Much like Wednesday's season opener against Columbus, the first 20 minutes of action resembled that of two teams trying to find their game. Goaltenders Antti Raanta and James Reimer were each tasked with a handful of tries along the way, but just as when it appeared that the game would progress to the second scoreless, Evgeny Svechnikov had other plans. The elder brother of Canes forward Andrei, San Jose's forward cut through the slot and fired a shot by Calvin de Haan before it appeared to surprise and sneak by Raanta as well.
The home side took their one-goal advantage into the middle frame and while Carolina worked more toward the game that they desire to play, Reimer was an X-Factor against his former club. The 2019-21 Hurricane was all the way up to 23 stops on 23 attempts late in the second period, but before his club could take their lead into the final frame of regulation this time it was Martin Necas' time to play spoiler.
Andrei Svechnikov hustled back into the neutral zone to strip Kevin LeBanc of the puck, spun play the other way and put a flawless pass on the tape of Necas for the game-tying tally.
