Hurricanes defeat Red Wings, extend winning streak to eight

DETROIT -- The Carolina Hurricanes extended their winning streak to eight games with a 2-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.

"We're obviously playing well, but we're getting a lot of special-teams scoring," said Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who scored a shorthanded goal. "There's not always a lot going on 5-on-5, and there have been some games where we weren't playing that well, but we've gotten a couple of power-play goals and been able to win the game."
Alex Nedeljkovic
made 25 saves for the Hurricanes (20-6-1), whose streak is one shy of tying the longest in their history (won nine straight three times, most recently from March 18-April 7, 2009).
"I'm absolutely feeling comfortable, and a lot of that is guys doing a good job in front of me," said Nedeljkovic, who has won four straight starts. "They are trying to give me good lanes and letting me see the puck. When I'm leaving rebounds, like I did a couple times tonight, they are cleaning everything up."
Jonathan Bernier made 30 saves for the Red Wings (8-17-4), who have lost five of their past six.
"We had two or three power plays (0-for-2) and we moved the puck around a little on one of them, but we didn't get anything on net, and they got a goal," Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. "It's crucial for us to get the power play producing, and we didn't do that tonight. That was definitely a factor in the game."

Hamilton gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 15:13 of the second period, shooting on a 2-on-1 for his first shorthanded goal in the NHL. He has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during an eight-game point streak.
"I'm surprised that is his first one because he's always in the play, whether it is 5-on-5, a power play, or shorthanded," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He's always looking to jump in, and he obviously has great instincts, and that shot, that's what makes him special."
Nino Niederreiter made it 2-0 at 1:37 of the third period.
"In the second period, we had a similar play where [Sebastian Aho] dropped it to me and I gave it back to him," Niederreiter said. "This time, I waited to see if their defenseman would come after me. When they didn't, I had plenty of time to pick a corner."

Anthony Mantha scored to make it 2-1 and ended Nedeljkovic's shutout bid with 10 seconds left and Bernier pulled for the extra skater.
"I thought we checked well and our compete level was good, but we were way too sloppy with the puck," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We also just didn't have anything like a good shooting mentality. We talked yesterday about needing to shoot the puck when you get into scoring areas, and I think we passed up too many opportunities. As a result, we didn't create enough chaos."
NOTES:Detroit is 30th in the NHL on the power play at 10.7 percent (9-for-84) and has allowed three shorthanded goals. … The Hurricanes are 3-1-0 against the Red Wings this season and will look to sweep the two-game set in Detroit on Tuesday.