Hurricanes offense stays hot, Andersen posts shutout as Carolina rolls past Montreal
One play might have best summed up the Carolina Hurricanes’ 4-0 win Thursday over the Montreal Canadiens.
Late in the first period, Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin backanded a pass toward the net from the right corner. Andrei Svechnikov was stationed in front of the net, absorbing cross-checks from Habs defenseman David Savard but getting his stick on the puck to beat goalie Jake Allen.
Savard continued to cross-check Svechnikov in the chest, as if oblivious to the fact the goal horn was sounding, an act of frustration and futility. Svechnikov finally backed away and all but shrugged, the damage done.
So it went Thursday as the Canes (45-15-8) returned from a successful three-game road trip with a rather routine win at PNC Arena over a team that’s more competitive under interim coach Martin St. Louis but likely eager for the season to end.
The Habs (18-39-11) could not find a way to get the puck past goalie Frederik Andersen, whose fourth shutout of the season came with 32 saves. “Solid as a rock,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Andersen.
“You don’t think about anything when he’s in the net,” Canes defenseman Tony DeAngelo said. “It’s just a calming presence when he’s in the net. He’s made so many big-time saves this year we’re kind of getting used to it. He’s been great.”
Montreal had 14 shots in the third period and pulled Allen with 4:30 left in regulation for a sixth attacker but could not score.
Svechnikov scored twice, the second an empty-netter that was his 200th career NHL point, and Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen each had a goal and assist for the Hurricanes.
Aho scored on an early power play in the first and Teravainen at even strength in the second period when the Canes had a season-high 26 shots and three power plays, including almost a minute of a 5-on-3 advantage.
The game began with Jordan Staal’s line turning in a heavy 83-second shift, forechecking and controlling the puck and pounding away at the Canadiens down low.
“They hold on to the puck down low and it starts tiring the other team out,” DeAngelo said. “The next line comes out and they do, the next line comes out and they do it. It’s a lot of volume, right? That’s our identity and we stuck to it.”
Every line for the Canes had its good moments, especially in the first two periods when the game was decided. Carolina’s 26 shots in the second were just three shy of the Canes’ record for a period.
DeAngelo and Slavin each had two assists for the Canes -- DeAngelo has 35 this season and Slavin 33. Forward Max Domi, moved to Vincent Trocheck’s line, had his third point in five games since the trade from Columbus.
“It was a very solid effort through the lineup,” said Aho, who scored his 31st of the season and extended his point streak to six games.
Jordan Martinook returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a lower-body injury and gave the Canes some thump and jolt of energy. In his first two shifts the forward had a big hit and then drew a penalty after another hit -- Aho scoring quickly after winning the faceoff to begin the power play, then redirecting a Teravainen shot.
“He only has one speed,” a smiling DeAngelo said of Martinook.
The only suspense in the game was whether Andersen would get the shutout. The Habs had three power plays in the third period but the Canes’ league-leading penalty kill got the job done.
Canes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, injured Monday in the final seconds of the 6-1 road win at Washington, was not able to play against his former team. Brind’Amour said Kotkaniemi would be out two or three weeks with a lower-body injury.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 9:46 PM.
