Carolina Hurricanes: 3 Takeaways From Shutout Win vs Kings

The Carolina Hurricanes finished off their home stand with two straight shutouts against Pacific division opponents. Let’s look at what was key in the Hurricanes victory against the Los Angeles Kings.

What a whale of a game to end this seven-game home stand. The Carolina Hurricanes finished those seven games at 5-2-0 and on a three-game winning streak. This was a game that the Hurricanes needed to win and most importantly James Reimer needed. This game can do wonders for a stretch of games against the Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders in the coming days.

Watching the game last night was beautiful. A magnificent game and even better than the game, those Hartford Whalers jerseys. Hearing Brass Bonanza and even a Brass Bonanza storm surge was just so perfect.

I personally don’t get the hate on the Hurricanes for having Whalers night. The Whalers are a big part of Hurricanes history and it is always good to remember the past and the things that got you to where you are today. I think they should wear the Whalers jersey more often over the course of a season.

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Last night, the Hurricanes could have easily lost that game. The Kings had opportunities all night, but the Hurricanes defense and goaltending came to play. They did what they needed to win the game. This game was eerily like the first time the Hurricanes and Kings played where the Hurricanes needed a dominant goaltending performance to come out on top.

The Kings may not be that good of a team at the moment, but they are a team that plays hard and you have to respect that. They showed a lot of determination and fight in their game last night, but the Hurricanes were able to stop the Kings from scoring. Let’s get into our three takeaways from last nights game.

1. James Reimer’s Masterful Performance

James Reimer’s performance was the story of the game. He is the sole reason why the Hurricanes were able to walk out of this game with a victory. And boy did Reimer need this game to help boost his confidence moving forward because things haven’t looked great for him in his last three appearances.

In this contest, Reimer had a 41 save shutout where he was needed pretty much since the second period on. He had a big save right before the first intermission to help keep the game at 1-0. Austin Wagner had a shot to build momentum for the Kings going into the locker room, but Reimer was having none of it.

Reimer didn’t just stop there in terms of big saves. A board battle eventually won by the Kings found the puck going to Alec Martinez at the point. There he found Adrian Kempe all alone out in front where Reimer was able to shut down the chance. The second period is when the Kings really started to ramp up pressure on the Hurricanes, but that didn’t stop a struggling Reimer from denying everything thrown his was.

His most impressive save of the night came in the third period in an empty net situation. A puck was shot from Drew Doughty and deflected in on Reimer by Alex Iafallo and Reimer was able to close the pads on the chance. He appeared hurt on this save but was able to continue for the final seconds of the game. He stood on his head tonight and the Hurricanes really needed that tonight.

And just as much as the Hurricanes needed the efforts of Reimer tonight, he needed a game like this for himself. As mentioned before, Reimer had not looked good at all lately even in a win against the Flyers. He was coming into the Kings games stopping 40 of 52 shots in his previous three appearances.

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People were questioning, including myself, if the Hurricanes needed to make a change to their goalie tandem. But the way Reimer and Petr Mrazek played the last two games gives the fans hope that good things are coming. Let’s hope this game is a starting point to a turnaround in net. The Reimer chants at the end of the game were spectacular by the way.

2. Quick Start and a Much-Needed Goal

I mentioned in my game keys that the Hurricanes needed a quick start to the game and get on the board first. They did exactly that. They jumped on the Kings early with a first period that was dominated with pressure from the Hurricanes. And they got a goal by someone who needed it desperately.

That player is Nino Niederreiter. He has been frustrated about not being able to put the puck in the net and his frustration was on full display Friday against the Coyotes. After a few high-quality chances, Niederreiter finally snapped and broke his stick against the boards and was visibly frustrated.

The goal last night could go very far in helping his game going forward. If he gets going while on a line with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, the Hurricanes can have an absolutely dangerous top six.

The first goal the Hurricanes scored was about five minutes into the game and that is all the Hurricanes needed. They were able to ride a strong first period to earn their second shutout win against the Kings. Even though the Hurricanes were fighting off a Kings attack for most of the second and third period, all they needed was this quick start to get ahead.

This made the Carolina Hurricanes improve their record to when they score the first goal in a game to 20-3-0. When the Hurricanes score first it always makes the team play harder and better. The last two games show that. The goalie gains confidence and improves the overall morale of the team.