Though his season has been filled with ups and downs, forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi is making sure Montreal Canadiens fans don’t forget him as some of his performances helped the Carolina Hurricanes immensely.
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The Finn emerged again on Tuesday, scoring two goals and an assist in the 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets. He finished the night with a +4 difference, halting a senseless four-game drought despite scoring the decisive goal in a 4-3 penalty shootout win over the Habs a week earlier.
What’s more, this is a very productive second meeting of March for the 22-year-old hockey player: Two days before his last visit to the Bell Center, he had five points against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With 16 games remaining until the end of the regular season, “KK” should set a personal career high for total points scored in a year. He has 33 this season, down one short of his record from 2018-2019 when he played in 79 games as a rookie with the Canadiens.
Yawning hole to fill
So this is some reassuring material for head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who has to rely on the depth of his roster. On Tuesday, the Hurricanes confirmed the long-term absence of Andrei Svechnikov with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
“KK also did its job in the other games,” said the pilot in a press conference. It’s getting more and more difficult and we’re missing players up front. So the other guys have to get up. It’s not about being significantly better, it’s about being very good. They may not have played at all in certain situations this season, but we have to trust them because there are opportunities within the formation.
“Before that, the games didn’t end in our favor and there was this bad news. So it’s good to get a big win for Svechy. He is an important part of this roster and we will miss him,” Kotkaniemi told NHL.com.
The Canes visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.