Recap: Canes Win Dogfight Over Arizona, Extend Franchise History

RALEIGH, NC -Despite the NHL standings reflecting the Carolina Hurricanes and Arizona Coyotes at polar opposites entering Sunday's contest, the final result couldn't have been further of an indicator, as the Canes needed a late power play goal to take home a 2-1 win.

The Feel of the Game
Similar to Friday night's victory over Chicago, the Hurricanes fell behind early, allowing Arizona to score just 5:44 after the opening draw. Coyotes forward Christian Fischer took the puck from the corner to the glove-side of Frederik Andersen and worked his way toward the front of the net before sneaking it below him.
After the visitors early lead, penalties took over the game, with seven minors coming in the span of 18:07 between the middle of the first and second periods.
The Canes got chances on all of their power play opportunities, however, the storyline then became Arizona Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka, who made multiple timely stops to keep his club ahead.
Just as it appeared that the Canes may go into the second intermission trailing by a score of 1-0, it was then finally when Martin Necas was able to get the proverbial monkey off of his back with his first goal of the season. A set play in the attacking end came to life after Vincent Trocheck won the faceoff, Jordan Martinook shuffled it back to the point and then Tony DeAngelo put it on a platter for Necas' drive. The puck changed directions off the body of Coyotes forward Christian Fischer, the first time the home side was able to get some "puck luck" in the contest.

From that point on, the attack was all Carolina, as the Coyotes had just four shots in the 23:03 following Necas' goal.
The Canes continued their surge before the surge, putting pressure on the road team and locking the puck deep down in their end. With just 2:44 to go, 'Yotes defender Jacob Chychrun took a cross-checking minor on Andrei Svechnikov, presenting a late-game power play chance for a high skill group that they would not pass up on.
Just 17 seconds into the man advantage, the Canes worked the puck "around the horn", concluding with Brett Pesce being the faciliatator of a pitch-and-catch with both Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas before unloading a drive that got through to give his team the win. With both Jordan Staal and Jesperi Kotkaniemi staked out front and in the slot area respectively, it was a useful and needed effort to take away the eyes of the Coyotes goaltender that had kept them in the game throughout.
There was no response from Arizona in the final 2:27 despite the extra attacker and the Canes would take their 2-1 victory to advance to 8-0-0.

Jarvis Day
A cornerstone of the team's future, 2020 Canes first round draft selection made his much anticipated NHL debut Sunday, filling in in the absense of Nino Niederreiter, who left Friday's win with a lower-body injury.
Pre-game Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour shared that Niederreiter "won't be back anytime soon" thus leaving the door open for the 19-year-old that had been on deck since making the team's opening night roster.
Playing most of the contest aside Steven Lorentz and Derek Stepan, Jarvis was noticable, generating chances seemingly each time he touched the ice. In the first Lorentz was the beneficiary of a chance curated by the rookie and then again in the second the same duo connected for a shot that went off the post.
In a day that included the NHL ritual of

for his first game, perhaps the biggest moment for the new #24 was being trusted to be on the ice in a tied contest in the final minutes for the Canes power play chance. As mentioned above, the setup of Brett Pesce's blast earned him his first NHL point in the his first NHL game.
Goblin' Up Pucks
At this point a broken record, we must make reference to yet another strong afternoon by Frederik Andersen. Certainly he'd suggest that he would want his allowed goal back, the Dane then dialed it in for a performance that ended with him stopping 22 of 23 placed upon him. That now makes it five consecutive starts of allowing one goal or less for the team's new ace in net.
Quite the way to celebrate his 400th career NHL game.
Monster In The Dot
Captain Jordan Staal played an imperative role in today's win, emerging victorious in 13 of his 16 faceoff attempts. Importance exemplified by Vincent Trocheck's part in the Martin Necas goal, Staal also went 3/3 in special teams situations and 5/5 in the offensive end.
The little things.
They Said It:
Martin Necas on the team's overall mood of the team at this moment:
"When you're winning it's always good. It's just the beginning though. I think we had a pretty good camp with lots of skating, so our conditioning is pretty good. We know how to play and since then we just keep rolling our lines over and over in their zone. We play that stress game that's hard to play against and we just have to keep doing it."
Seth Jarvison having his family and billet parents in the stands for his first NHL game:
"It was awesome. My brother's a huge support for me and having him, my parents and my billet parents here was awesome. I heard my parents got in a little late but they were able to enjoy the game."
Rod Brind'Amour on the team's successful four-game home stand:
"It's not checking a box necessarily, but it feels good. Now we've got a couple days off. The guys can regroup mentally and physically, then we'll get back on the gas again. It's a nice way to end this segment [of the schedule] if you look at it that way. You have to win your home games, so this is good."
What's Next?:
The team will have an off day tomorrow and return to practice Tuesday before heading to the Windy City with another meeting against the Chicago Blackhawks.