Recap: Trocheck, Canes Hand Stars Their First Loss

The Carolina Hurricanes handed the Dallas Stars their first loss of the season, a dominant performance in a 4-1 final.
Vincent Trocheck led the way offensively for the Canes with three points (2g, 1a), while Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas each recorded a pair of assists in the team's third straight win.
"The effort, that's what's been really special. Everyone is just digging in, to a man. That's propelled us these last couple of games," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "The guys have buckled down and are getting it done."

HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY | STATISTICS

Key Moments

Trocheck Nets Two in the First
After three shifts and 1:59 of ice time, Vincent Trocheck had already scored two goals to put the Canes up 2-0.
About four minutes into the contest, Steven Lorentz gained the line and laid the puck off for Martin Necas down low. Necas took a peek over his right shoulder before centering to Trocheck in the slot for the quick-hitting tally, his third of the season.

Trocheck's next shift came on the Canes' first power play of the game. Jordan Staal tucked a pass into the slot for Trocheck, who backhanded in his own rebound.

"He's been great, and that's one of the reasons we got the win tonight," Brind'Amour said.
Power Play Adds Another Two in the Second
Buoyed by a potent attack in the second, the Canes' power play was converting at a 75 percent clip after 40 minutes.
Andrei Svechnikov scored the second of the team's three power-play goals when he took a feed from Sebastian Aho in stride and deked around his countryman in net to put the Canes ahead 3-0.

"From day one this year, he's looked great. He seems to almost have another gear that he's picked up. That's obviously a good sign for us," Brind'Amour said of Aho. "He's a special player, and he made a special play to Svech, no doubt about it."
Not even two minutes later, Ryan Dzingel accepted a cross-ice feed from Necas and wired a shot top shelf past Anton Khudobin, chasing the former Hurricane from the crease.

The power play finished 3-for-5 on the evening, tangible results for a man advantage that seems to have some swagger about it.
"We've been moving the puck really well and getting our looks," Trocheck said.

Plus/Minus

Plus: Fighting Through Adversity
It was anyone's guess how the Canes would emerge from a nine-day layoff with a depleted lineup to have to play three games in four nights against the two teams that played for the Stanley Cup four months ago. The Canes answered one of those questions by grinding out a 1-0 shutout win over the defending champions on Thursday. Then, it was the first of two straight against the other finalist, which had begun its season undefeated.
Again, the Canes responded, and they did so through another bout of adversity, losing two players, including their starting goaltender, to injury in the first period and surviving scares with two others.
"You never like to see a teammate go down like that," Trocheck said. "We were just trying to rally behind them and get the win for them. We came out flying after that."
Even with five regulars already missing from their lineup and having to catch back up with a league that didn't slow down while the Canes were in quarantine, the team has essentially picked up where they left off in Nashville.
"Even though we had a pretty long break, I think we've played a really good two games so far," Necas said.
Minus: Injuries
Though the Canes scored two goals in the first period, they also lost two players to injury. Not even three minutes into the game, Max McCormick raced back to defend a play and collided with Petr Mrazek in the crease. Mrazek tossed off his blocker and grabbed his right hand before skating quickly off the ice.
Later in the period, Blake Comeau caught McCormick from the side and crunched him into the boards, a dangerous hit on a defenseless player that went unpenalized. McCormick left the ice clutching his shoulder.
Both players were officially ruled out for the balance of the contest with upper-body injuries.
After the game, Necas said he had seen his countryman and that Mrazek's injury "seems like it's better than it looked," because it certainly didn't look very good initially. Brind'Amour said the same and added a note about eeriness of an injury in an empty building.
"When it's just dead silent and you just hear a guy in pain on the ice, it's not good. We thought it was worse," Brind'Amour said. "It's still not good. I can't tell you how long he'll be out for. Max, it looked bad and was bad. I think he'll be a lot longer."
Even though he entered in relief, James Reimer still played 57:05, making 10 saves on 11 shots for his second win of the season. The Canes could probably turn back to him on Sunday.
"He had to come in and basically play the whole game, but I don't know that he was overly stressed," Brind'Amour said. "He should be all right for tomorrow."

Stats Pack

1: With his secondary assist on Trocheck's first goal, Lorentz tallied his first career NHL point.
2: The Canes scored two goals in the second period to double their lead and limited the Stars to just two shots on goal.
7: The Canes have allowed just seven goals in their first five games of the season, the fewest in that stretch in franchise history.
7: Tonight marked the seventh time in his career that Trocheck has scored two goals in a single period.

Quote of the Night

"We've got a lot of skill on this team. The nice thing about the skill players here is they work their butts off." - Vincent Trocheck

Up Next

Rest up and recharge because these two teams will renew pleasantries on Sunday at 5 p.m.