Hurricanes Edge Jets by a Whisker in Winnipeg
Carolina fired far more pucks and cashed both power plays, while three shots rang off the iron in a tilt that could have swung either way
Carolina had more of the puck and fired far more of it at the net, but this 3-2 win in Winnipeg was a lot closer than the shot clock suggests. The Hurricanes outshot the Jets 37-24 and took 74 shot attempts to Winnipeg's 50, yet the Jets' looks were nearly as dangerous. By expected goals (how many goals a team's chances were worth) it was 3.32 for Carolina against 3.28 for Winnipeg, close to a dead heat.
So the margins decided it. Carolina went 2-for-2 on the power play while Winnipeg came up empty on its only chance. Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Jankowski and Jesperi Kotkaniemi found the twine for Carolina. Mark Scheifele and Alex Iafallo answered for the Jets.
The posts had a say too: three shots hit iron, two from Carolina (Jankowski and Eric Robinson) and one from Jack St. Ivany. Clay Stevenson made 34 saves for Winnipeg, and Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 22 of 24 at the other end. The Hurricanes now sit at 6-1-1, first in the East, while the Jets fall to 4-1-2.
