Recap: Canes Tie Franchise Record, Win Fifth Straight To Start Season

RALEIGH, NC - The Carolina Hurricanes matched their franchise record for most consecutive wins to start a season Monday, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1.

The Rundown
Despite Toronto's goal in the opening minutes of the contest, the Canes were the stronger team in the opening 20. Leading in shots by a count of 15-8, the home team wasn't able to find the back of the net until the second period, but when they did, they did in a flurry.
To begin the sequence of three goals in just under ten minutes, Sebastian Aho contributed the team's first just with a simple tip in front of Jack Campbell. The Ethan Bear shot from the wall just caught enough of Aho's stick to tie the game up at 1-1.
The game remained tied for just 2:23 before Carolina took their first lead of the night. In their defensive end, a lost faceoff resulted in a shot attempt from the point by Toronto's Travis Dermott. A mere foot in front of him was Jordan Martinook though, who blocked the shot out to center where the Steven Lorentz show would then begin. Battling against Dermott's defensive partner Rasmus Sandin, Lorentz won the puck battle as he worked toward Jack Campbell, before getting off a knuckling shot that squeaked through the five-hole to make it 2-1.

Certainly an energy boost seeing their fourth line get rewarded for their hard work, the Canes then got their third goal courtesy of an outstanding individual effort from Jaccob Slavin. Minutes after taking a minor penalty and in turn matching his entire 2020-21 season with a grand total of two penalty minutes, Slavin picked up the puck as it came toward the blue line before dancing around Mitch Marner. Working deeper in the zone, Slaving shuffled the puck net-side to Nino Niederreiter, who pulled a power move toward the front of the net and tucked it past Campbell to make it 3-1.

Toronto was able to construct some pressure in the third period, however, once again a story on the night, Frederik Andersen turned away all efforts thrown his way in the third. An Andrei Svechnikov empty net goal closed out the contest at 4-1.
The team's victory matches their five straight wins that they opened the 2019-20 season with, etching it in the history books as an all-time best.
Andersen, Again
For the third straight game Canes goaltender Frederik Andersen allowed just one goal.
After his good friend Auston Matthews got the better of him with a swift wraparound move to start the first period, the Dane then locked it in, denying the next 18 that came his way.
Finishing with a line of 24 stops on 25 total attempts by his former team, Andersen's season save percentage now has moved to .946%.
Addtionally, tonight he became just the second goaltender in NHL history to start a season 5-0-0 with a new team through the first five games.
What They Said About It:
Frederik Andersen on his performance tonight:
"I feel like I'm in a really good spot right now. This is a really good group. It's really special when the guys play like they played tonight. Everyone battled for each other, blocked shots, making plays."
Steven Lorentz on Frederik Andersen's efforts as of late:
"Freddie's just been a rock. We knew coming in that he had that calm, cool, collected demeanor about him and it's great just to be able to see him with such poise and such confidence and have the ability to bail you out when you make mistakes. Watching him play and get a win against his old team is really special. We're happy for him."
Rod Brind'Amour on what he's liked most about his team through the first five wins:
"I just like how hard we're playing. We're not always going to be perfect and we don't expect it to be, but the effort is there and it's making up for a lot of the mistakes we're making. Our compete level has been really good. I love the work ethic of our group."
What's Next?
The team has scheduled practices Tuesday and Wednesday before a back-to-back set against Boston and Chicago on Thursday and Friday.