Eight straight: Dougie Hamilton shorthanded goal helps Hurricanes edge Red Wings
Dougie Hamilton had played 578 NHL games and in every situation: even strength, power play, penalty killing. The defenseman also had scored 98 career goals.
But Hamilton had never scored a shorthanded goal — until Sunday. His first helped spur the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 road victory over the Detroit Red Wings — their eighth straight victory overall.
Hamilton’s goal came late in the second period and forward Nino Niederreiter scored early in the third for the Canes (20-6-1), who again jumped into the lead in the Central Division. That left it up to goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to protect the lead and he did, making 25 saves in winning his fourth straight game.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour couldn’t believe it was Hamilton’s first “shorty.”
“I’m surprised,” he said. “He’s always in the play, whether it’s power play, shorthanded. He’s always looking to jump in there and obviously his instincts make him special and that shot of his came through there. Obviously it was a huge play in that game.”
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After a scoreless first, the Canes were trying to kill off a Jesper Fast penalty in the second period. The Canes got a key save from Nedeljkovic, then the sudden-strike score from Hamilton at 15:13 of the period.
It was Hamilton’s third goal of the season and his second in as many games. Hamilton extended his point streak to eight games, the longest active streak in the NHL, with his 100th career point with the Hurricanes.
“I hit a couple of posts and crossbars earlier and now a couple go in,” Hamilton said. “That’s just the way it works. You’ve just got to try and keep getting opportunities.”
For Hamilton, the opportunity came when he collected the puck between the circles in the Canes zone on the penalty kill. Quickly skating up ice, he soon had a two-on-one with Sebastian Aho on the left wing. Hamilton waited for the Wings’ Dylan Larkin to go low to try and deny the pass and fired the puck past goalie Jonathan Bernier.
Nedeljkovic had his stick knocked out of his hands during the Wings’ power play but had it retrieved by defenseman Brett Pesce in time to make the save.
“He’s pretty calm,” Hamilton said. “It’s been great for our team.”
Patience was a factor for the Canes. The Red Wings (8-17-4), after a 6-4 win over Tampa Bay, were playing with energy and forced Nedeljkovic into some tough stops.
But Hamilton’s shorthanded score was a gut punch for the Wings. Niederreiter made it 2-0 at 1:37 of the third — the game-winning goal — and Nedeljkovic was just 9.4 seconds away from his second shutout of the season when Anthony Mantha scored after the Wings pulled Bernier and brought on an extra attacker.
Niederreiter, like Brind’Amour, was surprised Hamilton had not had a shorthanded strike in his career.
“It looked like he had done it before,” Niederreiter said, smiling. “Great shot and great patience.”
Make it eight in a row for the Canes, who play the Red Wings again Tuesday.
“Everybody’s chipping in,” said Niederreiter, who scored his 12th of the season. “Everybody is stepping up the way they have to.”
Gardiner to taxi squad
Defenseman Jake Gardiner on Sunday cleared NHL waivers and was placed on the team’s taxi squad.
Gardiner has missed nine of the past 11 games for the Canes. Brind’Amour had said the veteran D-man has had some back issues. He has since been medically cleared to play.
Gardiner was placed on waivers Saturday with the purpose of sending him to the taxi squad if not claimed. His average salary of $4.05 million will not count against the NHL salary cap while on the taxi squad.
This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 4:43 PM.
