Canes close out regular season home ice finale with a loss to Toronto.
The Carolina Hurricanes were hoping to set a franchise record for home wins in a single season, but instead lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 on Sunday night at the Lenovo Center.
The Canes started out well and had a strong first period, but did not score. They were outshooting the Leafs by a significant number up until the last minute of the period when the Leafs scored.
After that, it was pretty much all Toronto.
In the second, a wide open Austin Matthews buried a shot from the slot area.
Carolina could only muster two shots on goal the entire period.
Early in third, William Nylander made it 3-0.
The Hurricanes were awarded a four minute powerplay later in the third and Sebastian Aho was able to cash in on a nice feed by Seth Jarvis.
But with less than five minutes remaining, John Tavares knocked one in and that was as much as the end.
This was a pretty meaningless game for Carolina and all fans can hope for is that they will play with more passion come playoff time.
The following is a postgame quote from team Captain, Jordan Staal.
“So we’ll learn from this and we’ll make sure that we’re sharper next time. When it matters, everyone will be ready to go.”
Next up will be another “meaningless” game in Montreal on Wednesday night.
Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20242025/GS021279.HTM
Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20242025/ES021279.HTM
Team’s Recap – https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-canes-lose-to-leafs-in-home-finale