Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek posts triumphant return from injury
Some things happened in the Carolina Hurricanes game Sunday against the Dallas Stars that few would have expected.
Goalie Petr Mrazek, who had not played an NHL game since Jan. 30, returned from his thumb injury to notch a 28-save shutout. Not just play well, but shut out the Stars 1-0 at PNC Arena.
Forward Jordan Martinook, who had scored once this season, gave the Canes (25-9-3) the only goal of the game, scoring on a second-period breakaway. By game’s end, it was the only goal Mrazek would need to win the game.
The Canes’ Brock McGinn left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return. That rarely happens to the rough-and-tumble forward.
“There’s no one I’ve been around since I’ve been done playing who’s tougher than that kid,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, adding that McGinn’s injury “did not look good.”
Then there was Rick Bowness also leaving the game and not returning. He was pulled during the second intermission because of COVID-19 protocols and replaced by assistant coach John Stevens in the third.
While the Canes players were not aware of the Bowness situation, Brind’Amour noticed the coach was missing from the bench. It also came on a day when the Vancouver Canucks had 18 players on the NHL COVID list.
“It’s been a concern all year,” Brind’Amour said of COVID issues. “It’s a reminder again we’ve got to keep doing the right things.”
Mrazek played a conditioning-stint game Thursday with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and faced 45 shots. But this was his first time back with the Canes, in PNC Arena, since his surgery for a thumb dislocation suffered Jan. 30 against the Stars.
“That’s just what ‘Raz does. He’s a gamer,” Martinook said. “It was good to see him back in there and obviously the results speak for themselves. He played phenomenal.”
Mrazek faced just six shots in the first period and was not tested a lot in the first 40 minutes as the Canes played a physical brand of hard-checking hockey. The Stars (13-13-10) pressed in the final two minutes of regulation, pulling goalie Jake Oettinger for a sixth attacker, but Mrazek made some calm, quality saves to nail down his 24th career shutout and third of the season.
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“It felt good to be back. It’s been a long journey,” Mrazek said. “I think the first period I was looking for myself a little. I was all over the place there in the crease. I think in the second period I established myself and didn’t give up many rebounds after that.”
Martinook’s goal came after defenseman Brett Pesce pushed the puck out of the Carolina zone to Vincent Trocheck. The center spotted Martinook skating alone into the Stars zone and set him up for the breakaway and a top-shelf bullet that beat Oettinger.
“I’ve got to give some credit to my dad,” Martinook said. “He said to quit gripping my stick so tight and have fun. Just go out and shoot.”
The Stars’ Jamie Benn said the game had all the elements of a playoff matchup.
“Close game, physical., goalies played well,” Benn said.
This story was originally published April 4, 2021 at 7:44 PM.
