Canes win again, stopping Canucks for 3-0-1 start

It’s hard to say what excited Carolina Hurricanes fans most before Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, the thought of another Canes win or what might happen after it.

The Canes did a mad dash for a team leap into the glass at PNC Arena after beating the New York Rangers on Sunday, and said some other things were planned for wins on home ice. Many around the NHL noticed. Canes fans loved it and wanted more.

First things first: the Hurricanes did win the game, beating the Canucks 5-3. That had the crowd roaring. That’s a 3-0-1 start for the season.

The aftermath: Micheal Ferland leading the players in some slow claps at center ice, then another dash down the ice and more glass-jumping.

Canes fans had a lot to like much of the game. Jordan Staal scored in the first minute, Sebastian Aho was throwing a fist-pump after scoring his second of the season and Andrei Svechnikov picked up his second NHL goal.

Warren Foegele, the rookie forward in constant motion, scored his third of the season and defenseman Brett Pesce scored his first.

“The entire team is working hard right now and we’re seeing the results,” Foegele said. “We’re playing fast, we’re playing hard and creating havoc for their defensemen.”

Goalie Curtis McElhinney, in his second start since being claimed off waivers, earned his second victory, finishing with 22 saves.

“There’s still a lot of room for improvement, which is good, but we’re finding ways to win, which is even better,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said

In an interesting sequence in the second period, Svechnikov found himself battling Canucks rookie forward Elias Pettersson for the puck after a shot by Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

Petterson, the fifth overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, came into the game with five points in his first two games, but Svechnikov simply overpowered him. Svechnikov got the goal, his second in as many games. Pettersson was sent sprawling. The Canes led 4-2.

After the game, Canes owner Tom Dundon presented Svechnikov with a framed photo and the puck to commemorate his first NHL goal -- the game-winner Sunday in the 8-5 win over Rangers. With teammates in the locker room demanding a speech, Svechnikov could only manage a few words.

“He’ll have a bunch of more memorable moments, I guarantee it,” Brind’Amour said.

Not a big part of the scoring Tuesday, Slavin had his best game of the season. His stick was active and his instincts good, making plays large and small.

“He’s such a good player and he’s way underrated,” Brind’Amour said. “His time will come. He’s an elite player. He took over the game, for me, on the back end.”

Sven Baertschi had two goals and assist for the Canucks (1-2-0), who scored twice on the power play.

The Canes’ Jordan Martinook called Sunday’s game a “track meet” and Canes goalie Petr Mrazek often was left in tough positions in allowing the five goals. The game Tuesday seemed headed in the same direction until the Canes tightened up in the third.

Staal used his long reach to control the puck in the offensive zone, turning near the blue line and winging a shot toward the net. With Martinook in front of goalie Jacob Markstrom, Staal picked up his third goal of the season just 43 seconds into the game.

The Canucks were the more aggressive team after the Canes’ quick strike, tying the score on Baertschi’s first goal. But Pesce recreated the Staal goal -- a long shot with Markstrom again screened -- and Aho scored off a Ferland pass for a 3-1 lead.

The Canucks, on a 14-day road trip, used power-play goals from Bo Horvat and Baertschi -- Pettersson with an assist -- in the second to stay in the game. Those goals were sandwiched around Svechnikov’s even-strength score.

Brind’Amour made one lineup change among the skaters, inserting defenseman Haydn Fleury for Trevor van Rimesdyk -- Fleury’s first game of the season.

This story was originally published October 9, 2018 at 9:48 PM.