RALEIGH | The Canadian opened the second part of his long journey with a 5-3 defeat against the Hurricanes at PNC Arena. But beyond the final result, Juraj Slafkovsky's health was of even greater concern.
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Slafkovsky, who has had happy days on the right wing for Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield in the last ten games, did not finish the game. In the third period, Stefan Noesen knocked out the top of the 2022 draft class with a hard hit.
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The Slovakian took time to get up and then retreated to the opposing team's locker room. He did not play for the final six minutes of the game because the scout present in the stands decided to assess the risk of a concussion.
“I spoke to Juraj after the game and he was fine,” said winger Josh Anderson.
It wasn't just an impression on Anderson's part. The Canadian confirmed after the game that he had not suffered a concussion. He passed the NHL protocol.
A potential loss of Slafkovsky would have been a major blow. He's playing his best hockey since making his NHL debut last month. He also collected five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in his last four games before visiting North Carolina.
Logistically speaking, CH only has 12 healthy forwards since Emil Heineman was released from the Laval Rocket.
There are currently twelve attackers, eight defenders and three goalkeepers. A great mathematician will tell you that this formula cannot last forever.
Three times Svechnikov
The Habs showed character again in this game despite the defeat. For the third game in a row, Martin St-Louis' team was able to overcome a two-goal deficit. And CH found a way to tie the game at 3-3 early in the third period after Josh Anderson scored on a breakaway.
“Other than the beginning, I would say we played a good game,” St-Louis noted. We also know that we can come back. It's not an extraordinary game that takes you back to a review, but rather good, ordinary games. We have two big goals to bring us back together.”
Anderson regained his scoring touch with a fifth goal in his last five games. But there is another player who has also found his composure. Andrei Svechnikov, who scored just three goals in 20 games this season, scored a hat trick.
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Svechnikov scored the winning goal with a powerful shot midway through the third period. On this play, Sebastian Aho won an important face-off against Nick Suzuki. The Russian scored his third goal of the game into an empty net.
Aho (four assists) and Brent Burns (three assists) also showed a strong game for the winner.
The honesty of Brind'Amour
The Canes played a second game on two nights. The day after a 5-2 win over the Predators in Nashville, Rod Brind'Amour gave Antti Raanta the starting nod. The 34-year-old Finn returned to the NHL after a short stay with the Chicago Wolves.
However, Raanta did nothing to win back Brind'Amour's heart. He didn't play confidently and constantly struggled with the puck. Before the meeting, Brind'Amour had openly analyzed the work of his goalkeepers since the start of the year.
“When we watch our games, we often have the feeling that there are one or two goals too many,” he said. It was an arrow against Raanta, but also against Frederik Andersen (on the injured list). Pyotr Kochetkov is the Hurricanes' most reliable goalkeeper. But none of the three goaltenders have an efficiency percentage over .900.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell will need reinforcements at that position if he wants his team to go far in the playoffs. With Jake Allen there was an experienced security guard on the press bridge in Raleigh.