That's more like it: Hurricanes brush off shaky start, escape Avalanche to cap homestand

Chip Alexander, The News & Observer on Dec 5, 2024

Published in Hockey

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis said he was choked up Wednesday when he called to tell his mom he had been picked for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

A day later, the winger looked the part of someone who belonged with the best.

Jarvis, energetic and constantly in motion, had a power-play goal, received a cut on the nose and had a smile on his face after the Canes took a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Lenovo Center.

The Canes had lost their past three games, all in regulation — “our dip,” as coach Rod Brind’Amour called it. But it would be a much sharper, intense effort against the Avs, who had five players selected for the 4 Nations international event in February.

Brind’Amour was not a happy coach after a 4-2 home-ice loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.

“Our top guys have to come and that includes everybody,” Brind’Amour said. “There’s a lot of top players here that weren’t good and if we’re going to win, we’re going to need those guys being top guys. They have to look the part and it just hasn’t been there.

The top guys looked the part Thursday. Jarvis scored. Martin Necas had a power-play goal. Jack Roslovic scored. Eric Robinson, continuing to be a hard-working contributor, had the Canes’ first goal with a deflection of a Brent Burns shot in the first period.

Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov had his first career four-point game. Constantly engaged Thursday, using his strength, he earned three assists and scored an empty-net goal late.

Jarvis’ goal, on a shot from the right circle, came on a second-period power play. Necas scored in the third for a 4-2 lead.

Jarvis was crushed four years ago when he was not picked for Team Canada in the World Junior Championship. At 22, he’ll be a part of Team Canada in the competition in Montreal and Boston, which could be a prelude to potentially being on the Canadian team in the upcoming Olympics.

Jarvis called his selection “incredible” during an interview on the FanDuel Sports Network telecast and related his emotional call home to his mom. He’ll join Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews of the Avs and such stars as Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby in the 4 Nations event, which replaces the NHL All-Star Game this season.

How cool is that?

Jarvis said it would be quite the experience being on the same team with that collection of “world-class” players, and may have to face off against Canes teammates Jaccob Slavin (Team USA) and Aho (Finland). Jarvis smiled when told Boston forward Brad Marchand had said he looked forward to being Jarvis’ teammate.

“I hear so many good things about him in the room and the kind of guy he is,” Marchand said in a TNT interview Wednesday during a Bruins game.

While the Canes’ game was much better Thursday in all three zones — they had 15 shots in the first period after 19 in Tuesday’s game — there were some slippages. Colorado’s Artturi Lehkonen scored on a breakaway for the first goal of the game and there were a couple of other breakaways that challenged goalie Pyotr Kochetkov.

Kochetkov’s biggest stop came in the second period with the Canes leading 2-1 after the Jarvis goal. He first denied Mikko Rantanen as he broke in alone with the puck, then had a sure pokecheck on a Lehkonen chance.

The Canes killed off a 5-on-3 Avs power play in the third period. Colorado had its chance but could not convert against the Canes’ penalty killers and Kochetkov.

Val Nichushkin did beat Kochetkov on a shot from the left circle with 5:19 left in regulation and later scored again as the Avs pulled goalie Scott Wedgewood for a sixth attacker.