A stoked crowd in PNC Arena witnessed the Carolina Hurricanes down the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Friday, Jan. 7. A trio of Canes goals in the second period and a stingy penalty kill unit fueled the Canes to their fifth straight win.
It was a memorable night of hockey for several reasons, with multiple key contributors pitching in to seal the win for Carolina (24-7-1). Chief among them was defenseman Brady Skjei’s performance, as he ironically led the Canes’ attack. Skjei followed up a two-goal showing at Columbus on Jan. 1 by notching three points against the Flames (17-10-6) including a clutch goal late in the third period to stymie a Calgary comeback attempt and ice the game.
“I’ve obviously got some pretty good looks coming right down the slot,” Skjei said. “I’ve been lucky to take advantage of those opportunities. Hopefully we can keep finding those spots and put the puck in the back of the net.”
Skjei’s two assists also came in noteworthy moments. Right wing Jesper Fast scored late in the first period to tie it up at 1-1, with Skjei and defenseman Brett Pesce assisting him in his 500th career NHL game.
Not to be forgotten, right wing Andrei Svechnikov scored a pair of important goals as well. Skjei secured his second assist of the night in the second period when Svechnikov stretched the Hurricanes’ lead to 3-1. Svechnikov later put the game thoroughly out of reach with a left-side snipe in the final minute.
Despite surrendering three goals, goaltender Frederik Andersen played a big part in the win as well. The Flames came out of the gate with guns blazing, but Andersen’s efforts in net limited Calgary’s 21 first-period shots to just one goal.
“Freddie kept us in the game in that first period,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “We were fortunate, I think, to come out of there 1-1, for sure.”
Carolina’s penalty kill helped keep Calgary at bay; the Flames failed to score on four power plays. Although the Hurricanes have had six games postponed in the meantime since they last surrendered a power play goal on Dec. 7 against Winnipeg, going an entire month without faltering on the PK is nevertheless impressive.
“We expected to kill penalties,” Brind’Amour said. “You’re not gonna kill them all, you’re gonna get a bad bounce, and they’re gonna make a good play. But I think [assistant coach coach Tim Gleason]’s done a great job stepping in and putting his stamp on it. And I think the guys have really taken it to heart. They take a lot of pride in it.
The Canes do not have much time to celebrate this win, however, as the Florida Panthers come to Raleigh for a showdown against Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 8. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
