The Carolina Hurricanes earned a much-needed two points in the standings to help in their playoff push by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0 Tuesday night at PNC Arena.
Carolina came into the game knowing it had to show up on time, and at the very least match the work ethic of Chicago — the top team in the Western Conference and one with more talent than any other team in the NHL.
It did exactly that and more in the first period, completely dominating the Hawks, outshooting them 16-6 and taking a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
“We’ve been a good team here for a while now,” Carolina head coach Bill Peters said. “What we like is it’s going in the right direction.”
The Hurricanes jumped ahead of the defending Stanley Cup Champions just two minutes into the game on a goal from forward Jeff Skinner, who banged a rebound past Blackhawks netminder Corey Crawford.
Canes forward Riley Nash deflected a shot from rookie defenseman Jaccob Slavin that found its way past Crawford, extending Carolina’s lead to two goals with seven minutes left in the opening frame.
“We got the lead, and stayed with the lead, and built on it,” Hurricanes captain and forward Eric Staal said. “It’s a tough league — I don’t care who you are — to come back, especially when you’re down by a few. I liked the way that we played, fully, through 60 minutes.”
The Canes weren’t done there, as they continued the first-period onslaught, lighting the lamp again just two minutes later.
Defenseman John-Michael Liles together with forward and former Blackhawk Kris Versteeg, rushed into the offensive zone on a 2 on 1. After a bit of an off-the-mark pass from Versteeg, Liles corralled the puck and found a way to beat Crawford once again.
“We had really good energy to start, and the building was fun to play in,” Liles said. “Anytime you can jump out to a lead against a team like that, it’s a big first step, and we had a nice first period.”
Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville, hoping to jumpstart his team, made a goalie switch between periods, pulling Crawford and replacing him with Scott Darling. It didn’t work out as planned, as Darling didn’t fare much better than Crawford.
Carolina forward Joakim Nordstrom, with a defender draped all over him in the slot, out-muscled the opposition to eventually fire a shot past Darling. It was Nordstrom’s third goal in as many games and his first against his former team.
Just a minute and a half later, Nash scored his second goal of the game to give the Canes a commanding 5-0 lead. Nash one-timed a feed from Skinner, beating Darling shortside.
With such a big lead, the Canes were content to play a more defensive game in the third period, keeping the Hawks off the scoreboard, securing a 5-0 victory.
Carolina goaltender Eddie Lack turned away all 26 shots he faced, earning his second shutout of the season.
The Canes will have a week off for the NHL All-Star break before returning to action Feb. 3, where they will continue their pursuit of a playoff spot in the final two months of the season.
