The Canes find themselves 4-0 in the Metropolitan Division with goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov making an astounding 25 saves, handing the Rangers their fourth shutout of the year.
The Hurricanes (7-4-0) divvied up their scoring, tallying one goal per period against the New York Rangers (6-5-2), leaving Madison Square Garden with a 3-0 win on their shoulders. Many Canes players showed out and made it a memorable night for all, especially winger Nikolaj Ehlers.
Not only scoring the game-winning goal, but also his first as a Carolina Hurricane, Ehlers proved himself to the Caniacs and his teammates. The stellar snapshot came directly from a face-off win right when they needed it. In addition to it being his first goal, it was also off the power play. With the Hurricanes struggling tremendously in that area of special teams this season, Ehlers gave them hope.
Given how frequently the Hurricanes have been burdened by uneven penalty totals this season, the matchup tonight was a refreshing departure. With the majority of the time played at even strength, Carolina had the rare opportunity to establish their forecheck, maintain pressure in the offensive zone and dictate the pace that often isn’t seen when interrupted by the whistle.
Although there are still multiple names off the roster due to injury, Kochetkov made his first appearance since last season and was a redeeming factor for the team. After being recalled to the AHL to improve his conditioning and skating, head coach Rod Brind’Amour knew he was ready and made the right decision to look to him for the starting position. Even though the Rangers possessed the puck and had more shots on goal than the Canes in the first period, Kochetkov had something to prove and kept his team in the game the entire 60 minutes.
The second goal of the game, for h, was awarded to defenseman Sean Walker — his second of the season — off the face-off from center Mark Jankowski. In a similar manner to the first goal, Jankowski fought for the puck off the face-off and got it to his teammate, who found Walker out wide. Walker let one fly that just barely found the netting, leaving even his teammates confused if it counted as a goal.
With goaltender Igor Shesterkin headed to the bench late in the third, the Hurricanes knew if they managed to get one more past the line, they would walk out with an undefeated record in the division. A loose puck that managed to slide into the neutral zone was all it took for center Seth Jarvis to put it into gear and get past the last defender, silencing the fans for the last time.
The Hurricanes return to the Lenovo Center to host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, Nov. 6, with a 7 p.m. puck drop.
