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Can you believe that, after four months of hockey, the Carolina Hurricanes are more than halfway done with their 2024-2025 NHL season?
The Canes are entering their final week of first-half games: Tuesday, February 4 at the Winnipeg Jets; Thursday, Feb. 6 at the Minnesota Wild and Saturday, Feb. 8 against the Utah Hockey Club, with the final showdown closing the first half. After facing Utah, Carolina won’t play for two weeks, as the 4 Nations Face-Off will replace this year’s NHL All-Star Game.
Before we get into the Canes’ final first-half week, let’s take a deeper dive into their two most recent home games.
Carolina stormed ahead in the second period and held off the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, on January 30 and lost two days later, 4-2, ending their 7-game point against the Los Angeles Kings.
How did the Canes go 1-1 last week and maintain their second-place standing in the Metropolitan Division?
Rantanen’s second-period goal breaks tie, Carolina holds off Chicago late
When you looked down at your phone, towards your computer screen or television on Friday, January 24, I bet you were as shocked as us.
The Canes pulled off a blockbuster trade for offensive superstar Mikko Rantanen, who has 100-points in consecutive NHL seasons.
Hockey fans wondered how long it would take Rantanen to score his first goal in Carolina, but quickly got their answer.
On Thursday, Jan. 30 – less than a week after his trade from the Colorado Avalanche – Rantanen scored the Canes’ tie-breaking goal in their 3-2 win against the Blackhawks.
Rantanen’s goal was a thing of beauty. Carolina forced a turnover in their own defensive zone, then skated quickly up the ice. Jack Roslovic left a beautiful puck for Rantanen, who then squeaked his shot past Chicago goalie Arvid Söderblom.
Seth Jarvis opened the Canes’ scoring, netting a puck with three minutes left in the opening period. Ilya Mikheyev tied the game for his Blackhawks moments later, Rantanen scored the go-ahead goal, then Jaccob Slavin pushed Carolina’s lead to 3-1.
Chicago’s young superstar Connor Bedard scored six minutes into the third period, but Canes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov and his defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way.
Carolina scores first, allow three consecutive goals in 4-2 loss to Los Angeles
Every good team is tested by its ability to beat fellow good teams, which the Canes prove to do time and time again.
Every good team also experiences the occasional loss to good teams, which is exactly what happened in Raleigh on Saturday, Feb. 1.
Despite Carolina taking a 1-0 lead over the Kings in the first period’s final five minutes, thanks to Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s 11th goal of the season, the visitors from the City of Angels quickly charged back for a 4-2 victory.
Phillip Danault tied Saturday’s contest for LA, scoring just 2:35 after Kotkaniemi. Just over a minute into the second period, Trevor Moore broke the deadlock with a shot that just got behind Canes goalie Frederik Andersen. Kevin Fiala closed out the Kings’ second-period goal barrage, tallying his 17th goal of the season, with three minutes remaining.
Carolina closed its deficit to 3-2, thanks to Eric Robinson’s 12th tally, but Fiala’s second goal of the night ultimately ended things in Raleigh.
Who do the Canes play next?
As mentioned in our first graph, Carolina has just three more games before the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Canes first travel to the Great White North tomorrow, Feb. 4 for an 8 p.m. battle with the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg (37-14-3, 77 points) leads the entire NHL in points right now, so Carolina will be tested early and often.
The Canes’ schedule gets even tougher on Thursday, Feb. 6 with a 7:30 p.m. start time in Minneapolis. The Wild (31-18-4, 66 points) are third place in the Western Conference’s Central Division.
Carolina will close out its first half on Saturday, Feb. 8 with a 1 p.m. face-off against the Utah Hockey Club. The Canes are looking to avenge November’s 4-1 loss in Utah (21-22-9, 51 points).
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