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Last Time Out: The tough times continued for the Canes on Friday, although it didn't look like it would be that way in the beginning. After six consecutive games without a power play goal, both units broke through in a big way. Each scored in the first period, inspiring confidence and giving Carolina an early 2-0 advantage against the Atlantic Division leaders. Aside from a few big saves from Pyotr Kochetkov, that was as good as the outlook would get for Rod Brind'Amour's club. A late second period goal for Boston, combined with the Canes offering them six power play chances, allowed the Bruins to come from behind and force overtime. They'd then win it on the man advantage in OT, giving Carolina their fourth overtime loss in their last five games. In The Crease: Pyotr Kochetkov's start yesterday was his fourth in a row, making 38 stops en route to another unfortunate defeat. Through six starts this season he has allowed a total of just 14 goals, although his record now sits at 2-1-3. Kochetkov was not scheduled to start Wednesday night against Arizona but Antti Raanta was "nicked up" at morning skate ahead of the team's meeting against the Coyotes, thus prompting Kochetkov to become the first Canes netminder to start three games in a row this season. Prior to yesterday's game Rod Brind'Amour said that Raanta was healthy enough to back up, but the team wasn't going to start him if he was less than 100%. During the Brind'Amour era in Raleigh it has been extremely uncommon for a goaltender to start games on back-to-back days, so the question of whether Raanta is healthy enough to start today's contest is a big one. Good On The Back Half: Through three back-to-back sets so far this campaign, the Canes are 3-0-0 in the second game. Be In Your Seats On Time: The Flames arrive at PNC Arena with 23 first period goals this season, third most in the NHL. Conversely, they've also allowed 23 first period goals, tied for the second most league-wide. When it comes to the third period, they've scored just 13 goals, the fewest in the final stanza by any time thus far this season. Injury Report: Forward Ondrej Kase has been in concussion protocol since October 13. Goaltender Frederik Andersen (lower-body injury) was placed on injured reserve November 10, retroactive to November 6. Forward Teuvo Teravainen (upper-body injury) was placed on injured reserve November 11, retroactive to November 10. Teravainen and Max Pacioretty, who tore his Achilles in August, have been skating together recently though. On The Other Side: Calgary comes to town for their final bout of a six-game road trip out east. They are 2-2-1 on the venture thus far, taking wins from both Florida and Philadelphia. Former Hurricane Elias Lindholm leads the way for the team with 16 points in 20 games this season. A key component to their game, like Carolina, is getting pucks on net. They have averaged 35.6 shots per contest this season, third most in the NHL.

A 5-game win streak will put 'em right back where they need to be. I'm not sure it's panic time yet.

We'll be there as well. On a positive note, the Canes have only lost 3 games in 3 seasons when we've been in attendance...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And nearly every stitch of clothing we're wearing- I get it. But last time I checked, none of that involved millions in bribes being paid to an international organization and the resulting 6,000 deaths to forced labor immigrants who were promised something completely different.

After losing tonight, this will be 0-1-4 over the last 5, right? They'll lose to Boston Friday and come back for Saturday afternoon.

Burns should get the assist for Coyotes 2nd goal. Game is over

So now desperation sets in and the Canes start taking penalties...

14 shots in the 1st to Arizona's 1. I would think it's nearly impossible to be down on the scoreboard after a period like that.

3 PPs in the first half of the first period. And nothing to show.

5 on 3 coming. If they can't convert this.... oh boy.

In less than 2 minutes, I might add.

Arizona: 1 shot, 1 goal

Still need a #1 net-minder who can go 50-60 games a year. The notion of platooning a couple of second-tier goalies and expecting great success, especially in the playoffs, is a pipe-dream.

Lending A Helping Hand: Sebastian Aho recorded an assist on all three six-on-five goals for Carolina, becoming the first Hurricanes player to record three assists in a period since Jake Gardiner on 2/8/20. He now has 22 points in 19 games and a three-game point streak. Always Earning Points: Despite taking an overtime loss in the affair, Pyotr Kochetkov's young NHL record moves to 5-0-2. Yet to lose a game in regulation, he has allowed just eight goals in four starts this season. He began his career as just the 12th goaltender in NHL history to win each of his first five regular-season appearances and has now become the 13th netminder to earn a point in each of his first seven contests, joining Spencer Knight (FLA, 2020-21: 8-0-1 in 9 GP), Mike Condon (MTL, 2015-16: 6-0-2 in 8 GP), Martin Jones (LAK, 2013-14: 8-0-0 in 8 GP) and Vitek Vanecek (WSH, 2020-21: 5-0-2 in 7 GP) as the fifth goalie to accomplish the feat since 1995-96. In Net: Rod Brind'Amour shared Monday pre-game that because Kochetkov earned the nod for back-to-back starts against Minnesota and Winnipeg, Antti Raanta is "more than likely" to take on his former team tonight. Raanta began the year 3-0-1, but has been on the wrong end of three consecutive decisions despite allowing a total of just eight goals in them. He has also posted a 5-0-1 record, 1.98 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in six career regular season games against the Coyotes. Special Teams Struggles: The Canes were held without a power play goal again Monday night at Canada Life Centre, moving their streak to five straight games without a marker on the man advantage. Their 14.3% success rate thus far this season now places them 30th out of 32 in the league. Injury Report: Forward Ondrej Kase has been in concussion protocol since October 13. Goaltender Frederik Andersen (lower-body injury) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to November 6. Forward Teuvo Teravainen (upper-body injury) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to November 10. Rod Brind'Amour last Wednesday that, "Nobody's close to coming back." Teravainen and Max Pacioretty, who tore his Achilles in August, skated Friday morning at Invisalign Arena prior to the team's limited practice. On The Other Side: Arizona comes to town in the midst of a 14-game road trip that ranges from November 5 - December 7. They started the venture with three straight wins but have since dropped four in a row, including a shootout loss Monday in the Music City. Their 14 standings points on the season rank third-fewest in the NHL and no team has scored fewer than their 40 goals. Offensively, Clayton Keller leads the way with 18 points in 17 games.

