*Photo from Reuters*
This team will be playing hockey deep into April and maybe even May. Jake Guentzel had two assists, Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 on Thursday night in Raleigh.
Needing to win to clinch a playoff spot, the Hurricanes did just that by dispatching the Red Wings in shutout fashion. Aho and Seth Jarvis had the same lines on the scoresheet to go with Guentzel's two point game as the Hurricanes secured their 6th straight playoff berth, all under Rod Brind'Amour.
Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes head coach, said of the feat that "It’s unfortunate it gets overlooked a little because of where we sit. You forget how hard that is to accomplish, and to do that with 8 games left. That’s impressive, and these guys deserve credit for that. It’s a huge accomplishment."
After a scoreless first period, Aho kicked off the scoring in the second period. With assists from Jarvis and Guentzel, he scored his 32nd goal of the season to make it 1-0 Hurricanes. Aho and Guentzel then assisted on Jarvis's power play goal 57 seconds later, doubling the lead to 2-0 on Jarvis's 28th goal of the season.
Martin Necas furthered the Hurricanes lead, scoring his 23rd goal of the season at the 10:46 mark of the second, making it 3-0 with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jordan Martinook assisting. Brady Skjei made it 4-0 on his 13th goal of the season with help from Jarvis and Aho. No goals were scored in the 3rd period as the Hurricanes hung on to win.
Aho said of his 3 point game that "I get to play with great players and play high minutes and the power play. So, I expect myself to produce. It’s always nice to score goals and get points, but I try to look at my game a little differently, like how do I do all three zones in the game and if I’m on it. Obviously, tonight was a good game and that’s why we were able to get scoring chances."
It was Frederik Andersen who started in goal for the Hurricanes, picking up the shutout as his record improved to 11-1-0 in 13 starts. Andersen recorded his second shutout of the season and 26th in his career after making 24 saves. He is 7-0-0 since returning from a 50 game absence due to blood clotting.
Getting the start between the pipes for the Red Wings was James Reimer, who couldn't outduel one of his former clubs. Reimer stopped 29 of the 33 shots he was tested with by the Hurricanes, recording a .879 save percentage as his record dropped to 9-8-2 with the loss.
Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said of the team's 3rd straight loss that "We knew we were going to be up against it tonight. Where our lineup was, to have that happen to you right before the game is kind of a stinger. That’s a tough team to play with 11 forwards with the pace they play at."
Both teams have Friday off before getting back in action on Saturday. Pyotr Kochetkov is the projected starter for the Hurricanes in their road matchup with the Montreal Canadiens. The Red Wings have a road tilt against the Florida Panthers with Alex Lyon expected to be the starting goalie.
Comments
Post a Comment