Recap: Kane hat trick drops Canes in 5-2 loss

The Carolina Hurricanes dropped their second game in their last three to the San Jose Sharks by a score of 5-2 on Wednesday night at SAP Center. The Sharks were led by Evander Kane who recorded a hat trick in the first period. The Canes were hampered by their lack of discipline that led to multiple power play goals for the Sharks.

If there is one thing that coach Rod Brind’Amour will not let the Hurricanes do, it’s come out flat. Even on the West Coast on the second night of a back-to-back, the Hurricanes came out strong, outshooting the Sharks 16-7 in the opening stanza. However, poor discipline led to the Canes going into the first intermission down 3-1.

San Jose opened scoring 8:36 into the game with Kane’s first goal off a wrist shot. Jaccob Slavin made the initial block on a Tomas Hertl shot, but both players lost the puck in their skates when it came back to the ice. Kane was able to pick up the loose puck and shot a laser past James Reimer’s glove.

The Canes answered quick just two minutes later with a goal by Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton pinched down to the dots after a faceoff win. He received a pass from the point by Teuvo Teravainen and blasted one into the net past Martin Jones.

With the Canes dominating shots and possession and just three minutes left in the period, Nino Niederreiter took a tripping penalty when leaving the offensive zone. Kane appeared to score early in the power play but James Reimer made an incredible glove save coming across the crease.

Unfortunately, Kane was able to beat Reimer’s glove later in the power play when he picked up a rebound and found the back of the net. The Canes continued their terrible discipline when Andrei Svechnikov took a tripping penalty with less than a minute left in the period. That was also converted immediately again by Kane before heading to the break.

The Canes did not respond well to the late goals and came out of the locker room largely uninspired in the second period and never recovered. They let up the first six shots and took the first penalty of the period, this time a tripping infraction by Slavin in the defensive zone. The penalty kill looked much better, eventually drawing a penalty of their own and killing off most of the Slavin penalty on the delayed whistle.

After an uneventful power play, the Sharks were able extend their lead after a Warren Foegele turnover at center ice during a line change. Barclay Goodrow was able to pick up the puck and generate a two-on-one, he opted to shoot the puck which trickled past Reimer to make it 4-1.

The Canes were handed a golden opportunity late in the period. The Sharks took consecutive hooking penalties. First Patrick Marleau hooked Slavin and then one a minute later Goodrow hooked Svechnikov who made a great move in the offensive zone that would have led to a scoring chance. Oh and this also happened on the delayed call…

Unfortunately, the Canes were unable to convert on either power play or the two-man advantage. They showed crisp puck movement and had an early flurry of shots, but Jones made four consecutive saves in a 10 second span to keep the game 4-1.

The power play passing failed to lead to strong scoring chances. The Sharks’ penalty kill kept passes along the perimeter and back and forth between the circles and the point man.

Brind’Amour started the third period with a new line of Jordan Staal, Nino Niederreiter, and Teuvo Teravainen. That resulted in a Martin Necas, Aho, Svechnikov line that I would like to see experimented with a little more. The Canes were able to make the game 4-2 when Erik Haula scored a goal when Brock McGinn’s shot deflected off of his thigh and past Jones.

A Tomas Hertl empty-net goal made the game 5-2 and cemented the victory for the Sharks. The Canes now head back to Southern California to take on the Anaheim Ducks on Friday for their third game in four days.