Raleigh, NC -- The Carolina Hurricanes (16-6-1, 33 pts) defeated the Detroit Red Wings (7-16-3, 17 pts) 5-2 as Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour got the 100th win of his coaching career.
Jordan Staal recorded three points (2g, 1a) for the Canes, while Andrei Svechnikov added a powerplay goal and an assist. Jesper Fast also had a goal and an assist.
Filip Zadina scored twice for Detroit.
After a sluggish first ten minutes, Filip Zadina opened the scoring with a snapshot that beat Alex Nedeljkovic to give the Red Wings an early 1-0 lead.
However, on the next shift, Adam Erne took a tripping penalty that led to a Hurricanes' powerplay.
Directly off the faceoff, Andrei Svechnikov settled a pass from Dougie Hamilton, then fired home a wrister to beat Bernier high to the glove side.
"On that shot, I saw that there was a little hole, and the [defenceman] tried to block it, [so] I tried to put it in there," Svechnikov said.
It was yet another powerplay goal for the Canes--their sixth PPG in the last four games.
It looked like Detroit would take a 2-1 lead into the 2nd intermission after Filip Zadina notched his second goal of the game on a Detroit powerplay.
However, Martin Necas drew the Canes level with a shot from the point that beat Jonathan Bernier.
The third period was simply a rout.
Carolina scored two goals within the first three minutes:
Jordan Staal collected a rebound and fired a wrist shot to give the Canes a 3-2 lead.
Then, Andrei Svechnikov delivered a perfect cross-crease pass to Jesper Fast who tapped home the puck to put the Canes up by two.
The roughly 3,000 fans who came to PNC Arena erupted in the 3rd period. Svechnikov talked after the game about their impact.
"It was huge [playing in front of fans]. You can actually hear them and feel them. When you're playing without fans, it can get a little boring."
In a bold, if somewhat reckless move, Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill pulled Bernier with more than five minutes left to play in the 3rd.
Blashill's audacity didn't pay off.
Nino Niederreiter buried a shot from near center ice to give the Canes a 5-2 lead; Bernier spent the rest of the game in the net.
Alex Nedelkjovic (4-2-1, .927 SV%, 2.30 GAA) made 33 saves. The 25-year-old Ohio native has now won three of his last four starts and boasts an impressive .955 SV% over that same stretch.
After the game, the Canes players presented the puck to their head coach to celebrate his 100th win. They caught him by surprise.
"I had no idea. The guys gave me the puck after the game, and I was like, 'What for?' Then they told me, and that was nice of them [to give me the puck]," Brind'Amour said.
Svechnikov expressed how Brind'Amour has instilled a strong work ethic in him.
"I've learned a lot from him. He's always telling us before the game that it's [about the preparation]."
It looks like the preparation continues to pay off.
Housekeeping
Martin Necas (1g, 1a), Nino Niederreiter (1g, 1a), Vincent Trocheck (2a), and Dougie Hamilton (2a) all recorded two points.
Jaccob Slavin was plus-3 on the night.
Sebastian Aho recorded a team-high four shots-on-goal but didn't register a point.
Teuvo Teravainen returned from a concussion to play his first game since February 19th.
Up Next
Carolina: The Hurricanes host the Florida Panthers on Sunday at 5:00pm ET.
Detroit: The Red Wings get several days off before hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night at 7:30pm ET.
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