The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Calgary Flames, 1-0, Sunday evening at the Lenovo Center to notch two-straight wins for the first time since Nov. 9. With the win, the Canes move to 16-7-2, good for first place in the Metropolitan Division, overtaking the New Jersey Devils.
In a low shooting affair, the Carolina Hurricanes recorded only 17 shots on goal but it was Nikolaj Ehlers who recorded the game winning goal in overtime. Goaltender Brandon Bussi, who got the nod between the pipes for back-to-back games for the first time all season played well, stopping all 15 shots that came his way for the first shutout of his career.
The first period was back-and-forth, with both the Canes and Flames recording high-quality chances.
After whiffing on a shot from the blue line early in the first period, Shayne Gostisbehere made a huge defensive play, breaking up a chance for Calgary on a diving stick check.
Alexander Nikishin danced through Calgary’s defense with a little over a minute left in the period, but Cooley came up with the save.
The Canes outshot the Flames 6-3, but despite the chances, both teams remained scoreless after the first period.
A tripping on Calgary’s Adam Klapka at the 17:27 mark gave the Canes’s power play their first attempt of the game. The Canes were unable to capitalize though, recording no shots.
The Flames got a breakaway on a stretch pass off a defensive zone faceoff to Matt Coronato, who ripped the puck off the post.
Calgary got its first power play of the game when K’Andre Miller got called for interference at the 3:08 mark. Seth Jarvis was turned away on a breakaway by Cooley on the ensuing penalty kill.
Through two periods, the game was still knotted 0-0, but the Canes and Flames each had a ton of scoring chances, including multiple breakaways.
Four minutes into the third, Miller and Flames forward Nazem Kadri each got roughing penalties, putting both teams down a man for 4-on-4.
Coronato got loose on another breakaway, but Bussi stood tall again with a big glove save.
The offensive pressure stalled throughout much of the third period on both sides.
Jackson Blake got the puck on a platter in the slot, but fired it over the net with a little over five minutes left in the third.
A flurry of late chances by the Canes was not enough to find the back of the net. After a scoreless three periods from both teams, the game went to 3-on-3 overtime.
With just over two minutes remaining in OT, Taylor Hall found a cutting Ehlers, who made no mistake on a hard drive to the net. The win is Carolina’s second straight.
The Hurricanes will have a three-day long break, but will face the Toronto Maple Leafs next on Dec. 4 in the Lenovo Center at 7 PM.
