Recap: Saros, Preds Spoil Canes' Homecoming

RALEIGH, N.C. - Coming off a 3-1-0 road swing over the last 11 days, the Carolina Hurricanes hit a speed bump in their return to Lenovo Center as Juuse Saros' 34 saves helped the Nashville Predators steal a 3-1 victory on Thursday.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

A bright start for the Hurricanes was dampened early in the first period as a tough-luck tally on the power play gave Nashville a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. Four minutes into the second, Luke Evangelista's first of two on the night doubled the Preds' lead.

Two minutes later, though, Carolina clawed back through Taylor Hall's fourth goal in two games. The 33-year-old found twine on a partial power-play breakaway, cutting across the crease and tucking the puck past Saros' pad.

The Canes' push elevated from there, resulting in a 27-8 shot advantage through 40 minutes, but the hosts couldn't find another route past Saros. Just past the 12-minute mark of the third period, Evangelista bagged a dagger to double Nashville's lead and seal his team's win.

Pyotr Kochetkov suffered consecutive regulation losses between the pipes for just the second time this season, allowing three goals on 16 shots.

Stats & Standouts

• Taylor Hall has now notched Carolina's last four total goals as well as the team's three most recent power-play goals. He's up to 10 points (6G, 4A) in his last nine games, finding the scoresheet in seven of those.
• Seth Jarvis helped set up Hall's tally to record his 200th career point in his 295th career game, becoming the fifth-fastest player in Hurricanes team history (since relocation) to hit that benchmark, behind Eric Staal (245 GP), Sebastian Aho (250 GP), Andrei Svechnikov (270 GP) and Jeff Skinner (285 GP).
• Jarvis is the third member of the 2020 NHL Draft class to reach the 200-point milestone, joining Ottawa's Tim Stutzle and Detroit's Lucas Raymond.
• Shayne Gostisbehere also factored in on Hall's goal to stretch his own point streak to four games (5A). That's Gostisbehere's third point streak of at least four games this season and his fifth of three games or more.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour after the loss...

"Tip your hat to their goalie. Let's give him some credit. That guy won them the game tonight. End of story."

Rod Brind'Amour sharing some more thoughts...

"I think they capitalized when they needed to and Saros was elite tonight... I liked our game tonight. I can't complain. [There were] a couple of things I think we'd like to do differently, but overall, I think we gave up 15 shots."

Rod Brind'Amour, continuing...

"We just didn't capitalize. If we score on a couple of those [looks], the game looks a lot different."

Taylor Hall giving his thought process on the defeat...

"It was a pretty good game. There's always things to correct. If you're on for a goal against, you always feel a little culpable. There's something you could have done better at the end of the day. Considering three games in four days with some travel, we had some juice and we controlled play a lot of the night. They're a plucky team and they're not going to give in. It's a tough one to lose. You think you deserve a better result, but sometimes the score is what it is."

Sebastian Aho shouldering the blame for his line's lack of production...

"It's been the case for a while now for our line. We're creating a bunch and getting good looks, but obviously, it doesn't matter. Other guys have been bailing us out as of late. We've had some good wins as of late, but as a top line, we've got to produce... We need to score goals. We probably had five Grade-A [chances], at least. You've got to be able to find those and put the puck in the net."

What's Next?

The Hurricanes are scheduled to be off on Wednesday. They'll return to practice on Thursday before returning to game action on Friday against Montreal.

Next Game: Friday, March 28 vs. Montreal | 7:00 p.m. | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights