As Necas and Fast built the foundation early for Carolina, the two goals in the opening ten minutes allowed Antti Raanta to settle into a groove. Albeit he was not tested much in the opening 20 minutes, he was able to set the tone for what would become his first shutout of the regular season.
It was the third appearance in as many games for the veteran netminder after he started both last Thursday and Friday in victories over Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Pyotr Kochetkov was in the net most commonly held by the starter at morning skate, however, Raanta said post-game that he knew there was a chance it would be his net.
A scoreless second period allowed Carolina to carry their 2-0 advantage into the final frame of play and in it, Jordan Martinook would extend the lead to three. Following an eight-point evening for his line on Friday, the gritty winger put home a loose puck in front for his ninth goal of the year.
That would be all that was needed for the home side, as Raanta shut the door and the team closed out their ninth consecutive victory.