RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes couldn’t hold on to a two-goal lead against the struggling Vancouver Canucks and ended up with a 4-3 shootout loss Sunday at PNC Arena.
Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko scored in the shootout for the Canucks, who had lost four straight and seven of eight. Pettersson had the game-deciding goal as only Andrei Svechnikov could score for the Canes (27-9-8), with Brent Burns and Teuvo Teravainen both having shootout attempts find the crossbar.
Both Canes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov and the Canucks’ Collin Delia made sparkling stops in the overtime as both teams had tantalizing scoring chances.
Sebastian Aho’s goal with 2:52 left in regulation pushed the Canes ahead 3-2. But the Canucks (18-22-3) pulled Delia for an extra attacker and tied the score with 17 seconds remaining as Brock Boeser circled the net in front of Burns and punched a rebound past Kochetkov.
“I thought we had it in our hands ... until the very end,” Aho said.
The Canes were playing without captain Jordan Staal, out for personal reasons, and could have used the big center in the final moments of regulation as the Canucks pressed 6 on 5 for the tie.
“We weren’t very good,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We were flat, tired. You could just tell, emotionally.”
Paul Stastny scored early in the game and Jordan Martinook late in the first period to take the Canes to a 2-0 lead. But former Canes defenseman Ethan Bear scored for Vancouver in the second period and J.T. Miller’s goal in the third made it a 2-2 game.
Aho took a pass from Teravainen and broke in quickly on Delia to score. It appeared it might be the winning goal but the Canucks fought back.
“We had spurts where it was really good and spurts where it wasn’t,” Martinook said. “In the second half of a back-to-back you’ve got to find a way to create your own energy. We were trying but it wasn’t a 100 percent there.”
It was a game with few highlights and a general lack of excitement, with an occasional offensive flurry to the PNC Arena crowd involved.
The Hurricanes used up a lot of energy Saturday in a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. There’s always a buzz when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin – and a nice contingent of Pens fans – are in the building.
There was little buzz Sunday.
“I think that game last night, we put everything into that one,” Brind’Amour said. “Even so, we had the game in our hand to win it. We were fighting it all night. They were good but we were not.”
The Canucks, after losing Saturday to the Florida Panthers, were playing the fifth and final game of a road trip. Delia was playing his seventh game of the season and had a 3.54 goals-against average and .893 save percentage.
The Canes were 6-0-0 in the second games of back-to-back sets this season and Brind’Amour said hours before Sunday’s game he expected another strong effort from his group. He said later he did like the play of Kochetkov, who had lost his past three and been fighting his confidence.
“He was good. He made some good saves in overtime,” Brind’Amour said. “Both goalies played good. Their goalie (faced) three or four in overtime. That was the best part of the game. That was exciting.”
Canes forward Max Pacioretty sat out a second straight game with a lower-body injury as Brind’Amour went with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Stastny’s goal at 2:25 of the first, his third of the season, brought the crowd to life. Unchecked in the right circle, he took a cross-ice pass from Svechnikov and ripped a shot past Delia.
Martinook scored with 34 seconds left in the second – his 10th – after a strong forechecking shift by his line as defenseman Jaccob Slavin had the primary assist.
That line, with Jesperi Kotkaniemi at center, nearly converted again in the third on what would have been Kotkaniemi’s most spectacular move with the Hurricanes. Taking a pass as he swept in front of the net, he put a shot between his legs but had Delia alertly make the save.
When Miller followed up his own shot to beat Kochetkov and score off the rebound, it was 2-2 with 12:25 left in regulation.
Delia had done his part, making some scrambling stops, and the Canucks got a lift from an unexpected source: their penalty kill. Vancouver was 32nd in the NHL on the kill at a woeful 66% but easily killed off two Canes power plays.
