Why Hurricanes’ Niederreiter has fans chanting ‘Ni-no, Ni-no’ after win over Devils
Nino Niederreiter caught Andrei Svechnikov out of the corner of his eye, already skating across the ice, getting a head start.
A day after the fact, Niederreiter could laugh about it. The Carolina Hurricanes forward scored the game’s first goal Friday and added an assist as the Canes smacked the New Jersey Devils 5-2 at PNC Arena. He was named the game’s first star and had Canes fans loudly chanting “Ni-no, Ni-no” before his on-the-bench interview.
On Thursday, Niederreiter’s name was called during practice. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour will blow the whistle from time to time and pick out a player for a shootout shot. If the player scores, the two goalies must skate the length of the rink. Miss, and the forwards and defensemen must quickly cross the ice and back.
As Niederreiter gathered in the puck and and took his first strides toward the net, Svechnikov started edging toward the far boards. By the time Niederreiter shot the puck, he was almost there.
“Yeah, I was cheating,” Svechnikov said.
Bam. Puck in net. Niederreiter had blistered a shot and scored, and the chirping began as a slightly red-faced Svechnikov hustled back.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got to stay next time and wait for me,’ ” Niederreiter said, smiling.
For much of the season, Brind’Amour and the Canes have been waiting for Niederreiter, waiting for him to show the form and point-producing ability he had last season, after the January trade from the Minnesota Wild. It has been a months-long struggle for the Swiss-born winger, who has had a plethora of offensive chances but went into Friday’s game with seven goals and 16 assists in 55 games.
Nor did it help that Niederreiter was late to the Canes’ first practice after the long break for the NHL All-Star Weekend and the team’s bye week. Brind’Amour made him a healthy scratch in the next game, Jan. 31 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Niederreiter said the frustration has built throughout a season in which so little seemed to be going right.
“It’s hard,” he said. “It’s always helps when the team is winning, but when the team is losing it gets on your nerves even more. You want to be successful every single time you’re on the ice. Sometimes it goes well and sometimes it doesn’t. When things aren’t going well, you try to change things up.”
Getting off a shot from just inside the blue line, for example. Moving to the right point as the high forward as defenseman Trevor van RIemsdyk pinched down in the offensive zone, Niederreiter unleashed a long shot that got past Devils goalie Louis Domingue.
“If there’s a guy who probably deserved a goal, it’s him,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s had a tough year that way.”
Still, it was one of those shots where you had to do a double-take — was that No. 21, Niederreiter? Yep, Niederreiter, from the point.
“When you’re struggling you have to go back to the little things,” Niederreiter said. “I know I’m a shooter and know I have to make sure to get my shot off quick.”
But from the point?
“I’m not sure I’ve ever scored on a one-timer from there,” he said, smiling again. “It felt great.”
After Friday’s morning skate, Brind’Amour again mentioned the need to get contributions from everyone on the roster and not just the top line of Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Tervainen and Svechnkov, who had the winning goal against the Devils. So many had gone dry offensively as the Canes slipped out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
“We need some guys to really get going,” Brind’Amour said.
Niederreiter, who had a combined 23 goals with the Canes and Wild last season, had scored twice in his past 19 games before Friday. Forward Warren Foegele was without a goal in 12 consecutive games before scoring in the first period for a 2-1 lead.
Niederreiter was playing on a line centered by Erik Haula and both had plus-3 ratings as the line made the most of its shifts, barreling around the offensive zone but also being mindful defensively. Rookie winger Martin Necas, who also had a goal and assist, was plus-2.
Niederreiter’s career shooting percentage is 11.8 percent. In 36 games for the Canes last season, he shot 13.6 percent in scoring 14 goals, the kind of offensive pop that helped propel the Canes into the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Before Friday, he was shooting 7.7 percent on 91 shots. His percentage has been much lower this season.
“There was a stretch of the season where I felt very good and the points didn’t come and then you start getting frustrated, too, when you think you’re playing well and you don’t get rewarded for it,” he said. “It takes a beating on your confidence.”
And then Brind’Amour calls out your name in practice for a shootout shot. And you score.
“It’s a little thing,” Niederreiter said, “but it definitely helps.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2020 at 1:54 PM.
