There was no fright night in Raleigh for the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night (Oct. 31) for Halloween. In what is usually a highly contest affair between the Boston Bruins and the Hurricanes was simply not. Rod Brind’Amour and his team hosted the wavering sub-.500 Bruins at home and just gave them a running nightmare all night. Even Freddie Kruger did not want to mess with Ghost (Shayne Gostisbehere) the Night Walker (Sean Walker) or any other Halloween-related pun because the Hurricanes routed the lowly Bruins 8-2 for their fifth straight win of the season putting them 7-2-0 after nine games. That being said, who stood out the most in such a haunting display of domination?
4-Point Night for Marty Necas
Have a great night Martin Necas. After finishing with 10 points during the six-game road trip, he decided to just go from red hot to super Nova hot. Against the Bruins on Halloween night, he decided to weave his way into their minds and haunt them all night. He finished with a power play goal, three assists, four points, and the game’s second star. It’s great to see the start he is on after inking a two-year, $6.5 million per year deal this past offseason to stay in Carolina. The 12th overall pick back in 2017 is off to a monumental start to the 2024-25 season where he is now sitting at 15 points after nine games following the win versus the Bruins. He is currently on pace to be at around 66 points before we go into the 4 Nations break. His lone goal of the game was on the power play, which went 3-for-5 on the night after their five-game power-play goal streak was broken versus the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.
Related: Hurricanes’ Martin Necas is Mr. Overtime
Necas stated after the game when talking about the Hurricanes’ special teams, “You can see how huge special teams are. They scored a lucky one on their five-on-three, but other than that just great kills. We scored three on the power play, so that’s huge. It’s a game-changer. It’s something we’ve paid attention to all of preseason and work on a lot. I’m just happy it’s working.”
Being able to go 60% on the power play and then 4-for-5 on the penalty kill will be a massive advantage for any team, especially in an 8-2 nightmare-inducing game to an opponent. Could we see Necas set career highs in all offensive categories this season? His best point total was 71 back in 2022-23, could we see between 85 and 90 for 2024-25?
Pair of Hat Trick Watches
Andrei Svechnikov and Jack Roslovic had themselves a night as well, bagging two goals each respectively. The former’s goal started a barrage for the Hurricanes as Jackson Blake and Necas followed up with one of their own within 52 seconds. The game flipped on its head from a 1-1 tie to a 4-1 lead after the first period.
Related: Hurricanes’ Jack Roslovic Addresses Team’s Need for Speed
The second period saw the duo bag another goal each as Svechnikov made it 5-2 before Roslovic netted his second of the game just 41 seconds later. The middle frame would see the Hurricanes up 6-2 and their foot fully on the gas taking a joyride in this one. The newcomer in Roslovic has a team-leading six goals after nine games into the season. He had nine goals total in 59 games last season. His career-best is 22, which he set with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2021-22 season. Will we see a career-high in goals for “Rosey” in 2024-25?
After the game, Roslovic met with the media and was asked about his first multi-goal game for the Hurricanes. He stated, “Obviously when you can score it’s great to add that value to the team. I just have to pass a little bit more maybe now… The style of play that we play, it fits me a little bit. I enjoy playing in the system and I enjoy being at the rink every day. The guys are a special group. It’s been easy and it’s been fun. We’re just going to keep on grinding.”
Looking back when the Hurricanes signed him as an unrestricted free agent (UFA), you knew that you were going to get his speed. It is very clear that he has the wheels to fit within a system that uses speed to its advantage, ask Necas, Seth Jarvis, Eric Robinson, Jalen Chatfield, and others. From the start that he is having so far this season, it feels like Roslovic has been playing in Carolina for years and not just a handful of games. He is set to become a UFA after the season where he is making $2.8 million. If he can keep playing the way he is, we could be seeing an extension sooner rather than later to keep Agent 96 in Raleighwood.
Just some small nuggets of information to share:
Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his first goal of the season, making the game 8-2 at the time. He is now sixth on the team in points with seven with six of those being assists. After multiple games of being snake-bitten, Kotkaniemi is off the rough patch of not being able to put one past the goalie and into the net. Also, Blake scored his third goal of the season after once again deflecting a Dmitry Orlov shot past the goalie and into the net. That extends his points streak to three games while giving himself five points in nine games.
Despite the .867 save percentage (SV%), Pyotr Kochetkov played a phenomenal game stopping 13 of 15 shots to get his fourth win of the season. It now puts him 4-1-0 with a 2.61 goals-against average and a .891 SV% after starting in five games.
Can They Make It 6 Straight Wins?
The Hurricanes have a couple of days off before they take on the Washington Capitals at home on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. Eastern. The game can be watched on Fan Duel Sports Network South and fans can tune into the radio version on 99.9 The Fan. Can this red-hot Canes team extend their winning streak to six games after Sunday? Only time will tell, but you know these players will be coming out flying versus their division rival to keep their streak alive.
