Workrate Hockey - December 23, 2025

I'm battling whatever bug people get when a holiday break starts to come up and your brain allows you to be sick, so sorry in advance if this is a little short. Powered by Walgreens-equivalent DayQuil, let's hit it.

What's the worst that could happen, right? The Canes, on the road, had a dominant victory over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, allowing the team to shake off the whole "we just do shootouts" thing and settle into the strength that the team can show against weaker opponents. Honestly, the 4-1 score made it appear closer than it actually was - Juuse Saros stood on his head to keep that game even reasonable. A good game from Pytor Kochetkov (25/26, .962 sv%) let some confidence build on a team that realistically should be confident, having one of the best records in the NHL.