I expect nothing but a hard-fought, eked out win against one of the worst teams in the league. I'm sure the Canes will do all they can to make the Coyotes goalie look outstanding tonight.

Except this is on a global level. A lot of countries- the United States included- doing the collective hand-wringing over human rights abuses, while at the same time fully endorsing sending a team to compete. Would be more than willing to bet a lot of money there are fans who paid major dollars to attend who also have the same opinion of the human rights issues here, but deciding it's okay to set it aside for a fugging game.

Anybody watching and supporting this event has given their tacit approval to the corruption and human rights violations behind it all. I've already seen multiple television stations talking about the human rights issues behind the construction all stadiums, then watched the same networks' sports segments posting scores and upcoming match schedules.

Wednesday's game will be the 20th of the season, or about 1/4 of the season done already, most of it on the road. That, in and of itself, could be a good thing. However, this team, based on their off-season and the expectations, cannot be considered anything more than a disappointment. At first look, I thought it was just a handful of new guys in key roles getting used to their line mates, but 20 games in and that should be worked out by now. Here are the key differences between last year's Canes and the team on the ice now: Missing Nino and Trocheck in front of the net. Martinook, Stastny, Noessen are not those guys. Without a net front, the opposition simply clogs the middle of the ice and doesn't allow the Canes the cross-ice and seam passes that were their bread and butter last year. Also means a lot more perimeter shooting, which opposing will give up all day, especially when the goalie can see the shot coming and no one taking his eyes away. PP & PK are both far below expectations. 14% PP this season versus 22% last year. PK was dominant last year at 88%. This year- a full 11% lower at 77%. Check the numbers so far this year- the Canes are just an above average hockey team, nothing much to see and be pleased with.

As goals have become an endangered species, I fear this game is over if they go another scoreless 2nd period.

RBA comments.... ouch. "2 or 3 guys playing and the rest just going through the motions." Among a few other few choices words. Crap. Miracle we got a point. Garbage.

Breaking: Pyotr Kochetkov skated practice with the starting lines this morning. 'The Score' reporting he is the starter against the Jets David Rittich (2-1-0). Canes Record: 10-5-3 (23 Points, 2nd, Metropolitan Division) Canes Last Game: 2-1 Overtime Loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, November 19 Jets Record: 10-5-1 (21 Points, T-2nd, Central Division) Jets Last Game: 3-0 Loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, November 19 NEWS & NOTES: Last Time Out: The first period of Saturday night's affair in St. Paul was an okay one for the Canes, taking an early 1-0 lead and holding the Wild to just five shots. After that things turned sour. Rod Brind'Amour said post-game that his team was "crap" in the final 40+ minutes of action, which included the team allowing Minnesota to turn the tide of the contest and eventually earn a victory. The Wild tied the contest with 2:37 remaining in regulation and then won it in overtime. Netminder Pyotr Kochetkov finished with 19 stops on 21 shots in the first loss of his NHL career. No More Passengers: A good deal of Brind'Amour's frustration Saturday night stemmed from his feelings that it was not a complete team effort from the club. "That's what you get when you don't have 20 guys going and clearly we don't have that on nights when we aren't winning," the head coach said sternly post-game. "We scored one goal and that's not going to do it. How do you get goals? We've got to play a little harder and dig a little deeper." Special Teams Struggles: An area of which players and coaches have pinpointed as one that needs improving is special teams. The club's power play now sits at 30th out of 32 in the league, capitalizing on just 14.7% of tries this season. They are 1/19 dating back to November 9, including four consecutive 0-for performances. The team's penalty kill, which had a historic run during the 2021-22 campaign, also now sits in the bottom half of the NHL. "Our special teams are kind of killing us," Martin Necas said after Thursday's loss to Colorado. Winnipeg's power play ranks 19th and their penalty kill sits at 3rd league-wide. Injury Report: Forward Ondrej Kase has been in concussion protocol since October 13. Goaltender Frederik Andersen (lower-body injury) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to November 6. Forward Teuvo Teravainen (upper-body injury) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to November 10. Rod Brind'Amour said Wednesday that, "Nobody's close to coming back." Teravainen and Max Pacioretty, who tore his Achilles in August, skated Friday morning at Invisalign Arena prior to the team's limited practice.

I missed the game last nite- almost glad I did. To add to Million's observation, I saw this in the 40+ shot Colorado game- no net front. Trocheck and Nino could get position in front of the net- and this facet of the Canes game was not addressed when they left. Consequently, way too many shots are easy saves because they're coming from the perimeter. Opposing teams are just packing the middle and letting the Canes shoot from outside - percentages are in the goalie's favor.

Understand. But, when you have the opportunity to play the defending Stanley Cup champs only twice on your schedule all season, and, in the first game, you underwhelm and look completely ill-prepared to face an excellent team; and in the second game you play exceptionally well, put 40 shots or so on goal and still come up short... In my book, if you play poorly and lose- it's still a loss. If you play extremely well and lose- it's still a loss also. And it shows what you're capable of against a championship caliber team. Those 2 games against the Avs were measuring sticks. They were a barometer of where this team is right now.

Canes still cannot play with the big boys.

Canes play everyone very well, until they get to the league elite. Boston, NY, Colorado and it's very clear they're just not quite there yet.