Canes Bounce Back, Blank Lightning

TAMPA, FL. - Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov stopped all 22 shots sent his way on Saturday, backstopping the Carolina Hurricanes to a dominant 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Looking to bounce back after an "unacceptable" performance Friday night in Sunrise, the Canes shuffled their personnel for tonight's contest.

Jalen Chatfield came out of the lineup for the first time since mid-October, serving as the healthy scratch to make room for Tony DeAngelo.

Up front, it was all four new forward lines.

Yes, even the constant trio of Jordan Martinook, Jordan Staal, and Jesper Fast was broken up.

Last night the highlight of Carolina's game was the first two minutes, but solely the first two minutes.

Tonight, the first two minutes were good, but so were the 58 that followed.

A physical tone was set from the get-go at Amalie Arena, as Michael Bunting and Tanner Jeannot dropped the gloves inside the first 1:41. However, a lack of discipline bit Tampa in the moments following.

Bolts forward Luke Glendening unnecessarily shoved Dmitry Orlov onto Kochetkov, who was making his first start since being recalled earlier in the week, amid a scrum near the Canes crease.

Glendening was tagged for a penalty and the Canes took advantage by cashing in.

Post-game Friday, players felt like Carolina didn't win enough 50/50 puck battles and that their work ethic wasn't strong enough. That was rectified during the man advantage and resulted directly in the goal.

Martin Necas was able to pull a puck away from the wall in the Tampa end, facilitating it to Sebastian Aho before Teuvo Teravainen wired home a one-timer.

The sixth time in the last seven games that the team has scored a power play goal, Teravainen's ninth tally of the young season allowed Carolina to get to their game with the lead.

Limiting the Lightning's chances, the Canes had a lot to feel good about after 20 minutes.

And as it turned out, the second period was even better.

Holding Tampa to just three shots over the course of the period, Carolina was also able to extend their lead via Aho.

A brilliant play by Andrei Svechnikov allowed it to get to the tape of #20, but before it got to the reigning All-Star, Jaccob Slavin put the initial shot on.

Claiming the secondary helper, it was the 197th assist of Slavin's career, officially giving him the most by any defenseman in Canes/Whalers history.

Up by two heading to the finish, the Canes had been so in control that it was fair to wonder if the first 40 minutes were a mirage. Given what happened just 24 hours ago, had the team completely gotten things correctly, or would there be a crash in the third?

As the final frame of the night revealed, there was no deception. What Rod Brind'Amour's group had put together was legit.

Cooling off a potent Tampa offense that led the Eastern Conference with 53 goals going into Saturday's play, Kochetkov remained dialed in as the infrequent tests came his way.

Brady Skjei and Brent Burns connected for the third goal in as many frames for their club, and Stefan Noesen added another for good measure to round out the night.

Ending a stretch of 11 out of their first 15 games of the season being on the road, the team was heading back to Raleigh on a happy flight with their 4-0 victory.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour's assessment of the bounce-back performance...

"It was solid. It was what we were looking for. I thought right from the start of the game, for the whole 60 minutes, it was really good. We got what we deserved tonight. We were on it and ready to go."

Brady Skjei sharing his thoughts on Pyotr Kochetkov and why he thought the group was successful...

"He was great tonight. There were some big saves and some Grade-A chances that he kept out of our net. Overall, we had a little more buy-in from the whole team tonight. That was more the style that we need to play and we know how to play. It usually leads us to wins."

Brent Burns describing what was discussed going into tonight and how the group felt to be rewarded for their efforts...

"We always talk about response shifts and response games. We played our game [tonight]. There are still things that we want to get better at and fix, but for the most part, guys are trying to do the right things. They work hard and they play the game that we need to play in order to be successful."

What's Next?

The Canes will return to Raleigh post-game and are scheduled to be off on Sunday. The team will return to practice Monday and Tuesday before hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

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