Hurricanes end three-game slide with 3-0 victory over Blue Jackets
.JPG "Carolina Hurricanes’ Alex Nedeljkovic, right, makes a save as teammate Brady Skjei, center, and Columbus Blue Jackets’ Riley Nash look for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 22, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)")
Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour was asked Monday morning if he sensed any panic with his team caught in a three-game winless streak.
Panic? Brind’Amour, seemingly irritated, responded by saying he believed the Canes had played well much of the time, especially in the past two games against Columbus, just not gotten the right bounces or made the key plays.
It all went the Canes’ way Monday against the Blue Jackets in a convincing 3-0 road victory at Nationwide Arena.
“I felt really good about our game. We had one iffy period,” Brind’Amour said after the game. “Tonight was a solid effort all the way around. We got some nice plays that we don’t always cash in but tonight they did. We had a lot of guys contribute. Everybody played well.”
Defenseman Brady Skjei, who had not scored this season, scored his first as a Hurricane. Jesper Fast scored. Martin Necas, playing in his 100th NHL game, scored off a nice give-and-go with Sebastian Aho, who had two assists.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, playing in his home state, did the job in net, notching his second career shutout and his second of the season. He faced just 19 shots but stopped them all, including a breakaway by former Canes forward Riley Nash.
“We were awesome,” Nedeljkovic said. “Top to bottom, start to finish, we were taking it to ‘em. You couldn’t have drawn it up any better. In the first game, they came out and gave us a punch in the mouth. We did the same thing tonight. It didn’t stop after that. We kept going. It was wave after wave and every line was playing in their end.”
Dougie Hamilton now has a 12-game point streak, the longest in franchise history for defenseman. Mark Howe, who is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, set the point-streak record in 1980, for the Hartford Whalers. Hamilton broke it in the second period on an assist on the Necas goal.
“I just try to stay in the moment and keep playing well,” Hamilton said. “It’s definitely pretty cool, for sure. I’m lucky to play with great players making good plays.”
A day after a spirited practice at PNC Arena that ended with the players smiling and laughing, the Canes (21-7-3) enjoyed themselves at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, moving into second place in the Central Division.
“That’s a team that had lost a few in a row and wasn’t used to losing and we knew they were going to push,” Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno said.
The Blue Jackets (13-13-7) won in overtime, then rallied late in regulation to tie the score, then win a shootout in the first two games of the four-game set in Raleigh. It was all Canes on Monday as they outshot and out-chanced the Blue Jackets while killing off three penalties.
“We played a pretty complete 60-minute hockey game,” Fast said. “We were on the right side (of the puck), we were working hard and doing the right things out there. We had a little fun before we left Carolina and I think it carried over into this game.”
It was a big night for the Canes’ ex-Rangers as Skjei and Fast scored, and Necas added a third goal for Carolina in the second.
Skjei’s first goal of the season gave Carolina a 1-0 lead after the first period. In the second, Fast deflected a shot by Brett Pesce at 6:39 of the second for a 2-0 lead. It was the fourth goal of the season for Fast, who was signed as a free agent in the off-season.
Skjei’s last goal was Feb. 21, 2020. That was three days before the Rangers traded him to Carolina.
The Fast goal came after the Canes had killed off a high-sticking penalty against Jordan Martinook, whose line put in a two-minute shift before the call. The Canes had the best scoring chance in the kill.
Necas scored his sixth of the season on a give-and-go with Aho, who earned his second assist of the game, and set up Necas in the slot. Hamilton picked up the other assist.
Brind’Amour puts losing behind him
As a player, Rod Brind’Amour took losses hard. He’d keep thinking back to what he might have done differently to help his team win.
As head coach of the Hurricanes, Brind’Amour still feel the sting of a loss. Some hurt more than others. But he must quickly put it behind him, as hard as that might be, and refocus.
“You never like to lose,” Brind’Amour said Monday. “For me, I always kid about I don’t know how long I’ll be doing this.”
Case in point: the 3-2 shootout loss Saturday against the Blue Jackets at PNC Arena.
The Canes (20-7-3) were a half-minute away from winning in regulation before Columbus tied the score with an extra attacker. The Canes then had chances to win in overtime -- Martin Necas with a shot off the rush -- and in the shootout when Andrei Svechnikov could not end it.
“I loved the fight in our group but it didn’t go our way,” Brind’Amour said Monday. “Obviously the last game was the strangest game I’ve been around where just some weird things happened.
“When I left the rink I felt pretty good about our game and yet all you hear about is how we lost the game. I don’t know what else we could have done in that game. We had the game and just the flukiest thing happened. Guys played hard and we didn’t get the bounces.”
The Canes and Blue Jackets (13-12-7) now have two games at Nationwide Arena in the NHL’s quirky scheduling requirement of four straight games against each other. Who knows what’s next?
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 6:38 PM.
