Brind’Amour gets first win as coach as Canes stop Columbus

It took a while for all the lights to come on at Columbus’ Nationwide Arena on Friday, but once they did ...

The Carolina Hurricanes gave Rod Brind’Amour his first win as an NHL head coach, battling past the Blue Jackets 3-1 in a game in which the Canes dictated the pace of play for the most part.

The Canes (1-0-1) did that Thursday against the New York Islanders in the season opener at PNC Arena. But their only goal came late in regulation, earning them a point as the Islanders came away with a 2-1 overtime win.

A day later, the Canes were on the road for the first time. Goaltender Curtis McElhinney, picked up off waivers this week, had several high-quality stops among his 31 saves against one his former teams, while Sebastian Aho and Micheal Ferland each had a goal and assist.

As the game ended, McElhinney scooped up the puck for Brind’Amour, later giving it to team captain Justin Williams to be presented to the head coach. Jordan Staal handled that pleasant duty, slapping the puck into Brind’Amour’s hand.

“It was a great win,” Brind’Amour said. “The guys played hard. Obviously our goaltending was fabulous. Curtis played great.”

Asked about McElhinney collecting the puck for him, Brind’Amour said McElhinney probably deserved it as the game’s first star, saying, “I stood back there and yelled all game and he was making all the saves.”

It was the home opener for the Blue Jackets (1-0-1), who won in overtime in Detroit on Thursday. There was the usual pregame festivities, but then an unexected delay as the two teams waited for the lights to be fully illuminated.

The Canes then had more jump early, scoring the game’s first goal as Andrei Svecnhnikov swiped the puck in the neutral zone and set up Jordan Martinook in the slot with a well-executed pass -- Svechnikov’s first NHL point and Martinook’s first goal with the Canes.

“It’s nice to get ahead, get the crowd out of it a little bit,” Brind’Amour said. “They did it a little with the lights. I thought it was perfect. But after struggling to get one last night, to get that one calmed the guys down.”

Brandon Dubinsky scored in the first for Columbus, beating Aho on a draw and the beating him to the net. But Aho answered in the second period, going to the net and scoring off a Ferland pass for a 2-1 lead, then assisting on Ferland’s goal in the third.

Ferland’s failure to clear the puck, then his penalty in the final seconds of regulation were big plays in the loss to the Islanders. The Isles scored quickly in overtime in a four-on-three power play.

But Aho’s line with Ferland and Teuvo Teravainen rebounded strongly as did the rest of the Canes. Brind’Amour stayed with the same lineup for a second straight night, again deciding to make forward Phil Di Giuseppe and defenseman Haydn Fleury healthy scratches rather than making changes.

Aho has had slow scoring starts in first two NHL seasons, being held without a goal the first 15 games last year before finishing with a team-high 29. He won’t have that problem this season.

McElhinney was placed on waivers Monday by the Toronto Maple Leafs for the purpose of being sent to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Claimed on Tuesday by the Canes with goalie Scott Darling on injured reserve, It has been a chaotic few days for him but McElhinney now has his first victory with the Hurricanes.

“You step on the ice and everything seems normal,” McElhinney said. “It feels tremendous.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2018 at 11:01 PM.