By AIDAN JENSEN
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The Carolina Hurricanes have one of the NHL’s best home-ice advantages, as anyone who’s been to PNC Arena knows that roof feels like it’s about to blow off.
Caniac Nation starts cheering when the siren brings players out of the tunnel, then doesn’t stop until the final horn sounds. It’s been consistently called “The Loudest House in the NHL,” much to the delight of Caniacs and frustration in the traditional hockey markets (Philadelphia, Montreal, Boston).
Carolina’s also known for struggling on the road – mainly in the playoffs. This was evident in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Canes lost every road game in two series.
We’re now already two full months into the NHL season, with those same road woes being present in Carolina’s most recent stretch.
Those woes temporarily stopped this week.
After starting their 6-game road-trip with four consecutive losses, the Canes ended that same road-trip with their second straight win on Thursday night – a 2-1, goalie-centric battle over the Detroit Red Wings.
This could prove to be an important victory come April, as Detroit (15-10-4) currently holds the Eastern Conference’s top Wild Card spot. Carolina (16-12-1) is the second Wild Card team.
The Canes started their scoring attack early, keeping the puck in the Red Wings’ zone with a beautiful passing display. Stefan Noesen found Jack Drury waiting across the crease – Drury cashed in by one-timing the puck past Red Wings goalie Ville Husso.
Detroit tied the game just 5:20 into the second period, with center Michael Rasmussen tallying his seventh goal on the young campaign. It only took the Canes six minutes to re-take the lead for good, with captain Jordan Staal poking a Husso miscue into the net.
The remainder of the game was a series of timely, highlight-reel saves from Husso and Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, who denied Robby Fabbri’s tying attempt in the waning seconds. Kochetkov won his second straight game and allowed just one goal in consecutive outings, after giving up six combined in his previous two losses.
The Canes now get to return to their home faithful on Friday, Dec. 15, hosting the Nashville Predators for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff. Nashville (16-13-0) has a hot goalie of its own in Juuse Saros, who’s won each of his five December starts.
