Recap: Canes End Road Trip With Win in Vancouver

VANCOUVER - A five-goal second period propelled the Carolina Hurricanes past the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2, in their final game before the All-Star break.
Nino Niederreiter scored two goals for the second time in three games, Teuvo Teravianen recorded three points (1g, 2a) and Alex Nedeljkovic posted his first career NHL win in his first career NHL start, as the Canes claimed five of six points on this three-game swing through Western Canada.
Here are five takeaways from the Canes' final game before an eight-day break.

One
Following a tough 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames less than 24 hours prior, the Hurricanes were able to reset and refocus their efforts to end a three-game road trip with a W and head into a prolonged break with a good feeling.
"We did a lot of really good things yesterday. We definitely had enough chances to win that hockey game. Tonight, we knew we had to go out with the same mentality," Niederreiter said. "Overall, it was a really good road trip for us."
"I think we played three solid games," Gregg McKegg said. "I think we deserved better in Calgary, but we didn't dwell on it and came ready to play tonight. It was big to get two points."
The win came in a building that hasn't been very kind to the Hurricanes over the last 20 years, as well. Since their last win in Vancouver on Oct. 15, 1999, the Hurricanes were 0-7-3 against the Canucks on the road.
It had been awhile - in fact, Andrei Svechnikov had not yet even been born.
"I can't say enough about the guys digging in. They've dug in all year," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We've played hard every night. When you do that, we have a chance. We're getting some goals now."
Two
First career start in the National Hockey League, first career win in the National Hockey League.
Not a bad night for Nedeljkovic, and his parents were in the building to see it. The 23-year-old netminder said he spotted them in the crowd during warm-ups and would sneak a peek every now and then during the game. They were easy to spot, he said - after all, his mom was wearing a red Hurricanes sweater.
"It's special. It's really incredible. To have my mom and dad in the crowd, I wouldn't want anybody else there," Nedeljkovic said. "They've done so much for me. Growing up, driving me to rinks, driving me to practices and games everywhere. I couldn't have done anything I've done without them."
Nedeljkovic said he felt comfortable in the crease "right off the bat," even though he only had to face a handful of shots in the first period.
"One of my goalie coaches growing up told me to play every game like it's the biggest game of your life so when you play the biggest game of your life, it's just another game. That's kind of how I looked at today," he said. "It was just another game, just another Wednesday night game. We came out on top."

Nedeljkovic finished the night with 24 saves on 26 shots and, most importantly, the W.
"He's real solid back there," McKegg said of the goaltender he's played in front of quite a bit. "He plays the puck as good as anyone I've seen. He's almost like a third defenseman back there on breakouts. It was nice to see him get the chance and get the two points."
"He deserves to go into the break with a good feeling," Niederreiter said. "He should be very proud of himself."
"He was great. What a start for him. Really happy for him," Brind'Amour said. "He's been in the organization for a few years and has been great down in the minors. His numbers are off the charts. He deserved to get a shot."
Three
I had the chance to chat with Hurricanes President and General Manager Don Waddell last week about the trade that sent Victor Rask to Minnesota in exchange for Niederreiter, and I asked him how the Canes got comfortable trading a center for a winger in a one-for-one deal, especially when the team is currently lacking Jordan Staal down the middle.
His response: "Probably what gave us the benefit was that McKegg has come up and done a real good job for us. … Where we were using Victor right now, we could replace that position, and this would enhance our top-six guys."
And, as it turned out, both Niederreiter (twice over) and McKegg netted goals for the Hurricanes in what was a wild second period. Niederreiter had two two-goal games on this road trip, and McKegg now has six points (3g, 3a) in 11 games with the Canes this season, as many as Rask did in 26 games after he returned from injury.
Niederreiter opened the scoring in the game at the 1:54 of the second period with a power-play goal, a tap-in of a rebound in the slot. Right place, right time with net-front presence.

Niederreiter later gave the Canes a 3-2 lead when he roofed a quick shot off a feed from Sebastian Aho behind the net.
"A couple of great plays by Seabass. He's a terrific player and a great playmaker," Niederreiter said. "I had a chance to find the net there."

"He can score. We've been looking goals for a while," Brind'Amour said. "We play a really good, I think, style of play, but we need some finishers. That was a great trade for us to bring in a guy who has the pedigree to put the puck in the net. So far he's fit in great."
McKegg's tally came as the result of rugged forechecking by the Canes, which led to a Canucks' turnover. Dougie Hamilton dished to McKegg, and he snapped a one-timer top shelf to equal the score at two.

"We got down 2-1 and just stuck to the game plan, got pucks deep, got pucks to the net and started getting on them again," McKegg said. "It paid dividends in that period."
Four
The Hurricanes and Canucks combined for seven goals in the second period, and it was the Canes who scored five of them, including four straight in a span of 9:39 to take a 5-2 lead to the locker room at the intermission.
In addition to Niederreiter and McKegg, Hamilton and Teravainen each found the back of the net to stretch the Canes' lead. Hamilton's tally came just 25 seconds after McKegg tied the game, and Teravainen padded the Canes' lead to three with his 11th goal of the season at the 16:32 mark of the second.
"Whenever you get some run support, it's always nice," Nedeljkovic said. "You don't ever want to give up one. That's the thing. You want to be on top of your game, but the guys in that second period really came out firing."
Five
Why was it important for the Hurricanes to lock up Teravainen for the years to come? Take his playmaking in tonight's game as exhibit A.
He made an incredible backhand pass from behind the net to set up Hamilton, who was open in the slot, for the goal.

Later, with the Canucks struggling to get back down the ice, the Canes raced in on a four-on-two rush. Jaccob Slavin dished off to Teravainen, who gave to McKegg. Teravainen opened himself up for the shot, the give-and-go came back to him and he finished with a quick shot that he should really utilize more.

Five more years of that is well worth the $27 million.
Up Next
The Hurricanes will now rest for eight days. Sebastian Aho will take part in All-Star festivities in San Jose this weekend, and the bye week follows. The Canes will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 1 when the defending Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights visit PNC Arena.
"At the end of the day, you want to go into a break with a good feeling," Niederreiter said. "Now it's time to recover and go right back to work afterwards."