In their final inter-conference matchup of the season, the Carolina Hurricanes took care of business, beating the Minnesota Wild 5-1 inside of a loud PNC Arena Saturday night.
Forward Teuvo Teravainen was the Canes’ (41-26-7) best player throughout the game, scoring one goal and setting up two more to move his season point total to 70. The Hurricanes also got goals from forwards Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov and Lucas Wallmark, as well as defenseman Brett Pesce, in the thrashing of the Wild (35-32-9).
“[Teravainen] was pretty impressive,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “High-end plays. He’s also taking his game to another level on the defensive side of things this year. But those plays he can make, he’s capable of those high-end offensive plays, and tonight you saw them.”
Petr Mrazek stopped 24 of 25 shots faced in net for the Hurricanes, getting beat only once by former Hurricane Eric Staal on the power play. Devan Dubnyk had a much rougher night in net for Minnesota, stopping 28 of 33 shots faced.
Carolina broke through with the game’s first goal, as Jordan Staal scored on a redirection a few minutes into the second period. Canes defenseman Justin Faulk blasted a shot from the point, and Staal changed the puck’s direction with his skate to put it past Dubnyk. It was Staal’s ninth goal of the season.
“Jordan is what we were missing,” Brind’Amour said. “With him being back, it just gives us a lot more depth. [Staal’s line] has been really, really solid every game.”
Teravainen was credited with an assist on the play for feeding Faulk, his 50th assist of the year. Teravainen became the first Hurricane to accomplish that feat since the 2008-09 season.
The Canes doubled their lead just two and a half minutes later, as Pesce sniped one past Dubnyk. Canes captain Justin Williams fed Pesce into open ice, and the defenseman sniped from the circle to make it 2-0.
Canes forward Sebastian Aho was credited with an assist as well, giving him his 50th of the season to join Teravainen. The duo are the first Carolina teammates to both tally 50 assists in the same year since Ray Whitney and Brind’Amour did it in the 2006-07 season. Williams also reached a landmark on the goal, as his assist to set up Pesce was the 300th point of his Canes’ career.
The Wild cut the Carolina lead in half with 11:04 left in the second, as Eric Staal ripped a shot from a tight angle past Mrazek. Staal’s goal came three minutes into a four-minute power play for Minnesota, after Canes forward Micheal Ferland caught Wild defenseman Anthony Bitetto with a stick to the face.
Svechnikov doubled the Canes lead a few minutes into the final frame, slotting a beautiful shot over the shoulder of Dubnyk. Teravainen fought to win the puck on the boards, and fed it back to Svechnikov cutting across the ice, who fired the puck into the roof of the net to make it 3-1.
Wallmark made it 4-1 with his 10th goal of the season, finishing off a phenomenal pass from Ferland, who fed it across the ice from the corner right to the stick of Wallmark. The Canes center slotted a one-timer over Dubnyk’s right shoulder.
A fantastic individual effort from Teravainen moved the lead to 5-1. Teravainen intercepted the puck on the attacking blue line, and used a great stick move to fool Dubnyk and slot home his 19th goal of the season.
“We got a couple and then got a couple more,” Teravainen said. “When you score goals, you get some confidence and it’s more fun to play when you’re scoring some goals and you have the lead.”
The Canes poured three goals on the Wild in the final period to seal the game, after blowing a third-period lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night. For Brind’Amour, the finish Saturday was something to be proud of.
“That was the way to play in the third,” Brind’Amour said. “That was a tough game. Both teams, we knew coming in how good they had been playing, and they were grinding. They’re into playoff mode and they were limiting their opponent’s chances and playing tough. I was proud of the guys today, that we hung in there even though it was a tough game, and then opened it up in the third.”
The win for the Canes was a vital one, as it maintained a two-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens, who also won Saturday, for the Eastern Conference’s top wild card spot, although the Canes have a game in hand. The win also pushed the Canes lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final playoff spot in the East to five points.
The crowd in PNC was raucous throughout the night, raining down “We want playoffs” chants in the final minutes of the game. For a Canes team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2009, the atmosphere in the building is growing as the end of that streak is becoming more of a possibility.
“That was fun. Our fans are really getting into it and helping us, so it was nice to hear,” Teravainen said. “The fans have been really good lately. We’re trying to play good for them too. Hopefully, we can keep building here.”
Carolina will be back in action Sunday night for an important affair, as the Canes will host Montreal in PNC Arena with huge playoff implications on the line.
“Every game we get closer to the end becomes the bigger and bigger game,” Pesce said. “It’s awesome. Personally, I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun playing hockey because you’re playing for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. That’s a dream for sure. We’re confident in our group though, and looking forward to the end.”
