RALEIGH, N.C. — There was a time earlier in the pandemic when the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars played every third or fourth game, or so it seemed at times.
Then members of a newly formed Central Division, the two teams played a lot and played some fast-paced, entertaining games in the condensed 2021 season.
That was then. This season, the Canes again are making a push to take the Metropolitan Division lead and the Stars are leading the Central, and their game Saturday at PNC Arena proved to be a hard-fought and entertaining matchup that Carolina won, 5-4 in overtime.
Martin Necas had the winner with 2:41 left in the OT, teaming up with Andrei Svechnikov on a rush down the ice. That came not long after Canes goalie Antti Raanta had made a save, and stopped the clock, allowing a very tired Jordan Staal, Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin to make a change.
Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis both scored scintillating goals with drives to the net while Stefan Noesen and Teuvo Teravainen converted on power plays for the Canes, who extended their point streak to 10 games.
After playing in seven straight games for Carolina, including six starts, rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov was given the night off and Raanta took over the net.
Joe Pavelski and Jamie Benn had power-play goals for the Stars, and Tyler Seguin and Jani Hakanpaa each scored in the third as Dallas rallied to tie it 4-4 after the Jarvis goal made it 4-2.
Scott Wedgewood was the starter in net for the Stars, facing 38 shots.
Takeaways from the game:
— Teravainen has to be one relieved guy. As he played his 20th game, he was still without a goal this season. No longer. He ripped a shot from low in the right circle on the Canes 5-on-3 power play in the second period, the puck going off Wedgewood’s left shoulder. His smile after the goal said it all.
— Svechnikov came out of the penalty box in the first period like a force of nature, taking the puck and blowing down the right wing to whip a shot past Wedgewood. Let’s just say the power forward was running hot, on full power.
Later in the first, Svechnikov smacked Hakanpaa, a former teammate, into the boards with such force that everyone in the building could hear it.
— Super play and goal by Jarvis in the third. No. 24 would not be denied, using his speed to get past Seguin on the left wing and his skill to beat Wedgewood, who appeared surprised the puck was in the net.
— Noesen has good instincts around the net, especially on the power play. His deflection on a first-period power play gave the Canes their first goal and was his fourth power-play score this season. Noesen, who had 48 goals in the AHL last season, converted a penalty shot against Seattle on Thursday.
— Coaches say it all the time: one way to stop the other team’s stars is make them work in their own zone. Few do it better than the Jordan Staal line, with Jesper Fast and Jordan Martinook. They started the game Saturday and spent the first minute in the Stars zone, making Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson and Pavelski work.
— Svechnikov is the only player in the NHL to twice score on lacrosse-style moves, and he keeps trying to get his third “Svech.” He tried again Saturday in the first, but couldn’t quite load it up. He’ll keep trying.
— An injured Sebastian Aho watched another game Saturday from the top level of PNC Arena. If you know Aho, he’s antsy to get back, and Brind’Amour said he did some skating Saturday as he recovers from a lower-body injury. There’s no one on the Canes more competitive than No. 20, so sitting has to be killing him.
