Recap: Canes 'Never Got Going' In Shutout Loss To Wild

RALEIGH, N.C. - A disjointed showing from the Carolina Hurricanes yielded a frustrating result as they were shut out for the third time this season, falling 4-0 to the Minnesota Wild at Lenovo Center.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Minnesota opened the game on the front foot and took a 1-0 lead on a Mats Zuccarello blast just past the midway point of the first period, despite Carolina earning a four-minute power play earlier in the frame. Back-to-back penalties spelled further trouble for the Canes in the second period - the hosts killed the first of those, but Joel Eriksson Ek capitalized on the second to double his team's lead at 11:30.

Carolina appeared to get a bounce when Jalen Chatfield banked a shot off a Wild defender and into the net late in the second period, but the would-have-been goal was challenged and taken off the board for offside.

The Hurricanes went back to work on the power play early in the third with a chance to halve the deficit but again came up empty. Seven minutes later, a Matt Boldy breakaway bid gave the Wild a 3-0 lead, and a late Zuccarello empty-netter put the game out of reach.

Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside 24 of 27 shots in his 25th start of the campaign.

Stats & Standouts

• Rod Brind'Amour called his team "flat" on the FanDuel Sports Network broadcast during the second period and post-game he said it didn't get any better after that. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the Canes created just two high-danger chances in the first two periods. They created five in the third, but it was too little, too late at that point.
• After missing 10 games following hand surgery in mid-December, Jack Drury returned to the lineup tonight. Skating 11:29, the center resumed his spot on the team's second power-play unit and went 7-for-10 in the faceoff dot.
• During tonight's second period, Dmitry Orlov unleashed a 100.1 mph slap shot. He is just the sixth player in the NHL to reach triple digits this season. Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres is the current owner of the fastest shot this season, coming in at 106.0 mph.
• The Hurricanes failed to find twine on four power plays against Minnesota, marking the 8th time this year - and second straight game - they’ve been held scoreless on the man advantage while earning three or more opportunities.

They Said It...

Jordan Staal describing the loss...

"We were kind of just hoping something good was going to happen and hoping maybe someone else was going to do it. We lost the special teams battle, which always hurts. Our five-on-five play was pretty ugly. It wasn't great. We've got a game tomorrow and we've got to learn from [tonight], bring some more emotion and drag each other into a fight. There really wasn't a push at all."

Rod Brind'Amour on his team's inconsistencies through 39 games...

"It's got to change. We've got to get on a roll. Consistency has been a big issue with our group right now. We've played really well and then not so good. Finding that consistency is what we've got to get to."

Andrei Svechnikov, who has just one five-on-five goal this season, when asked about his level of frustration...

"No frustration to be honest... Obviously, I'm [in] that stretch right now and I've got to find a way to put the puck in the net. I tried to shoot today, it just didn't go in. I had a couple of good chances, I guess I just have to find them."

What's Next?

The Canes are right back in action on Sunday as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Lenovo Center.

Next Game: Sunday, Jan. 5 vs. Pittsburgh | 6:00 pm | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights