The Carolina Hurricanes kicked off a three-game road trip with a back-to-back, first facing the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and then the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
Carolina went 1-1-0 in that span, picking up a 4-1 win over the Flyers but falling 4-2 to the Devils.
Here are some of my takeaways from the back-to-back:
1. Goaltending Highs and Lows
The Hurricanes are definitely in an interesting spot when it comes to their goaltending situation.
Frederik Andersen had surgery today on his knee and is expected to be sidelined for 8-12 weeks so it’s down to Pyotr Kochetkov and Spencer Martin to take on the mantle.
Carolina has a lot of faith in Kochetkov to be their goaltender of the future and he’s made the most of his opportunity so far with a 10-2-0 record and 0.907 save percentage.
Wednesday night in Philadelphia was another strong overall performance with a 0.947 save percentage, but the one goal he did give up was a tying goal on a shot that a NHL goaltender should probably stop 10/10 times.
Spencer Martin entered Thursday’s game coming off of a shutout win against the Ottawa Senators five days earlier, but it wasn’t a good game for him.
Martin allowed four goals on 21 shots, two of them were power play goals though to be fair, but it was his turnover behind his own net that led to the Devils’ go-ahead goal.
Carolina may have been able to overcome New Jersey with some empowered shift, but that turnover to goal was the dagger in that game.
Brind’Amour on the turnover by Martin leading to the game-winning goal: “You’re just giving up puck possession in your own zone for no reason. Those are the little details that you’re going to have to clean up in a game like this when it’s tight. That’s the difference in the…
— Ryan Henkel (@RyanHenkel_) November 22, 2024
Related: Can Pyotr Kochetkov Establish Himself As The Hurricanes Number One Netminder?
Related: Hurricanes Frederik Andersen To Undergo Knee Surgery on Friday
2. Jack Roslovic Back On Track
After a torrid start to the year, Roslovic was held scoreless through five games, but now goals in back-to-back games have once again tied him up with Martin Necas for the team lead (11).
Roslovic has been a tremendous asset for the Canes who signed him to a one-year, $2.8 million deal this offseason.
He’s already surpassed his goal totals from each of his last two seasons and looks to be flourishing with Carolina as a player who can slot up and down the lineup.
His stat line has been pretty funny too as he currently…