Red Wings spoil Jordan Staal’s 1,000th NHL game, down Hurricanes
Jordan Staal was given a proper pregame tribute Monday by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Honored for playing his 1,000th NHL game, Staal watched as his family — wife, kids and parents — received flowers and gifts. He watched as videos were played on the big board at PNC Arena, including one from his oldest brother, Eric, of the Montreal Canadiens.
Before the game, the Canes players all wore Staal No. 11 jerseys in the warmup to honor their captain. On the ice, and then standing by the bench during the pregame ceremony, was brother Marc of the Detroit Red Wings.
“It was a really cool moment,” Jordan Staal said.
What Staal wanted more than anything Monday was a victory to celebrate. The Canes couldn’t get him one as the Red WIngs handed Carolina a second straight loss, winning 3-1 behind 37 saves from goalie Jonathan Bernier.
“It was a big day for ‘Jordo’ but the way we came out and played was no good,” Canes forward Nino Niederreiter said. “That’s what hurts the most. It was a big night for ‘Jordo’ and he’s such a great leader and it’s a big accomplishment he had. It was his 1,000th game and we showed up like that. It’s definitely not acceptable.”
The Canes (27-10-4), who were in first place in the Central Division, made it interesting late. Niederreiter jumped on a loose puck in the slot and went top shelf to finally beat Bernier with 6:06 left in regulation.
Staal and Warren Foegele earned assists on Niederreiter’s 15th of the season. There was briefly some life. But the Canes couldn’t beat Bernier again.
“Normally when we lose I can come in and say give the other team credit and (say) we played hard,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “No disrespect for the other team, they played hard, but this is the one game where I’m like, ‘That was gross.’ To a man we were not good. We couldn’t have beaten anybody tonight.”
Brind’Amour later changed that assessment a bit, saying goalie James Reimer played well, but was sour on the rest.
“I coached a terrible game,” he said. “I didn’t get the lines going right, I didn’t find the right matchups. It was no good from start to finish. We got what we deserved in that one. We just didn’t bring it.”
Adam Erne and Filip Zadina scored in the first 2:34 of the third period after the teams were scoreless in the first 40 minutes. The Canes used a coach’s challenge after the first score, claiming Erne was offside as he entered the zone, but lost the challenge and were penalized for delay of game.
Zadina then scored on a power play and Bernier took it from there as the Wings, last in the Central Division, followed up a shootout win Saturday with a victory in regulation.
Sam Gagner scored the final goal after the Canes pulled Reimer, who had 28 saves, for an extra attacker.
That it was mostly a slog of a game might have been predictable. Games scheduled on the day of the NHL trade deadline can be that way, with players going through a stressful day and some changing teams, leaving teammates behind. That included Anthony Mantha, traded Monday by Detroit to the Washington Capitals.
“Yes, there’s a lot going on today but so what? I mean, you’ve got a job to do,” Brind’Amour said. “We talked about it and emphasized all that. This was not good, obviously.”
The Canes began the day in first place in the Central with 58 points, with one game-in-hand over Tampa Bay, which also had 58. Carolina will end its eight-game homestand with two games against Nashville, then have a tough stretch -- sets of two road games each against Tampa Bay, Florida and Dallas.
Erne scored off a pass from Michael Rasmussen, who circled the net and backhanded the puck. The Canes then challenged the score, claiming Erne was offside entering the zone, but the initial ruling was upheld after review. That resulted in a delay-of-game penalty against Carolina.
Soon, there was another. Defenseman Brady Skjei attempted to clear the puck but flipped it over the glass. The Wings did not score in their 47 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage but quickly scored 5-on-4 as Filip Zadina took a pass from Rasmussen and beat goalie James Reimer.
This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 6:51 PM.
