RALEIGH, NC. – The Carolina Hurricanes bounced back into the win column Saturday afternoon, taking down the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1.
Highlights | Stats | Video
After a difficult outing Thursday against Columbus, the Canes made sure they came out of the gate strong in today’s affair, beginning with a quality opening shift from the line of Steven Lorentz, Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast.
The Canes carried that momentum as the first period went along, then striking on their first power play attempt of the day via Sebastian Aho – just 8:17 in.
Video: VAN@CAR: Aho rockets Teravainen one-timer in for PPG
After the goal things would take a bit of a turn toward the other direction for Carolina, as a pair of penalties, a Vancouver goal and a slew of missed opportunities tilted the direction of play back toward the Canucks favor.
Adjustments were needed for the second frame and while they did come, the need was eased just 62 seconds into the period when Vincent Trocheck was able to put the home side back on top. A quick little play following an offensive zone between Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas concluded with a connection to Trocheck in the slot, roofing one over Thatcher Demko. Demko, who was named an All-Star earlier this week as well, was making a spot start for Vancouver after the day’s scheduled starter, Jaroslav Halak, was placed in COVID-19 Protocol just a few hours for puck drop.
Necas earned his 99th career point on Trocheck’s eighth goal of the year and then, on his birthday, the now 23-year-old made it an even 100 with a laser-esque shot of his own 3:47 later.
Video: VAN@CAR: Necas rips goal in bar down on his birthday
Taking a 3-1 advantage into the third period, the “victory lap” came in the form of a Steven Lorentz redirection, tipping a Brady Skjei shot home.
A large reason why the contest was all Canes in the final 40 minutes was the play of Frederik Andersen. While he may not have been forced to make multiple highlight reel saves, he was calm and steady in his crease, racking up 30 saves over the course of the afternoon. He kept the Vancouver attack pushed to the side and it allowed his team’s offense to be the guiding force from there.
They Said It:
Rod Brind’Amour on how nice it was to get today’s win, turning the page from Thursday:
“You don’t want to have another [game like that]. I just felt like this was the first time we’d played a couple games in a row where you could just see that it was a much better rhythm and flow. Even though we took a bunch of penalties, I thought they guys were able to stay engaged and keep to our game for the most part. There weren’t any lulls in how we played and that’s what we needed. That’s how we need to play.”
Martin Necas sharing the importance of Frederik Andersen in a game like today:
“Maybe we were the better team today but they still had a few really good chances. It’s really hard for the goalie to stop those and he made some huge saves today. It’s great that we have not just him, but every goalie that has stepped in our net this season has been really good so far. It’s nice that we can trust him and he’s been unbelievable.”
Andrei Svechnikov on what the difference was today versus their last game:
“It was a great start by our guys. We just played a physical game. We moved the puck really well up and down the ice. We tried to beat them on the rush and that’s why I think we were successful today.”
What’s Next?:
Sunday is a scheduled off day for the Canes. They’ll practice and travel to Boston on Monday.
Bonus Notes:
- The Canes advance to 25-8-2 on the season, giving them a tie of the Metropolitan Division’s top spot at the time of the final horn.
- In the effort the penalty kill went 5/5, making it now 35 consecutive penalty kills. One more will match a franchise record, a mark that has been achieved twice in organization history.
- Svechnikov was noticably physical throughout the afternoon, finishing with a team-high six hits. Brendan Smith was second with his five.
- Jordan Martinook played in his first game since December 4 today, returning from a lower-body injury.
- Defenseman Joey Keane played 13:38 in his season debut. He played in the place of Ethan Bear, who was a healthy scratch.
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