurricanes are a team worth watching right now for a lot of reasons.

By winning eight of their past 11 games they have inched their way back into the playoff discussion in the Eastern Conference. At least enough to be considered on the bubble. Yes, five points back in mid-January is still a pretty big hill to climb, but they’re making a run at it.

They also have the Storm Surge celebrations after wins on home ice as they add a little excitement to the league. Great stuff.

One of the other reasons you should be keeping an eye on them is they are one of the most intriguing teams in the league when it comes to the upcoming Feb. 25 trade deadline because of the contract situations, the makeup of their roster, and their position in the standings.

The contract and roster situations include…

Almost all of their long-term commitments being on the blue line. All of their regular NHL defenders are signed through at least the end of next season, while four of them run through at least 2021 (and two of them go beyond 2024).
Their only goalie under contract beyond this season is Scott Darling … who is currently buried in the American Hockey League. Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney are both unrestricted free agents after this season.
Almost all of their forwards are some kind of a free agent after this season. The only forwards under contract beyond this season are Jordan Staal, Victor Rask, Andrei Svechnikov, Warren Foegele, and Lucas Wallmark. The latter three are still on their entry-level deals. They have four potential unrestricted free agents (including captain Justin Williams) and five restricted free agents, including two of their top offensive players in Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.

Then there is the place in the standings. Like a lot of the teams in the Western Conference wild card race, the Hurricanes have to figure out exactly what they are this season — a team that has a legitimate shot to make the playoffs and might want to add something, or at least stay the course as currently constructed? Or are they a team that is too far back and needs to go into “sell” mode, especially with its current crop of free agents?

One thing is certain, the Hurricanes have a lot of intriguing players when it comes to potential trade chips.

For one, they still have a ton of depth along the blue line and could still flip one of their defenders for help elsewhere around the roster. Justin Faulk‘s name was all over the rumor mill during the offseason (especially after the addition of Dougie Hamilton) but remained with the team. There was also a rumbling in recent weeks that they might — might — be willing to listen to offers on Hamilton, but that seems like a real long-shot given that they are barely a half of a season into it and they would probably be dealing him at his lowest possible value. The best bet there is to hold on to him and trust that he regains the form and production he has shown throughout his career.

The forwards are where the real intrigue comes in because, again, so many of them are on expiring contracts.

It is probably pretty safe to say that Aho and Teravainen are not going anywhere. Not only are the team’s two best forwards, they are both young and just now entering their primes. Even if you assume the Hurricanes are not going to be a team that spends to the salary cap they still have all the flexibility in the world to get them signed.

The most likely player to get moved would seem to be forward Micheal Ferland (the other part of the Hamilton trade) who is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season and is probably in line for a fairly substantial raise from his current $1.75 million salary. He would also probably be able to get that on the open market because he’s the type of player that appeals to pretty much everyone in the league. He has size, is physical, is probably going to be a 20-goal, 40-point player for the second year in a row and once again has strong underlying numbers. He’s a good player that a lot of teams would want — especially around playoff time.

The other variable in all of this is just where the Hurricanes sit in the standings as we get closer to the deadline.

They have been a patient team that has always kept the long-term goal in mind, and even with the recent surge they really haven’t picked up that much ground in the standings when it comes to wild card positioning. It’s still asking a lot for them to get in or to expect them to try and actually add to this roster this season by giving up younger, future assets.

But it is also a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008-09, and if they can stack a few more wins together and keep staying afloat in the race it might change how much they are willing to trade or sell off in the short-term.

There are a lot of different directions this can go in the coming weeks, and a lot of it will probably depend on how long they can keep up this recent strong play.

More: Who has the inside track in the Western Conference wild card race?

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.