NHL: Canes finish long road trip 2-1, lose in return to Raleigh

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With the NHL regular season coming to a close in April, the Carolina Hurricanes continue to prove themselves amongst the Eastern Conference’s best.

Carolina carries a 43-24-4 record as of Wednesday, March 26, good enough for 90 points. The Canes trail just the Washington Capitals, who currently lead the NHL with 103 points, for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Carolina recently embarked on an 8-game winning streak, which ended with a 7-2 defeat at the Los Angeles Kings on March 22.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the Canes’ recent stretch, which gives fans a lot more hope heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Nashville gets the best of Carolina on Tuesday Night in Raleigh

It’s no secret the Nashville Predators are one of the NHL’s greatest disappointments this season, as they have just 62 points and a 27-36-8 record.

Offseason signings of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei were expected to bring Nashville back to playoff relevance.

Despite the Preds’ struggles during the 2024-2025 NHL campaign, they picked up a much-needed, 3-1 win over the Canes on Tuesday night.

Michael Bunting, the former Carolina winger, opened Tuesday’s scoring just 5:14 into the game on a powerplay. Luke Evangelista then extended Nashville’s lead to 2-0 with an early second-period tally.

Taylor Hall closed the Canes’ gap to 2-1, scoring just two minutes after Evangelista’s tally. Evangelista added a third period tally and the Preds won, despite recording just 16 shots against Pyotr Kochetkov.

Hall’s hat trick anchors Carolina’s final game of California road trip

The Canes’ in-season trade acquisition of Taylor Hall continues paying off, with Hall netting a hat trick during Sunday’s 5-2 win at the Anaheim Ducks.

Hall tallied all three of his goals during the third period: one just 2:32 in on a powerplay, another with just 2:43 left and his final on an empty-netter – less than a minute later.

Mark Jankowski opened the scoring for Carolina in the second period, while Jordan Martinook gave Carolina the lead for good with 5:23 remaining in the second.

Los Angeles proves to be Kings of the ice, dominate Canes on Saturday night

If you watched Canes-Kings on Saturday, chances are you weren’t very happy. Los Angeles scored the game’s first six goals en route to an eye-popping, 7-2 victory.

Dmitry Orlov scored Carolina’s first goal, which came with under six minutes remaining in the second period. Jankowski added a garbage-time goal in the third period, but those tallies simply weren’t enough.

Kochetkov struggled immensely in net for the Canes, allowing seven goals on 25 shots. That amounts to a goal on 28 percent of shots.

Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar and Andrei Kuzmenko registered first-period goals for the Kings, while Trevor Moore, Tanner Jeannot and Quinton Byfield scored in the second. Kevin Fiala added a third-period tally for LA, which trails the Vegas Golden Knights by just five points, for first place in the Pacific Division.

Carolina extends winning streak to Eight in San Jose

The San Jose Sharks used to be a model of consistency in the Western Conference, with 10 consecutive playoff appearances and a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2016.

San Jose hasn’t made the postseason since 2019 – and is currently the NHL’s worst team with a 19-42-9 record.

The Canes took full advantage of the Sharks’ struggles, coming from behind to win 3-1 on Thursday, March 20.

William Eklund gave San Jose a first-period lead, scoring with seven minutes remaining on a shorthanded chance. Seth Jarvis answered for Carolina in the second period, tying the game at one halfway through.

Sebastian Aho broke the Canes’ deadlock five minutes into the third period, then Sean Walker added his fourth goal of the season at the 14:18 mark.

Who do the Canes play next?

Carolina is off until Friday, March 28, when it welcomes the Montreal Canadiens to Raleigh for a 7 p.m. faceoff. The Canes then welcome the New York Islanders, a Metro Division rival, to the Lenovo Center on Sunday at 5 p.m.