Recap: Canes' Three-Goal Third Not Enough In Toronto

TORONTO - Three late tallies gave the Carolina Hurricanes life on Saturday, but an early deficit proved too large to overcome as they fell 6-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Carolina conceded four Toronto goals in the first period, leaving themselves a mountain to climb in the final 40 minutes. Following a scoreless second stanza, the Canes began to climb that mountain with three goals in 2:41 during a dominant third period.

Shayne Gostisbehere potted the first of those at 12:25, finishing a Sebastian Aho feed in front of the net. Shortly afterward, with the goaltender pulled to turn a 4-on-4 scenario into a 5-on-4 advantage for Carolina, Mikko Rantanen teed up an Andrei Svechnikov one-timer to bring the Canes within two.

Stunningly, the comeback continued just 20 seconds later as Jaccob Slavin whacked home a loose puck at the side of the net after most players on the ice had lost sight of it in the air, making it 4-3 Toronto with just under five minutes to play.

Carolina ultimately outshot Toronto 14-3 in the final frame but couldn't close the gap completely, and a pair of empty-net markers lifted the Leafs to victory.

Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves on 21 shots in his second consecutive start.

Stats & Standouts

• Since Frederik Andersen returned from injury on Jan. 20, the Canes had alternated between Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov between the pipes each game. Although tonight was their first game action in two weeks, Kochetkov got the nod for a second consecutive contest, marking the first time since Jan. 7-9 that the Canes went with the same backstop in back-to-back outings.
• Tonight's contest marked the fourth game this season in which Carolina has scored three or more goals in the third period. Previously 3-0-0 in those outings, this was the first of those games they have lost.
• Shayne Gostisbehere scored to kick off the comeback, finding twine for the first time since Dec. 10, 2024 and snapping a 20-game goal drought.
• Posting an assist in addition to his goal, Gostisbehere recorded his eighth multi-point performance this season, which ranks third on the team behind Sebastian Aho (14) and Seth Jarvis (9).
• Leading the games with 24:13 of ice time in Toronto, Brent Burns skated in his 900th straight game dating to Nov. 21, 2013, becoming the sixth player in NHL history to accomplish the feat.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour following the loss...

"The start was junk. They get up four and they don't have to do anything. It was good that we got three to give us a chance [in the third], but you can't come out in the first period and play that light in our own end. That's really what it was. We were just making really poor decisions. They're too good. They're going to score when you do that. Yeah, we came back, but you can't come out in a game like that and play that way to start the game."

Rod Brind'Amour after being asked if he'd considered making a goaltending change following the three early goals for Toronto...

"That's not what we needed to do. We had our little TV timeout and we sent a message that way. (Kochetkov) played good after that. That's not on him. That's a cop-out, changing the goalie at that point when it's not on him. That's why we didn't do that."

Andrei Svechnikov on what allowed the team to have success in the third period...

"We got to our game. There was a couple of lucky bounces and it was a different game right away. We just have to play the way we played in the third period [moving forward]."

Andrei Svechnikov when asked if he felt that it was difficult to get back to playing after a two-week break...

"Very difficult, especially on the road. It's always hard to start, but it's no excuses, we have to play better and play our game.

What's Next?

The Canes travel to Montreal post-game. They are scheduled to practice on Monday before then taking on the Canadiens on Tuesday.

Next Game: Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Montreal | 7:00 p.m.

Next Home Game: Thursday, Feb. 27 vs. Buffalo | 7:00 p.m. | Whalers Night | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights