The Carolina Hurricanes traveled to Manitoba to take on the Winnipeg Jets in their first of two meetings within the next seven days. The Hurricanes were looking to carry their point streak to five games. However, the Jets were looking to extend their winning streak to three games. After the final horn, the Hurricanes defeated the Jets 4-3.
Game Recap
The first period saw three goals, one from the Hurricanes and two from the Jets. Jordan Staal scored 16 seconds into the game to put the visitors out front early. It was the third-fastest goal to start a road game in franchise history. He beat Eric Comrie after getting a great pass from Jordan Martinook. The Jets’ Josh Morrissey and Gabriel Vilardi would score two goals to put Winnipeg out front. Both goals were scored after the Hurricanes’ turnovers, with the second coming on the power play. Morrissey scored his fifth of the season and Vilardi his seventh.
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The second period saw Staal score his second of the game after tipping the initial shot from Jalen Chatfield. It’s already his seventh goal of the season in 21 games. The last time he had scored 20 or more goals was back in 2015-16, and he’s currently on pace to break that. Just over three minutes later, Seth Jarvis scored against his hometown team with a shorthanded goal. K’Andre Miller caused a turnover to find Sebastian Aho, who had the initial shot but was saved by Comrie. Jarvis was johnny on the spot and scored his second shorthanded goal of the season, his 11th overall.
The third period saw a pair of goals, one from each side. On the Hurricanes’ third power-play opportunity, Andrei Svechnikov blasted a one-timer past Comrie to double the lead. Svechnikov got a fantastic cross-ice pass from Nikolaj Ehlers to get an assist in his first game back in Winnipeg. The Jets were able to get back to within one as Vilardi scored his second of the game. He tried to center the puck, but it went into the net off Chatfield’s skate. It was friendly fire on Brandon Bussi, who had no way of stopping a random goal like that.
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Bussi was able to keep the Hurricanes in the lead as the final minutes wound down. He ended up stopping 24 of 27 shots to claim his fifth win of the season in six starts. He’s been a clutch addition to the crease since being claimed off waivers before opening night back in October.
After the victory, the Hurricanes extended their point streak to five games and are now 2-0-1 on the road trip. They’ve tallied five out of a possible six points over the four-game road trip, and extend their lead atop of the Metropolitan Division. Regarding the Jets, they see their two-game winning streak snapped in the loss. It’ll be interesting to see how they will navigate not having Connor Hellebuyck for the next 4-to-6 weeks due to having knee surgery. They will have to lean on Comrie to lead the way in the crease for the next few weeks.
