North Raleigh Today

The Carolina Hurricanes were defeated 3-0 by the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at Canada Life Centre. Despite a solid performance during five-on-five play, the Hurricanes struggled against the Jets' effective power play.

Initially, it seemed Carolina had scored first with a power-play goal late in the first period, but it was disallowed. Shortly after, Nino Niederreiter scored for Winnipeg on a power play, giving them a 1-0 lead by the end of the first period.

Winnipeg extended their lead early in the second period and maintained this advantage into the third. Carolina's attempts to reduce the deficit were unsuccessful as Eric Comrie made 29 saves, achieving his third career shutout. The Jets added another goal in the final frame to secure their victory.

Carolina's Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 27 of 30 shots in what was his first regulation loss since January 7th. Scott Morrow, a second-round pick from 2021, debuted for Carolina this season, playing over ten minutes and taking two shots.

This game marked only the fourth time this season that Carolina conceded multiple power-play goals in one match. They have been outperformed in this aspect only by four other teams (Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Seattle Kraken, Tampa Bay Lightning).

Despite outchancing their opponents at five-on-five with a significant advantage of 66-41 shots on Tuesday, Carolina couldn't convert these opportunities into goals. Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour noted: "We knew that the power play was going to be a big part of their game and that was the difference."

Brind'Amour further commented: “They got two [on the power play] and we didn't get anything... It was one of those nights where special teams got us.”

Sebastian Aho echoed these sentiments: "They got two on the power play and we didn't get any... I feel like special teams, for sure, cost us the game."

Looking ahead, Brind'Amour stated: "There's definitely things we have to be better at as a group... It's a new day tomorrow and we've got to try and find a win in the next game."

The Hurricanes are set to practice Wednesday in Minnesota before facing off against the Wild on Thursday.