In their fifteenth game of the month, the Canes dug deep to shut out the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. Thanks to a multi-point from everyone on the first line and a shutout from goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov, the Canes successfully disposed of the Canadiens.
With the hard-fought win, Carolina (47-21-7) remains just three points back of the league-leading New York Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan division. By holding the Canadiens (28-33-12) scoreless in Montreal, the Canes brought the Habs’ three-game winning streak to an end.
In the first period, both teams struggled to get their offenses going. Each team managed just 8 shots on net in the opening 20 minutes with only a few high-danger shots for each side. Montreal’s physical nature has kept them in games against better opponents by limiting their scoring opportunities.
Montreal has similar goals allowed to playoff competing teams such as the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning, but, like they did tonight, they’ve had trouble scoring goals consistently. They only have two players with over 20 goals scored on the season and no player at a point-per-game pace.
As the teams swapped ends and a line change became a bit riskier, the offense opened up for both teams. This is where you don’t want to be a man down, but unfortunately for the Hurricanes, 8:27 into the period center Evgeny Kuznetsov sent the puck over the glass in the defensive zone.
After Kochetkov made a save with his left pad and deflected the puck near the boards, left wing Teuvo Teravainen was able to push the puck into open space and out of a scrum to give center Jordan Staal a breakaway opportunity.
Staal corralled the puck, and without wasting any time, he picked his spot low-blocker and scored his ninth goal of the season being a man down. Staal’s shorthanded goal marks the 12th time the Canadiens have given up one this season — a league-high.
Carolina is tied for fifth in terms of shorthanded goals scored on the season, but that’s not why their penalty kill has been one of the best units all season. After a rough start to the season, the Hurricanes’ penalty kill has been on fire since December. They have allowed the least amount of goals while being a man down and have the highest penalty-kill percentage of any team.
What makes the penalty killers a special group is how much depth they have in that role. You would be harder-pressed to find a player on the Hurricanes who isn’t a two-way player than one who is. So while some teams rely on a couple of guys to kill mistakes, the Canes have a plethora of players who can do the job.
A common thing players and head coach Rod Brind’Amour have repeated is that your goalie has to be your best penalty killer, and Kochetkov was certainly that. Kochetkov already has eight shutouts in 66 games played — a ratio of shutouts to games played that hasn’t been seen since the 1970s.
After a rough start to the year, Kochetkov now leads the league in goals against average for goalies that have played a minimum of 25 games. With netminder Frederik Andersen back and playing his best hockey in a Hurricanes uniform and goaltender Spencer Martin providing quality starts when he gets the chance, the idea this position is a weak area for Carolina is a misconception.
Three minutes into the third period, the Canes drew a penalty and got their second power play of the night. Their first chance didn’t yield any results, but on their second, a little luck went their way, and they doubled their lead.
Moving the puck around, center Sebastian Aho found center Jake Guentzel between the dots who ripped a shot towards the net. Guentzel’s shot then hit center Seth Jarvis out in front and deflected right to the tape of Aho’s stick, who snapped it in from a tough angle to make it 2-0.
Following Aho’s goal on the power play, Montreal couldn’t find any sort of offensive rhythm and totaled just two shots in the remaining 16 minutes of the period. The Canadiens ended up pulling goaltender Sam Montembeault to bring on an extra attacker, but Jarvis iced the game with an empty net goal with three minutes remaining.
On the empty-net goal, Guentzel earned a primary assist to give him a two-point night. Since joining the Canes, Guentzel has tallied six multi-point nights in just 11 games. His chemistry with Jarvis and Aho adds that other level of scoring the Hurricanes have been searching for.
Heading into April the Hurricanes enter the final month of the regular season with their next game coming up against the Boston Bruins on Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m.
