In their first game back home after a successful six-game road trip, the Hurricanes host the struggling Boston Bruins on Thursday at Lenovo Center.
1. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour revealed Thursday morning that goalie Frederik Andersen will be out longer than expected after not dressing for Monday’s overtime win in Vancouver.
“I would say week to week now,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s a little more time than I was hoping.”
Andersen has gotten off to an exceptional start this season, posting a 3-1-0 record with a .941 save percentage and 1.48 goals-against average. Of course, being out of the lineup is nothing new for the 35-year-old Dane.
He missed most of last regular season after he was diagnosed with a blood-clotting issue, making just 16 regular season starts, and started 33 games in 2022-23.
That leaves the net to Pyotr Kochetkov and Spencer Martin. Kochetkov — who will start against the Bruins — is also 3-1-0 this year, but there have been some adventures, like the game-tying goal he allowed in Vancouver.
Kochetkov fails the pokecheck and Vancouver ties this one up 😳 pic.twitter.com/Ph3RPhqHX3
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 29, 2024
Brind’Amour shrugged off the mistake, saying Kochetkov’s aggressiveness is part of what makes him a good goalie.
The Hurricanes, however, will need stability above all else with Andersen on the shelf again.
2. Martin Necas is off to a hot start — he’s tied for the team lead in goals (4) with Shayne Gostibehere and leads in assists (7) and points (11) through eight games.
On Thursday, he’ll get to face countrymen David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha with the Bruins visiting. The Czech trio won a world championship, held in Prague, together last offseason.
“It’s always fun to play against Czech guys, to be honest,” Necas said after the morning skate. “It’s always a battle against these guys. … It should be fun.”
The two Bruins forwards are a bit older than the 25-year-old Necas, so he didn’t know them well back in Czechia. He did, however, play with Pastrnak at the 2018 World Championships.
“We never really knew each other that much because he’s three years older,” Necas said. “We played with each other in one world championships when I was 18, but I was kind of young, and then now. Yeah, we did something special back there in Prague.”
Brind’Amour added, “Whenever you win something, there’s obviously a bond there. So I’m sure he’s always looked up to him as a player, and it was probably a big thrill for him to be able to win with him.”
3. Necas revealed that his new frosted hair wasn’t by choice but instead because of a lost bet with Brendan Lemieux. Necas said Lemieux, who is currently with the Chicago Wolves, beat him at golf, leading to the speedy winger’s new blonde look.
Necas said the bet originally called for Lemieux, if he lost, to shave his head.
“But then we figured out he doesn’t have much hair left,” Necas said. “So we didn’t want him to do that. It just might never grow back.”
It didn’t matter: Lemieux won, and now Necas looks like he’s dressing up as a boy band member for Halloween. Even a haircut on Wednesday didn’t rid him of the new look, but that’s OK — he said it doesn’t look bad, and even his girlfriend likes his new platinum locks.
Brind’Amour’s take on the hair?
“I don’t care,” he said. “If he feels good about it, good for him.”
4. Eric Robinson’s size and speed make him an intriguing player, and he’s thus far been a good fit in Carolina. Through eight games, he has a goal and three assists, and he has found a spot opposite Necas on a line centered by Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
“He’s just really quick,” Necas said. “He can forecheck, especially with kind of the game we play. On the forecheck, he’s really good. He can chase down the pucks, and he gives me the space to make plays.”
Brind’Amour said Robinson’s combination of size and speed doesn’t catch the league by surprise because he’s been around for more than 300 games, but it’s still his best attribute.
“I think that’s his game,” the coach said. “He needs to be getting in on there, utilize his speed, and he’s done that well.”
Robinson is second on the team with 8.03 hits per 60 minutes, trailing only fellow newcomer William Carrier (9.92). Since Brind’Amour took over as coach in 2018, only Micheal Ferland (10.91) has averaged more than 10 hits/60 while playing at least 40 games in a season.
5. At the start of the season, Brind’Amour said it would be important for Kotkaniemi to produce points if he was going to be the team’s No. 2 center.
So far, so good: Kotkaniemi has six assists in eight games despite playing just 14:50 a night.
“When you’re playing with one of the better players on the team, Necas — he’s going to put his points up. You better be tagging along,” Brind’Amour said Thursday morning. “I think that line’s been effective in that role. And we have to have it — that’s critical.”
Of course, we’ve seen this before. Kotkaniemi led the team in scoring for a time at the start of last season and finished October with 10 points in 10 games. He then had four goals and five points in November.
After that, Kotkaniemi had just four goals and 12 points in his final 57 games from December until the end of the regular season.
At 24, Kotkaniemi needs to prove he can be consistent to keep that spot in the lineup. Time will tell.
