The Carolina Hurricanes capped off their pre-Christmas portion of the 2022-23 season on Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
After Sebastian Aho won the opening draw in his first game since December 6, 60 minutes of unpredictably bonkers hockey ensued. At the end of it all, the Hurricanes had won their eighth straight game, but it was a mess.
The Hurricanes had a dominant first period, and against a bottom-dwelling team giving a young goalie his first NHL start, the combination of factors bode well for the home team.
The first shot that young Samuel Ersson had to face was a wrist shot through traffic off the stick of Jesper Fast.