Recap: Canes Bottled Up By Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. - For the second time this week, the Carolina Hurricanes controlled much of the game but came up short at the final buzzer as they fell 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

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Despite peppering 15 shots to Minnesota's 7 in the first period, the Canes exited the opening 20 minutes trailing 1-0 following a Wild goal just 2:55 into the contest. Carolina upped the pressure in the second stanza, even earning a penalty shot through Jackson Blake, but still couldn't find a way past Filip Gustavsson through a pair of periods.

As bad luck piled up at one end of the rink, a stroke of good fortune doubled Minnesota's lead 49 seconds into the third period. A shot from the blue line clanked off the post behind Frederik Andersen, then bounced off his back and sat in the crease where Vinnie Hinostroza poked it home to make it 2-0 Wild.

The Hurricanes finally got their breakthrough with 2:48 remaining, as Sebastian Aho spun a shot through traffic past Gustavsson to give the road team late life with Andersen off for the extra attacker. Despite a flurry of chances to knot things up from there, Carolina couldn't grab the goal it needed to force overtime.

Andersen finished with 22 saves on 24 shots to move to 6-3-0 on the year.

Stats & Standouts

• After sitting out Tuesday's game, Juha Jaaska returned in lieu of rookie defenseman Scott Morrow on Thursday, skating 5:31 in the contest. Rod Brind'Amour also shuffled his lines from what had been seen north of the border earlier this week, notably bumping Seth Jarvis to the wing with Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen.
• During tonight's second period, Jackson Blake had his first career penalty shot attempt. Despite burning Gustavsson with a nifty move, the first-year pro lost a handle on a puck. It was Carolina's first penalty shot attempt as a team this season.
• Although the Canes couldn't find the win on Thursday, Brent Burns was firing pucks all night. Recording eight shots, it matches his season-high, which he set on Jan. 15 in Buffalo.
• Carolina totaled 38 shots on Thursday, outshooting their opponent for the league-leading 41st time this season. The Hurricanes also rank atop the NHL with 19 games of 35 or more shots, going 12-7-0 in such contests.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour following the loss...

"That's the way it's gone for us lately. You can't fault the effort, I thought we had a good game. We played a good first period, [and] come down 1-0... The second period we were kind of even, not much going both ways. (We) made another kind of poor decision on their second goal and they made us pay. Tough night. We definitely had enough opportunities to get more than one goal. Maybe we don't win the game, but we certainly deserved to get something out of that. That's kind of how it's gone for us this whole year, to be honest with you."

Jackson Blake on what Minnesota did well tonight...

"They're one of the best teams in the league, we know that. They do such a good job of boxing of us out and not letting us get second opportunities. I think we could've battled a little harder on that part to get a little second and third effort. They're so quick off of the rush. They had a lot of 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s tonight. We just can't give those up..."

Rod Brind'Amour discussing the man advantage, which is now 2-for-46 (4.3%) in 2025, and special teams...

"Our power play stinks. I'll just leave it at that. Our penalty kill did a nice job though. That's not the difference in the game. If they get a power play goal, then it really is, but we at least saw that off. We've got to find a way to score some goals. I don't know what the answer is. We're certainly putting up good opportunities, we've just got to finish."

Jaccob Slavin echoing his coach's thoughts...

“Tonight we had our chances. One of the things we’ve just got to get dialed in is our special teams. Our kill did a good job, but power play, we’ve got to bear down there and get some goals. A lot of times, that’s the difference in the game, the special teams, and we didn’t win that battle tonight.”

Jackson Blake when asked about what needs to be different for the team...

"We've got to capitalize, myself included. I've got to find ways to put it in the net. We've only scored one goal in the last two games. That's not going to win you very many hockey games. We've just got to find a way, get better tomorrow and look toward Utah on Saturday."

What's Next?

The Canes are scheduled to practice on Friday in Raleigh. They'll then return to game action on Saturday against the Utah Hockey Club, their final game before the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Next Home Game: Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. Utah | 1:00 p.m. | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights