Your Canes had a weird one in Montreal last night, y'all.
### We Shot So Much, But They Scored So Much
If you went to bed after the first period, I don't blame you, but you missed a wild swing. The Carolina Hurricanes came out strong, lookin' like they were fixin' to run the Canadiens right out of their own barn. Nino Niederreiter Ehlers got us on the board quick with a power play goal, and then Captain Jordan Staal notched another one to make it 2-0. We were out-shooting them like crazy – ended the game with a ridiculous 43 shots to their 19. But then the wheels just kinda wobbled, didn't they? Owen Kapanen got one back for Montreal in the first, and then in the second period, the Canadiens just exploded with Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský scoring. Slafkovský even added another in the third, and Jake Evans sealed it with an empty-netter. The final score, 5-2 for the Canadiens, just doesn't tell the full story of how much we dominated the puck, but it tells the only story that matters: they got more in the net.
The Caniacs in Raleigh are waking up to a tough pill, especially after such a strong start. It was one of those games where the goalie, Sam Montembeault for Montreal, just stood on his head. Sometimes that happens, no matter how many quality chances you generate. Our guys, particularly Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, were buzzing around early, setting up that Ehlers power play goal. We just couldn't sustain that finish, and Montreal capitalized on what felt like every single one of their chances. It's frustrating to see such a lopsided shot count not translate to a win, especially when you're 1st in the Metro.
What does it mean for the Carolina Hurricanes going forward? Well, we're still sitting pretty at 45-20-6, first in the Metropolitan Division with 96 points. A single regulation loss on the road isn't gonna sink the ship. Our last 10 games are now 6-4-0, so we're still playing good hockey overall, just had a stumble. It's a wake-up call, maybe, but nothing to panic about here in Raleigh. We're still the Bunch of Jerks, and we'll be back at it. Hopefully, this means the next time we're at PNC Arena, the Storm Surge is gonna be even more electric.
'Cause Chaos — from Raleigh, this is T-Man.
My guys on the morning show are definitely going to be dissecting this one. Go check them out live at mornings.live.