Hurricanes ride Jordan Staal hat trick to big win over Ducks, stay atop Metro division
It was hard to find much fault in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 5-2 win Sunday over the Anaheim Ducks, and Rod Brind’Amour didn’t try.
“It was a good 60 minutes, the whole night,” the Canes coach said. “Everybody was good tonight. Everything was good.”
Especially good was the team captain, Jordan Staal, who scored his first hat trick with the Hurricanes. It was Staal’s first three-goal game since the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs with the Pittsburgh Penguins and his first in the regular season since No.v 11, 2008 with the Pens -- the longest span between regular-season hat tricks in NHL history at 4,898 days.
“That line has been good for a long time and he’s been good,” Brind’Amour said. “I don’t know that anything was different but he got a couple of goals tonight. Big ones, obviously, at crucial times of the game.
“Good for him. He’s playing well. He always does.”
The victory, two days after a gut-punch loss to the New York Islanders, lifted the Canes (47-18-8) to 102 points, restoring a two-point lead over the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division. The Canes and Rangers play Tuesday in New York.
Staal scored his first goal in the opening period, going top-shelf to beat goalie John Gibson and give the Canes a 2-0 lead after Andrei Svechnikov had scored off a redirection. His second came with 6:18 left in regulation and Carolina protecting a 3-2 lead, Staal scoring from the slot off a crisp pass from Nino Niderreiter after a good forechecking shift by the line.
The hats began to fly on the ice with 1:08 remaining after the Ducks pulled Gibson for an extra attacker and Staal found the empty net. Niederreiter and winger Jesper Fast each finished with two assists as the Staal line continued its heavy, productive play and Staal had his second multi-goal performance in the past three games.
“It was nice to get that tonight and it was a good effort,” Staal said. “Obviously my linemates were a big part of that and it was a fun night.”
So ended a game that had a fast start -- five goals scored in the first period -- and some mayhem in the second period with Svechnikov in the middle of it all. Canes goalie Frederik Andersen ended a three-game losing streak, picking up his 34th win with a 23-save outing.
Troy Terry scored his 32nd of the season for the Ducks (29-33-12) and defenseman Josh Mahura his second, but the Canes’ did not allow center Trevor Zegras to perform any offensive wizardry. Zegras has two lacrosse-type goals in a special rookie season and tried for a third Sunday but Andersen had the post sealed.
Svechnikov, who produced two lacrosse goals a few years ago, has seen Zegras’ two and called them “sick.” And while he had a goal and assist Sunday, Svechnikov’s signature play might have been when he plastered defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk into the boards late in the second period.
It was a clean hit, but very, very hard, separating Shattenkirk from his stick and nearly his helmet.
“It’s a physical game and I think the hit itself was clean and then obviously emotions after that get going,” Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said.
A few minutes later, Svechnikov tripped center Ryan Getzlaf in the neutral zone. The Ducks’ Adam Henrique skated in quickly and hit Svechnikov in the back and suddenly there were players grabbing players, helmets and gloves on the ice and the refs and linesmen doing their best to try and restore order.
Svechnikov kept his cool and did not cause the hectic scene to escalate further although he and Seth Jarvis ended up in the penalty box. Getzlaf, Henrique and Gerry Mayhew all were penalized, leaving the Canes on the power play.
“He’s never shied away from the physical part of the game,” Slavin said of Svechnikov. “Where he has grown is the retaliation stuff, not slashing guys as much or cross-checking guys as much when they come at him. But he’s always been a physical kid.”
But the game’s first star was Staal, No. 11, the captain. Svechnikov might have put it best when he said, “He’s been playing like a machine and he deserves it.”
Longest span between regular-season hat tricks
Jordan Staal -- Nov. 11, 2008 to April 10, 2022 (4,898 days)
Dit Clapper -- March 9, 1933 to Feb. 17, 1945 (4,363 days).
Woody Dumart -- Dec. 25, 1939 to March 4, 1951 (4,087 days)
Guy Charbonneau -- Jan. 6, 1983 to Dec. 27, 1993 (4,008 days)
Matt Duchene -- Nov. 4, 2011 to Nov. 20, 2021 (3,669 days)
Source: NHL
This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 8:48 PM.
