Carolina Hurricanes: Takeaways from 5-2 Win Over Detroit

As I said the other night on Twitter, if hockey games were 30 minutes or so, this iteration of the Carolina Hurricanes might be the greatest team of all time.

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The Canes once again battled through an up-and-down game, but finished with a bang after head coach Rod Brind’Amour shuffled his lines in the second intermission. The team scored four unanswered goals (three in the third period) to beat the Detroit Red Wings and move to 16-6-1 on the season.

The Carolina Hurricanes looked like a team that had just come off a long road trip with a lot of games in a short span for most of the first two periods. Detroit was the better team through forty minutes, and the Hurricanes were playing catch-up for a lot of it. Dangerous Czech youngster Filip Zadina twice staked the visiting Red Wings to one-goal leads.

However, the Hurricanes had an answer both times. The first came on an absolute laser from Andrei Svechnikov on the man advantage:

The next – incidentally, probably the key play in the hockey game in hindsight – from the Canes’ own rising star from the Czech Republic, Martin Necas:

That game-tying goal late in the second period seemed to completely swing the momentum, as the third period was all Hurricanes.

On the first shift of the final frame, Andrei Svechnikov blew by a Detroit defenseman for a breakaway, deked to his backhand, and had Wings goaltender Jonathan Bernier dead to rights. Unfortunately, he could not quite elevate the puck to put the Canes in front. But Svechnikov stuck with the play, fought to re-gain possession, and Jordan Staal was soon after able to bang home a rebound after a Dougie Hamilton bomb bounced off Jesper Fast‘s leg and into the Captain’s wheelhouse.

Barely two minutes later, the same newly formed trio of Fast, Staal, and Svechnikov would strike a second time. Svechnikov was again at the center of it, as he created all sorts of havoc as the first man in on the forecheck and caused a turnover. Staal got to the loose puck, quickly spun and found Svech in the slot, and the phenom made a fantastic play to handle the pass in his skates, gain control and dangle between multiple defenders, then find Fast on the backdoor with a beautiful pass for a tap in goal.

Boom. Just like that, 4-2.

Nino Niederreiter would add an (extremely early, as over 5 minutes still remained in the game) empty netter to bring us to the final score of 5-2.

In my pregame keys, I mentioned Svechnikov’s struggles over the last few weeks, and zeroed in on tonight being when those struggles could come to an end. Who knows how the next few games will go, but do not be surprised to see him pile up points now that the monkey is off his back.

Tonight was a great reminder of why the young Russian is one of the most electric rising stars on the planet. He was the most dangerous player on the ice most of the night, even early on when most of the Hurricanes seemed to still be in Nashville. You can only keep a player of his caliber down for so long, and sharing the ice with his brother for the first time went about as expected (Evgeny also recorded an assist, so a good night for the Svechnikov’s all around. The older brother has points in each of his last three games, so it’s good to see him in the NHL and contributing after a tough, injury-filled start to his career).

Meanwhile, Alex Nedeljkovic continued his run of stellar goaltending, with his fourth consecutive sterling start. Ned kept the Carolina Hurricanes within striking distance while the team was struggling to find its footing, and shutdown the Detroit push late to preserve the win. He had some issues with his rebound control at times, but, per usual, his athleticism allowed him to cover some of those potential mistakes and make acrobatic saves when he was seemingly down and out.

Ned made 33 saves on the evening, and over his last four starts has stopped 126 of the 132 shots he’s faced (.955 SV%). He continues to make his case for a legitimate role once starter Petr Mrazek returns from his wrist injury.

All in all, the Hurricanes continue to find ways to win consistently, even when they do not bring their best game to the rink. This team is deep, talented, and can beat you in a lot of different ways, and they ought to feel extremely good about where they are at this juncture – especially with Teuvo Teravainen now back in the lineup, and Mrazek and Jake Gardiner inching closer to returning themselves.

Other Notes

• Attendance for the game was announced at 2,924. While obviously a greatly reduced total from normal capacity, those in PNC Arena certainly made themselves heard. Salute to you, Caniacs.
• Speaking of salutes, the answer we were all waiting for was answered: we got a Storm Surge. It was simple, but outstanding, a quick skol clap at center ice followed by a salute and video board tribute to the frontline healthcare workers. Well done, fellas.
• Jordan Staal finished with a three-point night, including his eighth goal, which means he has already tied his scoring total from last season with 47 games remaining. Staal has been an absolute monster this season, and maybe the “magic/hot streak” as I called it earlier is not quite over with just yet (especially if #37 stays on his wing… ’cause I’m pretty sure I’d have a few points if I got to play with that kid). “Jordo” contributing offensively takes this team to a whole ‘nother level.
• Brett Pesce made an uncharacteristic, but nonetheless extremely dangerous and dirty play early in the second period, slew footing Detroit’s Robby Fabbri while both players headed towards their respective benches. I didn’t really see what preceded it, but, knowing Pesce, he just got caught up in the moment and was likely frustrated against a player known for getting under his opponent’s skin (and I hope that doesn’t sound like I’m making an excuse in any form or fashion, because I’m not; especially considering Fabbri has already had two major knee surgeries). Regardless, it was uncalled for and unnecessary, and Pesce was fined $5,000 after the game. He’s pretty lucky he isn’t suspended.
• Hamilton’s year has not gone as smoothly as he would have hoped, especially in his own end of the ice. He also, shockingly, only has one goal (thanks, Trocheck), but he added two more assists tonight to bring that total to a team-leading 15 in 23 games this season. Just goes to show how truly elite he is offensively to be able to produce like that even whilst “struggling”.
• The Hurricanes did not have a single player record one point tonight; every player who found the scoresheet had two points, except Staal (sigh… overachiever). This includes Vincent Trocheck, who had one of his quieter games in a while, yet still registered two assists. He’s now on a four-game point streak (three goals, two assists in the span).

The Hurricanes will now get a much-needed two-day break before the second leg of this four-game homestand, Sunday night at 7PM against the Florida Panthers. Hopefully they can rest up, and we’ll see a fresh team come out flying and ready to play a complete 60 minutes then.

By the way, if you read my keys article and saw my score prediction, the answer is yes, I am psychic.