Recap: Canes Blanked By Blues

ST. LOUIS - For the first time this season, the Carolina Hurricanes were held without a goal as they fell 3-0 to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

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A relatively even, scoreless first period represented a solid start for the Canes as they hit the ice for their second game in as many nights, but things unraveled for the visitors in the second stanza.

An early power play gave the Hurricanes a chance to capitalize first, but the Blues instead took advantage of the special teams scenario, with Nick Bjugstad striking shorthanded to open the scoring and sting the visitors. Perhaps smelling blood in the water on home ice, St. Louis tacked on two more tallies in a span of 3:04 to take a commanding lead into the final frame.

Unfortunately, just one night removed from a three-goal, third-period comeback in Detroit, the Canes were unable to recreate their Motor City magic in St. Louis as the Blues held down the fort in the closing 20 minutes.

Blues goaltender Joel Hofer finished with 33 saves for his sixth career shutout, while Carolina's Brandon Bussi tasted regulation-time defeat for just the third time this year in spite of a 28-save effort.

Stats & Standouts

• Tuesday's loss marks Carolina's first time failing to score in a game this season - only five NHL teams have yet to lose by shutout in 2025-26 (BOS, COL, LAK, MIN, NYI).
• Defenseman Jaccob Slavin did not take part in Tuesday's contest due to injury rehab protocol. In his stead, Mike Reilly drew into the lineup, skating 13:50 and registering one shot, one block and one hit.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour following the contest...

“It was obvious, right from the start, we had no life. You could just see how we were turning pucks over. It's not how we play. They capitalized. They played a good team game. Structured, how they're supposed to. We were trying to do other things, and that never works."

Jordan Staal after the defeat...

"I think we were just hoping for an easy one, really. It just seemed like we were kind of hoping for a 'We'll outscore them, we're going to get our few chances, we'll give them a couple and we'll see what happens' kind of game. We weren't really ready to play that forechecking game or that stress game that we've been talking about. There wasn't a whole lot of spark from anyone throughout the lineup. It wasn't pretty."

Jordan Staal continuing...

"You can't put yourself in that hole consistently. We've got to do a better job with our starts and investing in how we do things, how we play the game, to tilt it in our favor. It's all fun and games when you're down and you're trying to make plays - maybe you get some chances. But for the most part, we didn't play good enough to win that game."

Rod Brind'Amour discussing how much of his team's "lifeless" effort he chalks up to being a second road game in as many nights...

"This is part of being a pro. We've gone through this with other games too this year, where we've had these stretches of three (games) in four (days), and travel, and we have the same result. This is where you have to buckle down and not look the other way..."

Jordan Staal on special teams, which gave up a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal...

"Power play was no good. The penalty kill, we had a chance going one way, and gave up one on the other. The power play didn't really generate a ton. There was a lot of one-and-dones. We'd get one shot, and they'd send it down. We had a tough time getting it back in their end as well. There wasn't good enough steady pressure and good shots and retrievals... Everything was just a little off."

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes will fly home immediately after the game and are scheduled to be off on Wednesday. They'll return to practice on Thursday and get set to host the Florida Panthers at Lenovo Center on Friday.
• Next Game: Friday, January 16 vs. Florida | 7:00 p.m. ET | FDSNSO | Tickets | Parking