Aho ignites the offense with a multi-point night, while Kochetkov stonewalls Nashville. Discover the key takeaways from Carolina's dominant sweep.
The Carolina Hurricanes swept the season series with the Nashville Predators last night with a 4-1 win at Bridgestone Arena.
The Canes struck first and eventually broke down the door in the third period to pad the lead.
Here are five takeaways from the win:
1. A Spark For Sebastian Aho
Heading into Wednesday's game, the Canes' number one centerman had just two goals and eight points in his last 15 games.
While his line had been strong in terms of generating chances, a 62% share of the scoring chances at 5v5, they hadn't really done a great job in terms of getting to the high-danger areas and sustaining pressure.
Last night seemed to be a bit of a turning point for the Finnish star as his two goal, three-point performance was the key in securing the win for Carolina.
He scored a power play goal from the midslot in the third period, the eventual game winner, and also provided the primary helper on Seth Jarvis' tally before sealing the game with an empty netter.
It's clear that Aho hasn't been playing at the level we've become accustomed to seeing over the past few years, but perhaps this performance can be a springboard to better results moving forward.
2. Pyotr Kochetkov's Strong Outing
There wasn't a lot to do early for the Russian netminder, as the Hurricanes controlled play for the first two periods, but things changed drastically in the third period as Nashville came out with a vengeance, putting up 15 shots in the final frame.
However, Pyotr Kochetkov was up to the task and put together a very impressive outing with 25 saves and 1.57 goals saved above expected.
Not only that, but he also was pretty close to becoming the 18th goalie in NHL history to score a goal, as his bid for an empty netter was just barely gloved down by Preds captain Roman Josi.
The Russian is one of the better stickhandlers in the league and already with an AHL goal under his belt, it feels like only a matter of time until he gets his NHL one.
Kochetkov also moved to 6-1-0 on the season with the win, meaning that now both he and Brandon Bussi have more wins on the season than Frederik Andersen.
It's clear that the Danish netminder has fallen to third in the depth chart, but it's also kind of crazy that Bussi and Kochetkov have a combined record of 17-2-0 on the year.
The two have provided the Canes with very solid goaltending this year and should be the tandem for the foreseeable future.
3. New Defensive Pair Shines
Since Jaccob Slavin returned from injury, he's been paired alongside rookie blueliner Alexander Nikishin and Wednesday's game was a good glimpse into what many hope will be the team's future number one pair.
The two controlled play effectively in their 10:13 of 5v5 ice time, and while only having a slight edge in chances (14-13), they had a 7-3 edge in actual scoring chances and were credited with a 71.79 expected goals for percentage.
The pair also helped with the opening goal, as Nikishin picked up the secondary assist on Jackson Blake's tally.
As Slavin continues to ramp up his minutes, he might end up with a new partner, but I think he allows Nikishin to be the best form of himself and with his projected upside, I think it's a pair the staff should really consider keeping together.
4. Special Teams
A big thing Rod Brind'Amour talked about the last time the Hurricanes and Predators played was how the aggressiveness of Nashville's PK was going to make some of their man advantage situations look real ugly, but so long as they managed to get the look they wanted at least once, it could be a difference maker.
And that was pretty much how it worked Wednesday.
Things weren't always pretty, but they eventually found their spot as Blake fed Aho for the eventual game-winner and that's what the power play is all about.
They don't all have to score, but you have to make your chances count when you do finally connect.
Also, the Hurricanes have now killed seven straight penalties since the return of Jaccob Slavin.
I know he isn't on PK1 currently, but there's got to be something more than just a casual correlation for that because Slavin is one of the very best penalty killers in the league.
The Hurricanes' PK is in unfamiliar territory being so low in success rate at this point of the year, but hopefully they can go on a run here with Slavin back in the lineup.
5. Jordan Martinook's Status Unknown
The Canes' top defensive winger left the game midway through the second period and was eventually ruled out for the remainder with a lower-body injury.
Any time missed by Martinook is a huge blow to the Hurricanes as he's a leader both on and off the ice.
He's a vocal piece of the leadership room who brings energy and helps drag his team into the fight every night, but he's also an integral piece of the on-ice product.
Martinook plays on PK1, is an integral piece of the team's shutdown line and leads all forwards in blocks and hits on the season too.
Rod Brind'Amour didn't have an update on Martinook following the game and so the next available update will have to wait until Friday afternoon.
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