"Both teams were fighting hard," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Both goalies played very, very well."
Then, off an offensive zone faceoff win, Martinez streaked toward the net and scored on a quick-hitter from Jake Muzzin.
And that was the difference.
"Unfortunately, we took a breath at the end, and it cost us," Brind'Amour said. "We can't keep doing this."
"Obviously not the result we wanted. We were really close to overtime. We had some good looks," Mrazek said. "It wasn't enough."
Two
With the Canes leading the Ducks 1-0 on Friday, their power play had chances to make a difference and stretch the lead but instead went 0-for-6. Tonight, in scoreless hockey game in the third period, the Canes had 91 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage but came up empty again. Quick denied Jordan Staal in the slot, and he slid across the crease to kick out a Sebastian Aho one-timer that didn't have enough juice behind it.
Their failure to convert there, of course, was their downfall offensively.
"We had some shots. They had some good blocks," Justin Williams said. "The goalie made a few saves. Scoring goals is not something you can teach. It's just something you know how to do. The guys out there know how to do it, but we didn't get it done."
"You've got to score there," Brind'Amour said. "The power play guys have not been good lately, and that's been the difference, really. The margin is tight, and we needed a goal there."
Three
The larger issue of the Hurricanes' offense (or lack thereof) is going to be something they'll need to rectify sooner rather than later if they want to make this road trip a successful one. The Canes have managed just a goal in their last two games in the absence of leading goal scorer Micheal Ferland (concussion).
"We've got to find a way to get it in there," Brind'Amour said. "We needed someone to make a play and put it in the net. We're not getting that right now."
Four
Mrazek's last start came just over a month ago on Nov. 2 before he was sidelined for a few weeks with a lower-body injury. Before departing for Los Angeles, Brind'Amour discussed wanting to get Mrazek back in the crease.
"You can't let him sit too, too long," he said on Saturday. "I think Mac needs a mental break. It's not so much the physical stuff. Getting up for every game is hard. I think we'll get him in."
So, it was the first game of this three-game trip that Mrazek got the nod, and he responded with a sharp, 33-save performance, worthy of the game's second star. Among his highlights were a pair of stops on Jeff Carter, one in the first period and another in the third, as the veteran center had looks in the slot. Mrazek also stoned Tyler Toffoli's breakaway bid with a glove save in the first period.
