Quick, Golden Knights spoil Jesse Puljujarvi’s Hurricanes debut, skate off with 4-0 win
Jesse Puljujarvi’s first game with the Carolina Hurricanes will be memorable for him in that he played it, not that his new team won it.
The forward, obtained from Edmonton a few days before NHL trade deadline, made his Hurricanes debut Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights. He also was in the starting lineup, getting a nice hand from Canes fans during the pregame introductions
But the story of this game was Vegas goalie Jonathan Quick, who stymied the Canes early and often, making 33 saves, as the Golden Knights earned a 4-0 victory at PNC Arena.
The Hurricanes (43-13-8) had a four-game win streak end and their lead in the Metropolitan Division sliced to two points over the New Jersey Devils, who won Saturday in Montreal. The Canes and Devils go at it Sunday at the Prudential Center.
Jonathan Marchessault scored in the first period, Reilly Smith in the second, and Paul Cotter and Brett Howden in the third for the Knights (40-20-6). Quick took it from there for his third win since being traded to Vegas on March 2.
It was 58th career shutout for Quick, who won two Stanley Cups with the L.A. Kings, as he earned his 373rd career win. While this season has been a struggle for the 37-year-old veteran, it was a vintage Quick game.
“They played a real good, solid game and their goalie was the difference, clearly,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s been a champ his whole career. I know his numbers aren’t great this year but he’s got it in him, right? Unfortunately it was against us.”
A concern for the Hurricanes on Saturday was having winger Andrei Svechnikov leave the game in the second period with an apparent right leg injury. Svechnikov returned for the third period and got in seven shifts, but Brind’Amour said he was not sure about Svechnikov’s availability for the New Jersey game.
“I’m not sure how he’s going to be here, especially (Sunday).” Brind’Amour said. “We’ll see.”
Svechnikov left Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers after being cut on the leg by a skate. It proved to be a small, superficial cut – for Svechnikov and the Canes, very fortunate.
Svechnikov’s injury Saturday came after a hit on the Knights’ Alec Martinez. He skated about the ice during a media timeout, then left for the locker room. He returned to the bench, got in a shift, then immediately went back to the room but was back for the third.
“You want everybody, right?” Brind’Amour said. “It’s that time of the year you’re just hoping not to have any serious injuries.”
The Canes appeared to have scored early in the third, but the referee ruled the whistle had blown and Quick had covered the puck – even though it popped free.
So it went for the Canes, which had its offensive chances and open looks but could not convert. Each team had one power play but did little with them.
“There was enough chances to win the game,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said.
Quick, traded March 2 to the Knights, made a big stop in the first period on a Sebastian Aho shot and was calm and in control throughout the game in winning his duel with old rival Frederik Andersen.
“He was pretty solid,” Staal said. “Those point shots, he was eating a lot of them. He was eating everything and playing well.”
It was a hard-fought game in all three zones, without a lot of open ice.
Marchessault did find some in scoring four minutes into the game, gliding into the Canes zone with the puck and firing a shot past Andersen. Reilly took advantage of a bobble by Canes defenseman Brent Burns, breaking in on Andersen to score in the second period.
Puljujarvi was traded Feb. 28 by the Oilers, but joining the Hurricanes had to wait until his work visa was completed. He was with the team in Montreal, watched as the Canes played the Flyers. He started on the fourth line, getting in 12:47 of ice time.
“It was really fun to play the first game,” Puljujarvi said. “It was for sure not the result we wanted. We had good opportunities there but ...”
When Svechnikov left the game, Brind’Amour briefly moved Puljujarvi to Aho’s line for a few shifts. The two Finnish friends played together as young juniors and were on a dynamic line as Finland won the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki.
“We didn’t really have anything on those shifts,” he said. “Hopefully at some point we get some better shifts. It was fun.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2023 at 9:46 PM.
