2.18.24 Recap

LAS VEGAS - Carolina Hurricanes netminder Spencer Martin stopped 29 out of 30 shots faced on Saturday, leading his team to a 3-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Recap: Hurricanes at Golden Knights 2.17.24

Choppy Waters Early...

After scoring just 16 seconds in on Friday night versus the Coyotes, the Canes were nearly on the other side of that coin tonight at T-Mobile Arena.

Spencer Martin, who was finally making his second appearance with the team, was forced to come up with an early timely stop, setting the tone for what would be an impressive first period for him.

Getting the opportunity after Pyotr Kochetkov earned the win to start the back-to-back set, Martin had to weather the storm as the team in front of him was out-chanced 12-5 through the first 20 minutes.

As Vegas unquestionably became the more threatening team, they'd get the game-opening goal during the middle stages.

Following a two-on-one try that Martin made a pair of saves on, Jonathan Marchessault followed up the play and stuffed it home to give the Golden Knights the game's first lead.

The lone tally of the opening frame, Carolina needed a much better second frame.

Beware of (Big) Dog...

Thankfully, Carolina was much better when they returned to the ice.

Lightening Martin's workload, Rod Brind'Amour's group was able to play more of the way they wanted to, controlling possession and this time putting pressure on Adin Hill.

A big part of why they were able to do that was because they had confidence after a goal from Andrei Svechnikov evened the score just 1:21 into the stanza.

Picking up a drop pass from Seth Jarvis at center ice, #37 took it himself from there, leaning to his backhand and firing past the blocker of the Vegas' netminder.

Continuing to knock on the door the rest of the frame, the 1-1 score held going into the final frame of regulation.

Put It On Red...

Moving to the finish in search of a winner, the Canes, for a second straight period, wasted little time.

Although they started the frame shorthanded due to a controversial high-sticking penalty to Svechnikov at the end of the second, being down a man proved to be no problem for Jarvis.

After a routine clearing attempt from Jordan Staal hopped over the stick of a Vegas defender at the blue line, #24 picked up the puck and took care of business from there.

Fending off two defenders, Jarvis powered his way toward the net and slipped one beneath Hill to give his team the eventual game-winning goal.

As momentum continued to trend in the favor of the visitors, the foot remaining on the gas led to some insurance exactly six minutes later.

Stefan Noesen tapped home the rebound of a Jesperi Kotkaniemi shot, closing out the scoring at 3-1.

From there, all that was left was to add a few more saves to Martin's total. When all was said and done, he finished with 29 saves on 30 shots, earning a second win in as many starts with his new team.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour giving his thoughts, post-game...

"Spencer Martin was the difference. He kept us in it in the first period when we were not very good and I thought they were very good... He gave us a chance."

Seth Jarvis with more love for Martin...

"We gave them a lot of opportunities, especially in the first.  Spence played unbelievably. He kept us in there. He had a lot of tough chances to defend and he did a great job.  In the third we played better, the second was better, but that first, without him, could have been a whole different game."

Stefan Noesen when asked how much confidence goaltending can give when the netminders play the way that they are as of late...

"It's huge.  You just know someone is going to be there to stop the puck if we have a breakdown.  It allows us to stay aggressive and play the system that we like to play.  Having a solid guy back there, it doesn't matter who is in net right now, they're kicking pretty good.  Obviously, we want to limit those as much as possible, but when we need them, they've been there."

What's Next?

The Canes are scheduled to fly back to Raleigh on Sunday. They'll then return to game action Monday against the Blackhawks at PNC Arena.