RALEIGH — The Hurricanes used a four-goal second period to cruise to a 4-0 win Thursday at PNC Arena, dealing the Red Wings a blow to their playoff hopes.
Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas and Brady Skjei scored for Carolina, and Frederik Andersen picked up another win in net.
Three observations
1. After a dominant first period that saw the Hurricanes outshoot the Red Wings 15-3 — it took Detroit nearly 12 minutes to get its first on net — the teams entered the locker room 0-0.
Carolina didn’t have such problems in the second.
Led by the top line of Aho, Jarvis and Jake Guentzel, Carolina scored four times in the middle frame. Aho and Jarvis both had three points, and Guentzel added two. Necas and Skjei both added goals to give the Hurricanes a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes.
“We want to do that every night,” Jarvis said. “We want to control the game. We want to be a spark of energy for our team and shut down the other team as well. So I think we did a good job. In the second we really turned it up, and I think that kind of jumpstarted the rest of the team and made a big difference.”
The Red Wings never recovered.
“The first period was great,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We didn’t get anything, didn’t get rewarded, but I thought it set the tone for the game. It was a positive period, and then I think we were able to carry it over a little bit, then we got rewarded in the second period.”
2. Andersen is setting himself to be the Hurricanes’ Game 1 starter when the playoffs start in a few weeks. His 24-save shutout Thursday marked his seventh straight game — all wins — allowing two or fewer goals since coming off the injured list.
“I feel like I’m just excited to play,” Andersen said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I’ve been eager to play all year and happy to be back.”
Carolina’s goaltending has come a long way since everyone was calling for the team to trade for a goalie.
“He’s done everything you could ask,” Brind’Amour said of Andersen.
3. The win clinched a playoff berth for the Hurricanes for the sixth straight season. There’s still work to be done — Brind’Amour admitted after the game he even forgot to congratulate the team on punching its ticket to the postseason — but it’s truly remarkable how far the franchise has come since Brind’Amour, Tom Dundon and Don Waddell took the reins of the organization.
“It’s not about me,” Brind’Amour said. “This was done with the change in leadership at the top — we’ve talked about that, with Tom saying, ‘OK, we’re gonna have a fair fight.’ … And then the guys we already had it here in place, these core guys, they just do it right. And it’s just infectious.”
Number to know
14 — Points in 10 games for Guentzel since he joined the Hurricanes. His two assists Thursday gave hi four multipoint games since coming to Carolina at the trade deadline.
Plus
Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes center — What more can be said about Aho? He’s the Hurricanes’ best player night after night and is having his best offensive season after signing a blockbuster contract extension. Friday was Aho’s 11th game this season with at least three points, and he tied his career high of 83 points from 2018-19 with eight games remaining.
“It’s always nice to score goals and points, and that’s big,” Aho said, “but I try to look at my game a little differently. Like, how do in all three zones in the game?”
His line with Jarvis and Guentzel looks unstoppable right now and can go head to head with any in the league.
Minus
Moritz Seider, Red Wings defenseman — Listen: Seider is a good NHL defenseman, but he’s overmatched as a No. 1. Maybe it’s Detroit’s desire to have the next Niklas Lidstrom, or perhaps it’s the infatuation with labeling GM Steve Yzerman as a genius beyond reproach, but the hype doesn’t match the performance.
Seider was victimized on each of Carolina’s first two goals, letting Jarvis push the puck past him on the boards on Aho’s goal and getting turned inside-out by Aho on the second, and his offensive production has stagnated from his rookie year.
It simply wasn’t the kind of performance you need from a key player in a pivotal game.
They said it
“I expect to be this good. He shuts me down a lot in practice.”
— Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes winger, on Frederik Andersen
