Livescore
The Carolina Hurricanes made a big splash on Friday night. As part of a three-team trade with the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche, they acquired both Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall.
Rantanen is a Hall of Fame player in the middle of his prime, so he’s the big fish in the deal. However, Hall is a former Hart Trophy-winning first-overall pick, so he can provide some good depth to a contending Hurricanes team.
Hall has played this whole season with the Blackhawks, one of the worst teams in the NHL. However, when he got to the Hurricanes, they did their best Blackhawks impression.
Carolina led 2-0 just 6:30 into the first period. It looked like the Hurricanes would cruise to a victory over the New York Islanders. At 17:53 of the opening frame, the Islanders deflated the Hurricanes’ sails by getting on the board.
There was no scoring in the second period but the Islanders tied it at 6:26 of the third. Eventually, the 2-2 score found overtime where the Islanders completed the comeback.
Taylor Hall had to have ugly flashbacks to his time in Chicago as that is something they do with regularity. On a personal level, he didn’t have a goal or an assist but he was far from invisible. In 11:36 of ice time, he had three shots and a hit.
The Hawks are 9-7-3 when they lead at first intermission which is 31st in the NHL and 11-13-2 when scoring first which is ranked last out of 32. Going to Carolina, an elite team, and dealing with that blown lead situation in game one seems frustrating.
Going forward, you can expect better from the Hurricanes. They are now 30-16-4 which is one of the best records in the Eastern Conference. It may take some time for the new guys to get used to things but they’ll figure it out.
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