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Hurricanes' Special Teams Excel in 9-1 Win Over Panthers
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- Hurricanes' Special Teams Excel in 9-1 Win Over Panthers
James Guillory-Imagn Images
Discipline. Speed. Puck management. Every rule and principle of the system Rod Brind'Amour pushes pulled together for one of the craziest rivalry matches the Carolina Hurricanes (29-15-4) have performed in the regular season.
After two tumultuous games against the Florida Panthers (24-19-3) last month, the Hurricanes employed their own style to an elite degree, routing their rivals 9-1 in their final matchup of the season.
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They had a much different look from the previous two games against Florida, as Jordan Martinook faced them for the first time this season, and key players were swapped around the lineup.
One of those players who changed to a new line was the speedy left wing Nikolaj Ehlers , who was added to Jordan Staal 's line – and he drove that line .
His zone entries were clean, his passing was outstanding, and his stickhandling did not disappoint. He led the team in points and achieved his first hat-trick with the Hurricanes, with an assist added on top of that.
Special Teams were incredible, as Carolina scored in four of their five power play chances, and remained perfect on the penalty kill.
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"We played direct," Ehlers said of the power play. "We wanted to get the puck to the net, and were able to get the rebounds again and capitalize off that.
"I think when you're able to do that, and you don't just pass it around, pass it around, and then maybe shoot it, and then you do another pass, you don't really get the box running around too much.
"When you're able to get pucks to the net – and get the rebound back – that's when the box starts running, and that's when the little things, the little holes open up to make the plays that we were able to do tonight. So, I think we did a great job, and that's something that we want to take with us."
Game Notes
Carolina Hurricanes Analyst Tripp Tracy shared a conversation he had with Jaccob Slavin following their first loss to the Panthers this season. When asked what the Hurricanes will need to do to push past the Panthers, Slavin gave a simple yet profound response: "We play our game, and we play it in maximizing fashion. …Know who we are."
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Both Shayne Gostisbehere and William Carrier were absent from the lineup versus the Panthers. Brind'Amour said before the game that he had been hopeful they would be available, but were ultimately unable to go.
Every Hurricanes forward left the game with a point, and none of their skaters were in negative territory on plus/minus.
Defenseman Sean Walker recorded his first career NHL fight . After landing a clean shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Donovan Sebrango , the Panthers defenseman engaged him in a brief brawl. Both Walker and Sebrango were assessed fighting penalties, and Sebrango acquired an additional two minutes for roughing.
Alexander Nikishin , who recorded a goal and an assist, was a punch away from a Gordie Howe hat-trick as he went to the box for a mutual roughing penalty against Luke Kunin in the third period. "He said if he knew he was going to get the penalty, then maybe he could've done something," said translator Andrei Svechnikov . "But keep it that way; we don't need to fight."
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