Thriving In Throwbacks: A Look At Whalers Night History

RALEIGH, N.C. - The next time the Carolina Hurricanes score a goal at Lenovo Center, you won't hear Petey Pablo blaring from the speakers.

Instead, you'll be treated to the iconic "Brass Bonanza," a staple of Hartford Whalers games and, more recently, Canes games - for one night per year.

Whalers Night, presented by Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken, returns for its sixth iteration this Thursday, Feb. 27, as the Hurricanes battle the Buffalo Sabres. But it's more than just a chance to dust off some classic uniforms and blanket the arena with retro vibes.

There are still two key points up for grabs, and as history shows, the Canes have a habit of rising to the occasion when wearing the whale, boasting an unbeaten 4-0-1 record on past Whalers Nights. Let's take a look...

Dec. 23, 2018 | CAR 5, BOS 3

The inaugural Whalers Night arrived with plenty of hype as the green and blue garb was revived in Raleigh for the first time since the team's relocation in 1997.

Taking the ice in green uniforms modeled after the Whalers' late '80s look, the Canes roared back from an early two-goal hole to take a 5-3 victory on the strength of four-point performances by both Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen - including a pair of shorthanded strikes between the two.

Justin Faulk scored the hosts' only other goal, while Petr Mrazek turned aside 27 of 30 shots in the win.

Jan. 11, 2020 | CAR 2, LAK 0

While the inaugural Whalers Night was about Aho, Teravainen and the rest of the offense delivering five goals against a tough Boston squad, the sophomore showing was a goaltending clinic from James Reimer as he shut out the Los Angeles Kings in a 2-0 win.

A Nino Niederreiter goal 4:52 into the contest put the home club ahead early, and a Teravainen empty-netter sealed two points in the third, but 41 saves from No. 47 were the story of the contest.

The win marked Reimer's third shutout in 10 games and was the second in a run of eight straight starts in which his team would pick up at least one point (6-0-2).

Jan. 29, 2022 | CAR 2, NJD 1

The Whalers' revival quieted during the pandemic-affected seasons (though it didn't fully disappear - more on that later), but made its triumphant return in the first full season back with fans in the building.

Like its predecessor, the 2021-22 Whalers Night was headlined by stellar goaltending - this time from Antti Raanta, who made 24 saves to hold off the Devils in a 2-1 win.

Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Martinook struck just 6:20 apart to open up a 2-0 lead early in the contest, and although New Jersey halved the deficit soon after, Raanta and the defense went to work to help Carolina move to 3-0-0 in Whalers colors.

Mar. 26, 2023 | CAR 3, BOS 4 (SO)

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and in 2022-23, the Whalers Night winning streak became a Whalers Night point streak in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Bruins.

Trailing 3-1 through 40 minutes, Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho each scored in the opening 3:44 of the third period to knot things up and ultimately earn a hard-fought point, but the comeback came up short in the skills competition.

Frederik Andersen, making his Whalers Night debut, stopped 35 of 38 shots in a busy outing for the Dane.

Feb. 10, 2024 | CAR 1, NJD 0 (OT)

With the winning streak in green snapped in 2022-23, Whalers Night returned with a refreshed look in 2023-24 - white sweaters reminiscent of the early '80s Whalers adorned with green and blue striping and numbers arrived, complete with the beloved Pucky logo on the shoulders.

The result? A return to winning ways as the theme of outstanding goaltending continued. Pyotr Kochetkov stole the show in this one, stopping all 34 Devils shots through 63:40 of game action.

The game's lone goal came off the stick of Sebastian Aho - his fourth goal and seventh point in five career Whalers Nights in Raleigh - as he batted home a rebound in OT to send the Caniacs home happy.

Other Whalers-Themed Games

While not officially deemed "Whalers Nights," the Canes have hit the ice in green and blue on a handful of other occasions as well.

After debuting the uniforms in Dec. 2018, the team rolled out the Whalers look in New England for a late-season clash at TD Garden in Boston. Sebastian Aho scored twice to help his team earn a point in a 4-3 OTL to the Bruins.

During the shortened 2020-21 campaign, Carolina rolled out a gray Whalers jersey as part of the NHL's Reverse Retro campaign, which was designed to give each team a unique throwback jersey for that season only.

The Canes wore those threads twice - topping Chicago 5-3 in February of 2021, then notching a point in a 5-4 SO loss to Detroit in April of that year.

Including their 4-0-1 mark on Whalers Nights in Raleigh, Carolina is 5-0-3 in green and blue gear since 2018. Aho leads the team in scoring in Whalers-clad contests with seven goals and three assists, finding twine in five of the eight total outings.