3 Takeaways From Hurricanes’ 9-1 Rout of Panthers

The Carolina Hurricanes exercised their demons on Friday night (Jan. 16) against the Florida Panthers, defeating them 9-1 in an absolute rout. After blowing two leads back in December, they needed to get their redemption against the Panthers, and they did that in a big way. All 12 forwards got a point in the game, the power play was in supernova mode, and the goaltending was top-notch to kick off the first game of their weekend back-to-back. That said, what three things stood out in the win on Friday night in Raleigh?

Takeaway #1: The Power Play Is Surging

The Hurricanes’ special teams were in a different stratosphere on Friday night, going 4-for-5 on the power play and a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. At one point, the Hurricanes scored four straight power-play goals to go from up 2-1 to 6-1. The third and fourth power-play goals came just 21 seconds apart.

Heading into the game, the Hurricanes were 19th in the NHL in the power play (19.6%). After scoring four against the Panthers, they move up to 13th in the NHL with a 21.6% efficiency. That puts them at 32-for-148 on the season. At one point, they were around 7.6% and dead last just a couple of days into December.

Takeaway #2: All 12 Forwards Tallied a Point

That is not a typo. All 12 Hurricanes forwards got a point in the win over the Panthers. Moreover, eight of the 12 tallied a multi-point game. Nikolaj Ehlers had a four-point night, including his first hat trick with the Hurricanes. He scored the first goal of the game, got the secondary assist on the first power-play goal (scored by Alexander Nikishin), and scored the goals to make the Hurricanes go up 5-1 and 7-1.

Mark Jankowski had a goal and two assists on the night, followed by six different Hurricanes players finishing with two points.

While he is not a forward, there is no way Nikishin does not get mentioned, as he had a goal and an assist in the game as well.

The only forwards to have one point were Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Eric Robinson, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Robinson was the only one of the four forwards who got a point to score a goal. What’s more impressive is that 14 of the 18 skaters tallied a point, and all 18 players were an even rating or a plus in the 9-1 win.

Takeaway #3: Brandon Bussi Picks up Win No. 17

While the Hurricanes scored nine goals in the game, there has to be some praise for the goaltending as well. Brandon Bussi picked up his 17th win of the season after only giving up one goal on 16 shots in the game. Full credit to the guys in front of him to limit the Panthers’ opportunities. But also, Bussi made some timely saves to keep the Hurricanes out front as well. Even while the game was tied 1-1 for a bit in the second period, Bussi made the key saves to keep it level before the Hurricanes ran away with the game.