In the previous iteration of Carolina Hurricanes: Week in Review, we looked at the first two games of the very first week of 2023 for the Canes. Today, we look at the second half of that week, and see rather or not the team was able to get back to its winning ways following a loss to the New York Rangers.

January 5th vs Nashville Predators

PNC Arena was absolutely packed for the Canes first home game of the new calendar year, and the fans were hoping that Carolina would come out victorious against John Hynes Predators squad. Paul Stastny (2) was able to get the fans on their feet at the 7:41 mark, as his power play goal gave the team a 1-0 lead. That advantage would not take the team into the dressing room however, as Filip Forsberg (15) got the equalizer at 10:29 off the heals of a Teuvo Teravainen tripping penalty. Brady Skjei (7) got the second period going early, as his goal came at just the 35 second mark. Skjei was setup by second star of the night Brett Pesce, who got his second assist on the night. The lead would again be short lived however, as Mattias Ekholm (4) tied the game up at the 2:47 mark. At the 9:54 mark of the period, Canes captain Jordan Staal (11) got the team back out front, and this would unfortunately, be the teams last goal of the night. At the 11:55 mark, Cody Glass (4) would tie the game at 3-3, and the Predators wouldn’t look back. In the third, Mark Jankowski (4) put the team out front 4-3 at the 5:06 mark, and Colton Sissons (6) would officially end the game at the 19:57 mark. The Canes put 67 shots on goal for the night, with Juuse Saros stopping 64 of them.

January 7th @ Columbus Blue Jackets

The Canes went into Columbus Saturday night looking to take two points from a struggling Blue Jackets squad. The game stated of slow, as both teams went into the break scoreless. The first half of the second period was dominated by Columbus, as Kirill Marchenko (6,7) scored at the 7:26 and 9:02 marks, both of which were scored on the power play. The Canes would however get things going in the remainder of the period, as Max Pacioretty (1) scored at the 11:20 mark, with Brady Skjei (8) knotting the game up on the power play at the 17:18 mark. Max Pacioretty (2) would score his second of the game on the power play at 18:56 to give the Canes a 3-2 lead. The third period was relatively uneventful, aside from Kirill Marchenko (8) getting his hat trick at the 5:23 mark, a goal that would not only send the game to overtime, but through to a shootout. In the shootout, the Jackets put the Canes on the ropes early with Marchenko and Patrik Laine scoring the first two. Andrei Svechnikov scored his attempt to keep the Canes in it, with Teuvo Teravainen scoring the last attempt to keep the shootout going. The excitement would not continue for Canes fans however, as Kent Johnson gave the Jackets a 4-3 SO win.

Recap of These Two Games

The Hurricanes struggled through the second half of the week, as they were only able to take one out of the possible four points. Both games were in the Canes control at points, with the team not able to finish either one of them off. The third period in particular was a low point for the team, as they went into the period leading both games. For the week, the Canes went 1-2-1, taking three out of the possible eight points.