The Carolina Hurricanes cruised to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Dec. 3.
The Canes (14-6-5) increased their win streak to four against the Kings (13-10-4). Halfway through a six-game road trip, Carolina really hit its stride in a comfortable win in LA. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov kept a shutout until the 9:31 mark of the third period, continuing his recent run of form.
“He’s steady whenever we seem to have that little breakdown,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “That’s what goaltending is about, right? You make that save, it takes the stress off the group. He came up with a couple of nice ones tonight, especially when they had their push in the third.”
Carolina matched its netminder’s effort by attacking the Kings early and often. The Hurricanes executed some slick passes to ratchet up the score to 3-0 through two periods. Left wing Jordan Martinook teed up defenseman Brady Skjei for a nifty backhander to beat Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick on the game’s first goal.
Defenseman Brent Burns and center Martin Nečas teamed up for the Canes’ only power play goal of the night, making it 2-0 at the end of the first, and Nečas passed it on by threading the needle to set up center Sebastian Aho’s goal in the second period.
Burns secured the Hurricanes’ other multi-point night by assisting right wing Andrei Svechnikov in the third period, but he and Skjei weren’t the only impactful defensemen for Carolina. Defenseman Brett Pesce hit NHL ice for the 500th time in his career, all of them as a Hurricane. Pesce marked the occasion with a secondary assist on Svechnikov’s goal.
Not wanting to get left out, defenseman Jaccob Slavin rounded out the main group of Canes blue-liners making plays in LA. Slavin aided Kochetkov and the defense in keeping Carolina ahead all night, but his most notable contribution came at the tail end of the second period. Kings center Anže Kopitar got a good look at a wrap-around while Kochetkov scrambled back into position from a previous save, but Slavin was there to cover the opposite post and prevent the chance.
Although the shot wasn’t quite on target, plays like this go a long way towards helping a very skilled but still very young goalie like Kochetkov. After spending in the morning on the beach, the Canes banded together on the ice.
“[The team chemistry]’s coming together,” Brind’Amour said. “That kind of stuff is fun but you come together on the ice, shared mutual hardship. When we’re going through it out there, battling, that’s how you come together as a group. I think that’s what we’ve done for the most part all year here. You gotta continue to build on that because that’s the secret to success.”
The Hurricanes will stay in southern California to take on the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, Dec. 6. Puck drop is set for 10 p.m.
