RALEIGH N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes host the Vancouver Canucks on the first side of a back to back. The Canes were looking for a much-needed win after a three-game losing streak. Coach Bill Peters for the Canes addressed roster changes by placing Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris on waivers. They would be cleared and sent to the Charlotte Checkers. After this move the Canes are expected to bring up new faces to help scoring issues.
However against the Canucks, the Canes would put on a show for the 13,123 in attendance at the PNC Arena and boost the Canes confidence for Saturdays outing against the Colorado Avalanche.
In the first period the Canes were unstoppable starting off with a goal 14 seconds into the opening period by defenseman Brett Pesce, his second of the season, assisted by Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho. Pesce set the record for the fastest goal scored by a defenseman in Hurricanes history. Phil Di Giuseppe would later in the period score his first goal of the season making the the Canes two up on Vancouver with 5:17 left.
The Canes were not done yet with the 20 year old sensation Sebastian Aho racking up his 20th goal of the season, with the assist by Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce to end the period on a high note. The Canes had not posted three goals in the first period since December 21st against Nashville, showing lineup changes by Coach Peters are positive.
The second period was not anything special for the Canes. They were not able to execute on any opportunities given to them with 0-2 on power plays and no goals added to the box score. The Canucks however, finally capitalized on goalie Scott Darling with a goal by Michael Del Zotto, who was assisted by Alex Biega and Sven Baertschi.
Darling, who has not been hot as of late with a .892 save percentage in 30 starts, was activated by Coach Peters on Thursday the 8th. The rest of the period was the Canucks and Canes battling back and forth until the end of the period.
After a slow second period, the third would not disappoint for the Canes. A fight would occur with 15:37 left between Klas Dahlbeck and Darren Archibald, putting them in the box for 5 minutes left. This would be Archibald’s first game ever in the NHL. The Canes later in the period, would net one more goal by Justin Williams at the 7:27 mark with the assist by Jeff Skinner.
The game would end 4-1 and with the crowd giving a standing ovation to the players sporting the red and white. Darling was a main contributor for the win and ended the night with 21-22 save ratio and .955% save percentage. The Canes now have a well deserved win under their belt and look ahead to the back side of their back to back against the 29-20-4 Colorado Avalanche.
Stars of the Game:
1st Star- Brett Pesce
2nd Star- Sebastian Aho
3rd Star- Scott Darling
