Raanta blanks Senators as Hurricanes win 5th straight
By Bob Sutton, The Associated Press on February 24, 2023.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Antti Raanta made 32 saves for his third shutout in 21 appearances this season, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Friday night. Brent Burns, Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas and Brady Skjei scored in Carolina’s fifth straight win and 12th in 13 games overall. Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho each had two assists. Raanta has won in five consecutive outings. The Senators were blanked for the second time this season, and they went back-to-back games without a team point for the first time in more than a month. Those games were against the NHL’s top two teams, losing 3-1 at Boston on Monday. Senators goalie Cam Talbot, who returned after a nine-game absence with a lower-body injury, stopped 26 shots. The Burns goal was unconventional, with Jarvis cradled in the goal after he was pushed into Talbot. The shot from Burns whizzed past Jarvis’ head 3:48 into the first period for his 12th of the season. Then Jarvis got his 13th goal at 6:29, handling the puck in front of the net before beating Talbot. Carolina outshot Ottawa 12-1 in the first 10 minutes. Necas increased the Hurricanes’ lead with 7:26 left, shortly after Carolina killed off Ottawa’s fifth power play of the game. Skjei scored into an empty net with 3:30 remaining. The Hurricanes began the second period by finishing a penalty kill and then committed three penalties in the first nine minutes of the period. But Ottawa came up empty, even with some time with a 5-on-3 advantage. FRIEND TO FOE Former Carolina prospect Julien Gauthier played his second game with the Senators following a trade from the New York Rangers. He had Ottawa’s best scoring chance in the first period on a breakaway stopped by Raanta. Gauthier has not registered a point in four career games against the Hurricanes. WORTH NOTING The Hurricanes, who were without a power play for the first time this season Tuesday against St. Louis, had a first-period chance. … Ottawa had a restored blue line as defencemen Jake Sanderson and Nick Holden were back on the ice after missing five and four games, respectively, with injuries. … The teams will meet twice more, with both those games in April. UP NEXT Senators: Saturday night at Montreal. Hurricanes: Saturday night vs. Anaheim to end a five-game homestand. 19-18
