Recap: Avalanche Get the Best of the Hurricanes Again in a 3-1 Win

There are some teams you just can’t quite beat in a season.

For some reason, one of the Hurricanes’ unbeatables is the league’s worst team.

The Avalanche rallied back from a one-goal deficit in the first period to win the game 3-1. Calvin Pickard got the win with a strong .962 save percentage.

The Hurricanes set the tone just after the six minute mark, when Justin Faulk launched a wrister from the right zone off a quick pass from Jeff Skinner.

Skinner’s pass was one of many great passes that set up opportunities down the road for the Hurricanes offense. But only the Avalanche would capitalize on chances after Faulk’s goal.

In the closing minutes of the second period, after a lot of offensive zone pressure by Carolina and a few good looks for the Avalanche, a shot by Tyson Barrie would redirect off of Gabriel Landeskog to tie the game at 1-1 at the 18:18 mark.

Okay, a tie going into the third period. No so bad...

Oh, wait. There’s Tyson Barrie. Again.

Scoring. Again.

Back-and-forth play in the third wouldn’t help the Hurricanes establish any momentum. And with Eddie Lack out of the net with two minutes and some seconds to spare, Nathan MacKinnon would seal the deal with an empty-netter.

Sure a few centimeters may have changed the game. Had Sebastian Aho’s stick not clipped Pickard or Jordan Staal’s second period shots have hit the inside post instead of the outside post, this game could have turned towards the Hurricanes side in a flash.

But in hockey, especially at the NHL level, you have to capitalize on every centimeter you’re given.

Rank the Performances

Here’s your chance to weigh in on how you think the team performed tonight. Upvote the players you think played well and downvote the ones who didn’t.