Recap: Hurricanes Fall to Flames

The Carolina Hurricanes were defeated by the Calgary Flames, 4-1, in their final game before the bye week.
Lee Stempniak's first goal of the season (and second point in as many games) broke Mike Smith's shutout. Dougie Hamilton tallied two goals for Calgary, who has now won seven straight games.
Here are five takeaways from the Hurricanes' last game before the bye week.

One
This game went from bad to worse in seemingly the blink of an eye.
Down 2-0 in the third period, Mark Giordano targeted the head of Sebastian Aho, who was cutting across the middle of the offensive zone. In the process, Giordano also caught Aho's left knee. Aho was down on the ice in quite some team and had to be helped off the ice - both the head and knee a concern, really, for the Canes' leading scorer.
After the game, head coach Bill Peters had no further update.
"They're talking about his knee a little bit, too, so there's lots getting looked at," Peters said. "I'm sure we'll know a little bit more later."

Justin Williams went after Giordano immediately (and received the instigator penalty for it). Giordano received a match penalty for a check to the head, and I have to imagine he'll be hearing from the Department of Player Safety for his reckless hit.
"There was some head contact," Peters said. "I don't know if there was much intent, to be honest with you. I thought his arm was tucked in low, but it ended up catching him in the head. It's unfortunate."
Two
After that sequence, Jordan Staal - the victim of a high-sticking no-call that should have resulted in a four-minute power play on Friday night - was whistled for a phantom high-sticking minor.
Shortly after, Brock McGinn fired a shot off the cross bar on a 2-on-1 rush. He thought he had scored, and so did thousands of others inside PNC Arena; the goal horn went off and fans celebrated, as it appeared the Canes were within a goal of the Flames. The official never signaled a goal, though, and the Flames took the puck down the other way and scored to make it 3-0.
From bad to worse.
"There's no real excuse. We just weren't ready," Jordan Staal said. "It's frustrating, obviously, after a tough loss. You want to come back with a bigger effort to get two points, and we didn't."
Three
The Flames stretched their lead to 4-0 before the Hurricanes finally broke Smith's shutout bid. It was Stempniak on the power play, playing in just his second game of the season.

"It's fun to be back," he said. "You obviously wish it was two wins instead of two losses, but for me, I think it was good to get in a couple games before the break."
"I was very happy," Peters said of his veteran forward. "The reports back from our strength coach and the assistant coaches, this guy has put in some serious time. He's done a great job. He looks quicker."
Four
The Hurricanes were flat for the first 40 minutes of the game, and even though they pushed at times in the third period, there still wasn't a lot of jam. And, by then, Calgary was just protecting their multi-goal lead en route to their seventh straight victory.
Why after a deflating loss to a divisional opponent did the Hurricanes come out so emotionless? Could it have been lingering effects?
"It'd probably be too easy to just point to that," Stempniak said. "We weren't moving our feet. It's as simple as that."
"I didn't think we were engaged in the game, period," Peters said.
Perhaps the team had a mental head jump on the time away from the rink.
"It looked like we were on a break already," Staal said. "It looked like the guys weren't mentally ready. Physically the legs weren't there."
"We know that we're type of team that when we don't skate, we have a hard time getting going again," Peters said. "I haven't seen some guys play like that, ever. … Very unusual the way we played today."
Perhaps, too, it was the ill effects of a sickness traveling around a locker room.
"I didn't think we skated or had much emotional engagement to the game. I hope it's flu-related, I really do. I thought we looked lethargic. We were slow with the puck and slow making decisions," Peters said. "If that's the case, these five days come at the right time."
Whatever the case may be, the Hurricanes know they have to be better - and they have five days ahead to figure out how.
"You always want to win and go into it on a high note," Stempniak said. "It was a tough game against Washington and today was far from our best effort. All the games are big now."
Five
The Hurricanes will have to deal with this sour taste in their mouths over the bye week, which will be a time to rest, recharge and refocus, especially after the results of the last two games.
"It's never good going into a break with a loss. We'll have to unfortunately dwell on that for a little bit," Staal said. "You still have to get away and get your rest while you can and regroup. We've got to be ready for Detroit."
"You've got to give yourself a mental break and then wrap your head around the identity of our team and how we have to play to be successful," Peters said.
Up Next
Following the league-mandated five-day rest period, the Hurricanes will be back in action on Saturday night in Detroit before coming back home to host the NHL's newest franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, on Sunday.