BREAKING NEWS: Andrei Svechnikov scored a goal!
Svech finally found the net at a crucial time, netting a game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Columbus on Sunday.
The Canes (12-8-0) stuck to their game after failing behind 2-0 in the third period, chipping away at the Blue Jackets (6-12-4) in the waning minutes until Svechnikov completed the comeback with 1:55 to play.
Svechnikov’s momentous goal marked his first since March 9 of last season. In his 12th game back from an ACL injury that cut his 2022-23 season short, Svech kept the faith despite some close-but-not-quite goals and finally found twine in a huge way.
“It’s a relief, but I actually wasn’t thinking at all,” Svechnikov said. “I didn’t score I know for a few games there. Ten games, whatever. I actually wasn’t thinking. I knew it was going to come. It was about the time. It was the right time and the right moment. A huge win for us.”
As a matter of fact, all five games in the game came in the final period. Elvis Merzlikins was a force field in the Columbus net for two periods and change, but the Canes kept hammering away even when the Jackets squeaked a couple past Pyotr Kochetkov.
“There’s never real panic on our bench,” said Brady Skjei. “I think that’s a huge strength of ours. Even tonight, down two, no one didn’t believe we could come back and win. Any win we’ll take right now. That was a good one. Hopefully we can carry it over.”
Jesperi Kotkaniemi finally broke the seal with 9:59 to go. He got a great feed from Teuvo Teravainen to fire away in the slot, beating Merzlikins with top shelf banger and giving the Hurricanes life.
Skjei scored the game-tying goal with a little under five minutes left, but that wasn’t the first time a goal when it off his stick. Both of the Blue Jackets’ goals took a deflection off Skjei, but he reversed that trend by batting in a loose puck up close.
While it was unusual to see both him and Jaccob Slavin — two defensemen — so close to the crease, Skjei’s offensive ambition paid off yet again. One of the most underrated pieces of Carolina’s offense, Skjei notched his third goal and 14th point of the season, tying for fourth-most on the team and most among Canes defensemen.
“He’s the guy you don’t hear much about,” said Rod Brind’Amour. “Gets overshadowed on this team without a doubt. He is a special player for us, no question.”
Kochetkov put together an impressive performance in the Canes net despite those two goals. Columbus didn’t generate an overwhelming amount of offense, totaling just 23 shots on goal, but Kooch made the saves he needed to when it mattered most.
“They didn’t have a ton, but it was a couple breakaways there, a couple almost breakaways,” Brind’Amour said. “Real grade-A, good opportunities. You can’t fault him on the goal right there, too. Weird things that happened. I give him a lot of credit. That’s what we need. We need a goaltending performance like that every night now and it’ll bode well for us.”
The Hurricanes will look to build its momentum on the road when it takes on the Flyers in Philly on Tuesday. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m.