Canes, Kochetkov Shut Out Canadiens

MONTREAL - Carolina Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov turned away all 26 shots faced on Saturday, holding the Montreal Canadiens off the board in a 3-0 victory.

A Long Weekend Awaits...

Putting a bow on a stretch of 14 games in 24 days, the Canes entered the night 10-2-1 since March 7 and with a four-day gap between contests on the other side of tonight's final horn.

With a few well-deserved off days on the horizon, the team won't play again until Thursday against Boston, but they had business to take care of this evening.

Turning to Kochetkov between the pipes, the team opted to go with the same lineup of skaters that earned a controlling 4-0 blanking of Detroit on Thursday.

After the puck went down it was a rather sleepy start to things, but the action picked up in the second.

Shorthanded Staal & Composed Kochetkov...

In the middle 20, Kochetkov had to be outstanding in order to keep the score tied.

Including his work during Carolina's first penalty kill of the night, the 24-year-old had to record seven stops in the first 10 minutes of the stanza.

During that shorthanded stint, the Canes turned defense into offense in front of him.

A diving effort from Teuvo Teravainen sprung Jordan Staal in all alone on Sam Montembault, resulting in the game-opening goal.

Insurance Via Aho...

Following the group's 10th shorthanded goal of the season, Kochetkov took his game to a new level.

With concise movement and limited rebounds, he turned away a total of 14 shots during the second period alone. His busiest stanza of the night, he kept his momentum going into the third.

He wasn't tested with a whole lot in the third, just four shots to be exact, because the group in front of him got back on the attack.

A power play goal from Sebastian Aho gave the group a comfortable advantage, and Montreal posed no threat the rest of the way.

The only thing between Aho's 33rd goal of the season and Kochetkov's eighth career shutout was a Seth Jarvis empty net goal, giving him 29 tallies on the campaign.

They Said It...

Jordan Staal following the win..

"I thought we stayed patient with our game. We didn't get frustrated. We got a couple of big kills. Coming out with (a goal while shorthanded) was nice. The second period they made a good push and we didn't play our best. We got a couple of big kills in the third and we slowly took over. Power play and special teams was big and we found a way to get the W."

Jaccob Slavin on the importance of Carolina's special teams all season...

"Huge. That's what wins you games. When you can win the power play battle and you can win the penalty kill battle, it's just big all around. Not just for momentum but for getting goals. The power play's been coming up big when they've needed to."

Rod Brind'Amour on Kochetkov...

"He was solid. There were a lot of Grade A (chances for Montreal). Not a whole bunch, but they were quality, quality chances tonight. Especially when the game was level. We could've been in a totally different game if he's not sharp. You've got to give him the player of the game. He deserved it."

What's Next?

The Canes will fly back to Raleigh immediately post-game. They're scheduled to be off be off on Sunday before practicing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then they'll kick off a stint of three games in four days on Thursday against the Bruins.

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