Ehlers, Bussi, and Brind'Amour dissect the Canes' dominant fifth win over the Devils. Find out what fueled the decisive 5-2 victory.
The Carolina Hurricanes swept the season series against the New Jersey Devils, defeating them for the fourth time Saturday evening in a 5-2 beatdown at Lenovo Center.
The Canes scored five unanswered to take the win, with Nikolaj Ehlers and Shayne Gostisbehere each having a multi-point performance.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Ehlers and goaltender Brandon Bussi spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the game: I think the whole game was good, just had that stretch where we took a couple penalties and that puts you on your heels. We gave up one chance out of the o-zone, got caught kind of sniffing a little bit, but other than that, I liked our game for the most part.
On Brandon Bussi: It's all about making the saves you're supposed to and then if you can even get a couple ones in there, some timely ones in there, that's what really happened in this game. There weren't a bunch, but there were a few that could have changed the whole outcome of the game. He was solid, that's what we need.
On Shayne Gostisbehere: He was very good. He's got his hands all over the offense of things, but I thought he played really good away from the puck too. He's a big part of what we're doing.
On Alexander Nikishin's development: It's there. It's tough for any young player and you have to remember he's a rookie in this league. It's that consistency part, where we have to do this again tomorrow. And you see it. He'll figure that out. It's also in games. Had a great shift, but so what? The next one has to be even as good. So it's getting used to that and the rigors of this league and the demands of being pro in the NHL. I think he's coming.
On the team's second line: It's been our best line, for sure, in all aspects. They're not just producing, they're playing well away from the puck. I had them out there quite a bit against their best guys and they were really good. It's been fun to watch them because we know the talent is there and all that, but there's another element to their game now too, which is playing away from the puck and being smart. Managing the game. They're definitely showing signs of that.
On Seth Jarvis: I'm happy for him. It's not easy to do that in this league. It really goes back to the consistency that he plays with every night. That gives you the chance to put up numbers like that and obviously you have to be a skilled player and we know that he is.
Nikolaj Ehlers
On the game: You take a couple of penalties in the first period and you don't get that consistency in the shifts and guys maybe sit for a little too long. That creates a little chaos, so not too happy with our first period. After that, I think we came back and played really well in the second and finished it off in the third.
On his assist on Jordan Staal's goal: I got it pretty quick and I saw Jordo skate down so I was just trying to throw it in an area where he could get it. It was a little too far of him, but it was a nice tip, so it worked out great.
On what's been going so well for him in Carolina: Got a year older, more experienced. I don't know. I've been getting more and more comfortable here and I've been feeling really good. Playing with some great players and I think right now, it's more my attacking mindset and shooting the puck a little bit more. Sometimes they go in and other times they create some chaos, but then we're able to create some more.
On playing on both power play units: The power play is about being creative. Obviously you do want to have a plan once you get out there, but at the same time, you're gonna see different scenarios all the time, so it's about being creative when you get the puck to net, create some chaos and get to the rebound. that's when they're out of place. So for me, it's been going pretty well for our power play, so I'm not having issues with it.
Brandon Bussi
On the game: A really good 60 minutes, honestly. I think when we're playing tight in the offensive zone and neutral zone and just staying on them and making it hard on them to have time and space, we have a lot of success. It was great to see that for the majority of the game.
On bouncing back from a bit of a bad stretch: I feel good right now. Honestly, the last stretch was a combination of some bad bounces and, yeah, I didn't play as well as I would have liked. So when you have both of those going your way, it's not a good recipe. But I felt good the last few games. I think some pucks have found some holes, but I feel like if I keep playing the way I have at least these last two games, I'm gonna continue to have more success. Felt good tonight.
On the crowd support: Our crowd is loud, it's exciting. Driving in today, everyone's tailgating, it's warm outside and you can feel that playoff hockey is just around the corner. Obviously we have 10 more games. Have to keep our foot on the gas and continue to play our style of hockey and build for the playoffs.
On identifying shooters: I pride myself on knowing what's going to happen before it happens. Obviously you can't always read it like that, but I take a lot of pride in making reads on plays and what might happen. When I'm doing that well, I feel like I have a lot of success.
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