The Canes made few trades before deadline — then skidded against last-place Detroit

Those wondering how the Carolina Hurricanes lost twice to the Detroit Red Wings in three days should take an eyeball test.

Find a replay of the Canes’ game against the Florida Panthers from last Thursday. Watch how aggressively the Canes forechecked. Watch them win the race for pucks, win board battles, the body checks and hits. Watch how they not only competed but competed with a purpose in a 3-0 win with goalie Alex Nedeljkovic getting the shutout.

Then watch a replay of Monday’s game against the Red Wings. Watch the Canes fanning on passes, flailing about on the power play in slow motion, puck-watching, relying too much on goalie James Reimer to bail them out, which he often did in a putrid 3-1 loss.

The Red Wings, the last-place team in the Central Division, played with a degree of confidence, waiting for the Canes to make mistakes and then hopping on them. The Canes were the ones frustrated, pressing. Witness Sebastian Aho momentarily losing his poise after high-sticking Sam Gagner in the third period, then heading to the penalty box.

Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour called it a “gross” performance by his team, and had plenty of blame for himself, saying he couldn’t come up with the right line combinations. That it such a dud of a game, on the night that captain Jordan Staal was honored for his 1,000th career game, hurt even more.

“We just didn’t bring, it,” Brind’Amour said. “On this night that’s even more disappointing.”

Can Jani Hakanbaa help in upcoming tough stretch?

The Canes (27-10-4), who made minimal changes at the NHL trade deadline, need a quick re-set. There still are 15 games left in the regular season and first place in the Central still in play. Carolina and Tampa Bay both have 58 points and the Canes have the top winning percentage after the Lightning (28-12-2) lost Tuesday.

The Canes players has an off-day Tuesday before a Wednesday practice. Then comes a challenging perhaps telling stretch, starting with two home games against the Nashville Predators. Then it’s two at Tampa Bay, two at Florida and two more on the road against the Dallas Stars before they come back home.

The Canes added a player who could help Monday, trading for defenseman Jani Hakanbaa while sending defenseman Haydn Fleury to Anaheim. He’s 6-foot-5 and 218 pounds and a right-shot D-man. He hits — a lot.

“It’s something we needed, something we don’t have, obviously, as tonight was evidence of --a little more sandpaper on the back end,” Brind’Amour said after the game. “I think it will be a good opportunity for Haydn out there and I think we got a little better on the back side, which is what we needed.”

Hakanbaa, who should play Thursday against Nashville, could give the Canes more of what they had in Joel Edmundson, who came in from the St. Louis Blues last season and brought some thump with his 6-4, 227-pound frame. Carolina traded the free-agent rights to Edmundson to Montreal in the offseason and he signed with the Canadiens.

The goalie situation

There’s also the matter of the Canes getting a handle on their goalie situation. They still have three. No trading one away. How do they make that work and how does the pecking order shake out with Petr Mrazek, Nedeljkovic and Reimer?

Canes president and general manager Don Waddell said Monday that he had been open to listening to trade proposals that included a goalie leading up to the deadline. He said he talked it over with Brind’Amour.

“We were all comfortable with having three goalies,” Waddell said. “Certainly there’s going to be guys who don’t play as much as others. But with the injuries, and Petr just came back and what we’ve gone through the last few years we just felt that we really needed these three goalies.

“We had the roster space and the cap space so we weren’t put in a position where we felt we had to make a trade.”

Mrazek, out much of the season after undergoing thumb surgery, figures to be the No. 1 goalie moving forward. But No. 2? Anyone’s guess. But someone likely will do a lot of watching games in the press box while working hard in practice and trying to be ready.

“We’ll take it a day at a time and see who’s up next,” Reimer said Monday.

When will Teuvo Teravainen return from COVID and concussion?

Another question: when will forward Teuvo Teravainen be back? Will he be back? COVID and then a concussion have kept him off the ice all but 13 games, and games like the one Monday against the Red Wings only underscore how much he’s missed and needed.

Waddell said Monday that Teravainen had shown improvement in the past week but could not say when he might return to practice and games.

Were the two losses to the Red Wings a blip or the start of something more serious for the Canes? One answer will come Thursday against the Predators.

Forward Nino Niederreiter said the Canes were outworked Monday. They were too cute, he said, too fancy.

“That backfires quickly,” he said.

But how long will the backfire last? That’s the question now.