The Carolina Hurricanes got back into the win column with a dominant 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild as goalie Frederik Anderson improved to 3-0 since returning from injury earlier this month. Andersen and an offensive outburst from the blueliners were the stories of the night, with Brady Skjei, Brent Burns, and Jalen Chatfield all finding the back of the net in the win. Forward Teuvo Teravainen added a shorthanded goal in the second period while Hurricanes’ points leader Martin Necas scored a power play goal late in the third period to put the game out of reach.
Things took a turn late in the contest as forward Max Pacioretty appeared to injure his right leg on a non-contact play with less than 20 seconds left. He was unable to put any weight on it as he left the ice. Unfortunately, the injury also occurred to the same leg that he had Achilles surgery on last summer.
Defensemen Continue Scoring in Bunches
This offensive outburst from the Hurricanes’ defensemen is not an anomaly, as they’ve been finding the back of the net and producing points at a very high level this season. In the 5-2 win over the Wild, they were responsible for three goals and two assists on the night. Since Nov. 25, the Hurricanes entered the night with 20 goals and 67 points from their blue line trailing only the Winnipeg Jets and the New York Rangers. Brent Burns and Brady Skjei lead the group with 29 and 20 points respectively, but they also have tremendous depth that allows them to continue producing if someone misses a game or goes through a cold stretch.
It will be important for the Hurricanes’ defense corps to continue producing above the league average, now that it appears Pacioretty will surely miss some time and the forward group will have to work to overcome that loss.
Frederik Andersen Returning to Form
Andersen has helped the Hurricanes right the ship following their impressive 11-game winning streak that came to an end on Jan. 3. He returned from injury on Jan. 12 and helped them put an end to their four-game losing streak. He has continued to impress since then, winning his next two starts to improve to 3-0, which allowed the front office to make the decision to send the struggling Pyotr Kochetkov back down to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL).
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