Carolina Hurricanes: Takeaways From OT Win vs Nashville

Jordan Staal scores two and propels the Carolina Hurricanes to six straight wins as they defeat the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-2 in overtime.

They don’t ask how… they ask how many.

First Star of the game went to Jordan Staal, for his two goal performance and OT game-winning snipe with 35 seconds remaining. Not only did he show up on the scoresheet, Staal had six shots on goal, three hits, and a whopping 71% faceoff performance.

The Captain seemed to be everywhere he needed to be in this game, he applied pressure, did his job, and was rewarded handily for it.

The Second Star went to Sebastian Aho, and in my eyes, deserved the top spot. Aho was all over the ice in this game, as he usually seems to be. He recorded two power play points (1 G, 1 A) on the night and was quarterbacking the offense fairly well considering his linemates, Brock McGinn and Warren Foegele (nothing personal, guys).

The Third Star, Vincent Trocheck, recorded two assists on the night, extending his point streak to six games, and cresting him over the 10 assists mark on the season.

I think Dougie Hamilton read my keys to victory article before the game, because he had the best defensive performance I have seen out of him this season. Hamilton’s stick was in the right place at the right time all night, deflecting shots and disrupting chances. Dougie also sacrificed the body for five blocked shots on the night. Oh, and of course he extended his assist streak to six games, not a big deal.

Some other noteworthy Hurricanes defensemen that had noticeably great performances tonight: Brady Skjei and Jake Bean. While neither of them found the scoresheet, their defensive performance was crucial to securing the Canes’ sixth straight win.

Brady Skjei finished with an incredible SEVEN blocked shots. That is heart. Jake Bean didn’t have any blocks, but he did show an incredible display of disrupting breakout chances for Nashville along the blue line and in the neutral zone, particularly one breakaway chance that he snuffed out with a lunging poke check.

Alex Nedeljkovic came up big when he was needed with some key saves throughout the contest, notably in the 3rd period to keep the Canes in it. He also tapped the post a handful of times late in the game, as the iron was his best friend. Ned stopped 21 of 23 and looked solid as ever. The only two goals that passed him were both shots through traffic, not much he can do when he can’t see.

Nedeljkovic added another solid performance to his resume tonight; here’s to hoping the coaching staff keeps him in the rotation as Petr Mrazek inches closer and closer to his return.

The Carolina Hurricanes got stonewalled early by Pekka Rinne, and allowed Nashville to get to their game first. However, as I have said before, the mental fortitude of this squad is noticeably more promising than in seasons past.

The Hurricanes will look to improve on this performance and keep the train rolling against Nashville once again on Thursday.