NHL scores 2015: Hurricanes cap big week with win, Blues silence the Stars

Carolina showed some life this week.

by Patrick Iversen

Dec 13, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

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NHL Saturday: Blues shut out Stars in Central Division battle

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Don't look now, but the Carolina Hurricanes are actually kind of fun to watch.

Actually, scratch that. Look now before that inevitably changes for the worse.

Associating the Hurricanes with “fun” hockey is not something NHL fans are used to lately. The franchise has been mired in mediocrity for years now, and the rebuild is only just getting off the ground in Raleigh. For most of this season, nothing has changed. Make no mistake: they are still a lottery team and will probably remain so for the rest of the season.

But for one week, they decided to buck the trend and play some great hockey. On Tuesday, the Hurricanes rolled into Dallas and erased a 4-0 deficit against the league's most impressive team before eventually falling. Three days ago, Carolina's road trip reached a high in Anaheim when they torched the Ducks to the tune of five goals and one against.

And then the Hurricanes visited the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, perhaps the most surprisingly entertaining team in the league this season. Led by more great performances by Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask, the Hurricanes scored five goals for the third straight game in an overtime win.

Is it enough to dig out of that hole they’re in in the Metropolitan Division? Definitely not. But improvements by Skinner and the rest of the offense should be enough to boost confidence in a team known more for shot suppression than shot accumulation offensively. It’s a tiny slice of hope and promise in the midst of a long rebuild process. Give them credit for that.

Scores

Bruins 3, Panthers 1

Sabres 2, Kings 1 (OT)

Canadiens 3, Senators 1

Capitals 2, Lightning 1

Islanders 3, Blue Jackets 2 (OT)

Blues 3, Stars 0

Avalanche 3, Predators 2

Hurricanes 5, Coyotes 4 (OT)

Flames 5, New York Rangers 4 (OT)

Wild 2, Sharks 0

3 things we learned

1. Jake Allen passed his final test

By all measures, Allen has been the best netminder in St. Louis this season. And yet, coach Ken Hitchcock has yet to fully give the 25-year-old the reins. If he was waiting for a statement game, he got it on Saturday. Allen stopped all 26 shots the Dallas Stars put on him in a huge win for a struggling Blues team. The net needs to be his.

2. The Canadiens can bring an onslaught of offense

That Craig Anderson was yanked from Ottawa’s net after giving up three goals is unsurprising. What’s surprising is that he faced 31 shots in less than a period and a half of play. The Canadiens showed no mercy to their rivals, pelting the net with 27 shots in the first period alone. Maybe Dave Cameron should stop turning his defensemen into forwards and just teach them how to be better in their own end first?

3. Evgeny Kuznetsov: still pretty good