Raanta makes 32 saves, Hurricanes blank Senators for 5th straight victory

RALEIGH, N.C. --Antti Raanta made 32 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes in their fifth straight win, 4-0 against the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena on Friday.

It was Raanta's 18th NHL shutout and third of the season. He is 9-0-1 at home this season and 11-0-1 in his past 12 games (11 starts), including shutouts in consecutive games Dec. 27 against the Chicago Blackhawks and Dec. 30 against the Florida Panthers.
"'Rants' made a couple of huge saves. He was, in my opinion, the best player on the ice tonight," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said.
Brent Burns scored, and Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho each had two assists for the Hurricanes (39-10-8), who are 14-1-1 in their past 16 games and have outscored opponents 66-34.
"We're going through a stretch where we're getting our chances and they're going in," Brind'Amour said. "I don't know that we've done anything differently."

Cam Talbot made 26 saves after missing nine games with a lower-body injury for the Senators (27-26-4), who have lost two in a row and are 1-2-1 in their past four games.
"In the second and third period, we pushed and played as well as I thought we could," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "But we [lost] the game in the first period. Take nothing away from them. They're a good team."
Burns gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 3:48 of the first period. After Ottawa forward Alex DeBrincat pushed Seth Jarvis into Talbot, taking both into the net, Burns skated down the slot and scored on a wrist shot past the diving goalie.
Jarvis made it 2-0 at 6:29 when he drove across the crease and scored on his own rebound at the right post. He has five goals in his past four games after scoring twice in the previous 23.
"I put one on net and before it would probably kick the other way, but it kicked right back to me and I was able to score on the rebound," Jarvis said. "My game as a whole, and forechecking-wise especially, has really [improved], and that's what is resulting in me scoring."
Martin Necas extended it to 3-0 at 12:34 of the third period with a one-timer from the edge of the left face-off circle after receiving a pass from Svechnikov, and Brady Skjei scored an empty-net goal at 16:30 for the 4-0 final.

Carolina was 0-for-2 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. Raanta made nine saves while short-handed, including a one-timer by DeBrincat from the left circle 38 seconds into the second during a 5-on-3.
"[The penalty kill] was huge," Raata said. "We know that they have skillful players, and they move the puck really well. Guys were doing a great job taking backdoor passes away, and when I had the shot, I was able to see it."
After being outshot 17-7 in the first, the Senators outshot the Hurricanes 25-13 over the final two periods.
"I think everybody is frustrated," Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. "At this point, we want to win games, we want to get in the mix. But you've still got to take some positive. The last 40 minutes were the way we play and that's the way we have success. Obviously, we couldn't find the back of the net."
Raanta made 12 saves in the third, including two on Brady Tkachuk at the top of the crease at 10:58 and 11:17 on a power play.
"When it's 2-0, you don't want to let any goals in because then it's going to get even tighter," Raanta said. "Obviously, the last couple minutes you start yelling a little bit more to take the guys out. You try to focus on the next shot and hope the clock runs out really quickly."
NOTES: Carolina is 10-for-10 on the penalty kill in its past three games; Ottawa is 15-for-15 in its past four. ... Raanta is the third goalie in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history with a home point streak of 10 or more games, joining Martin Gerber (13 games in 2005-06) and Cam Ward (12 games in 2008-09). He has 30 wins in 49 games with Carolina, the third-fewest needed to reach 30 wins in franchise history, behind Frederik Andersen (40) and Gerber (42). … Burns extended his point streak to five games (two goals, five assists). ... Svechnikov and Aho each have 14 multipoint games this season, including three in the past four. … Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson had one hit and one blocked shot in 17:17 of ice time after missing five games with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Nick Holden had one shot on goal and two hits in 13:31 after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. ... Jaccob Slavin played his 559th NHL game, tying Justin Faulk for the second-most games played by a defenseman for the Hurricanes since relocating in 1997-98. Glen Wesley (729) is first.