*Photo from TSN*
The key for the Carolina Hurricanes, with their roster reshuffled due to Covid-19 issues, was to get a little fast(I'm terrible at this I know). Jesper Fast scored, Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored, and the Hurricanes coasted past the Los Angeles Kings for a 5-1 victory in Raleigh, NC, on Saturday night.
It was Fast and Kotkaniemi who led the way for the Hurricanes, each contributing a goal and an assist, with defenseman Brady Skjei also adding a two assist night. The Hurricanes improve to 21-7-1 this season, first place in the Metropolitan Division, and they have wins in 6 of their last 7 games. Both Fast and Kotkaniemi scored within the first two minutes.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the Covid-19 roster shuffle that "Being 100 percent honest, coming into these two games, if you would have said we would have come out with two victories this way, I would have said, 'That's big time.' I just think guys were working really hard. Kudos to all the guys who came in because they all contributed and did a great job."
First, it was Kotkaniemi, who scored his 7th goal of the season just 37 seconds into the game, assisted by Skjei and Fast to make it 1-0 Hurricanes. The lead doubled to 2-0 when Fast scored on the power play 1:36 into the game, his 7th goal of the season, assisted by Jaccob Slavin and Andrew Poturalski, making it 2-0 Hurricanes after one period.
The Hurricanes got off to another fast start in the second period, with Brett Pesce scoring his second goal of the season 2:38 into the period, and the lead became 3-0. On the power play 9:36 into the second, Teuvo Teravainen scored his 7th goal of the season to make it 4-0. 15:33 into the period was when Blake Lizotte scored for the Kings to make it 4-1. Jack Drury scored the lone goal of the 3rd period, his second goal in his second NHL game, making it 5-1 Hurricanes.
Asked about the Covid-19 callups from AHL Chicago, Drury said that "All the guys who have come up from Chicago, I think we've molded in nicely and just tried to help the team win. I feel like we were ready to compete today, and I think everyone bought in."
Making the start in goal for the red hot Hurricanes was Frederik Andersen, who put together another good outing between the pipes. Andersen saved 32 of 33 shots he faced, good for a .970 save percentage and a win. Andersen improved his record to 16-5-0 in 21 starts for Carolina this season.
For the Kings, it was veteran Jonathan Quick in net, who did not have his best night in a loss for the Kings. Quick turned aside 28 of the 33 shots on goal the Hurricanes had, posting a .848 save percentage and a loss. He drops to 8-6-4 in 18 starts this season.
Lizotte talked about the early deficit for the Kings, saying that "You try to put it out of your mind and battle, but it's definitely an uphill battle when you're down 2-0. It kind of seems like the bounces don't go your way when you're down that quick. It's a tough way to start the game."
Both teams are back in action on Sunday, with the Hurricanes playing host to the Nashville Predators, with Antti Raanta to get the start in goal. The Kings travel to Washington to face the Capitals, with Cal Petersen to guard the net.
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