The Carolina Hurricanes once again won their first-round matchup as they took care of the New York Islanders in five games with a 6-3 victory Tuesday night at PNC Arena.
The Canes once again had a quick-strike offensive flurry to seal the series with goals by Teuvo Teravainen, Andrei Svechnikov, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Jack Drury, Stefan Noesen and Seth Jarvis.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Brady Skjei, Kuznetsov, Noesen, Jarvis and Drury spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the quick succession goals: Obviously, it was tight. Playoffs... it's one play here or there that seems to always make the difference in the game. Tonight, we were the fortunate ones to get that bounce. I thought the start of the game was great and that really got us a nice lead and they had their push and you have to give them a lot of credit. They just kept coming. We had to play really well to win this series.
On winning a playoff round in six straight seasons: It's something to look back on maybe in the future and think, 'Oh, that's pretty good.' But we're in it right now and so it means nothing. It's hard because the expectation here... we're not done, but it's hard to win a playoff round. Sometimes you forget that and sometimes with the way it was being talked about like, 'Oh you guys aren't doing that well,' but we were up three games to one. But that's because of the group we have and the expectations we have. I'm proud of the group because that's a good accomplishment but obviously it's not what we're shooting for.
On Andrei Svechnikov: He was phenomenal and he had no goals* which is hard to believe because it felt like every time he was on the ice, he was a force. It's a good sign. If he keeps playing like that, he's going to get some goals. I thought he was our best player throughout the five games.
On matching up against the Bo Horvat line: Staal played most of the night against Horvat. That was really the matchup and then we got off of it a couple of times and actually got scored on at the end of the second, but that was... not how you draw it up, that's for sure. But really the matchup was the D. You have to give them credit. Our D. We're missing Pesce which is a huge loss and I thought with him being out, the other guys stepped up and Tony came in and did a heck of a job. That's really what the matchup is focused on. You can't a win series without everyone contributing in some fashion.
On the team's scoring depth: Like I said, you have to have everyone contribute to win a series. Tonight, that was the difference. I actually thought the Aho line had a good game but they were a minus. That's just weird how hockey goes sometimes, but the I thought the difference was Jack. Jack Drury's line, and Jack in particular, was a real difference tonight.
On Tony DeAngelo's status: He went for an x-ray and I haven't heard exactly what happened. That's always obviously a concern. We've got a couple guys out and at this time of year, you've gotta stay healthy.
On Evgeny Kuznetsov: We had him try it a few times this year and he didn't score and I'm like, 'What is happening?' Every time I watched him, he scored. It's crazy how it happens in a game where you're not even thinking about a shootout and now all of a sudden he gets a penalty shot. Now you don't care about the ones in the regular season, this was a big goal at a crucial time. I was happy for him. He's a great player and he contributed big time.
On Frederik Andersen: The first two goals went off of our sticks so you can't blame him on those and then on the one, he catches an edge or whatever, but man, he was solid all series. He's done a great job since he's come back and really in every game. We know how important goaltending is. I don't know if we bailed him out, but if you want to look at it that way you can. But he still had some crucial saves at the end of the game.
On looking ahead to facing the New York Rangers: It's nice to have Svech. That's obviously a big factor that we were missing last year, but we do have injuries like I mentioned. I mean, the Rangers are the best team in the league, right? We know what they're about. They have immense talent, are coached really well and have good goaltending. What don't they have? We know it's going to be a tough matchup, but it would be anywhere. You're getting down to the final eight or whatever. They're all going to be tough.
On if the team still has another level to get to: We're going to have to. We played good in spurts. We had one really good game from start to finish. Tonight was good for the most part, but there was still parts you'd like to be a little better. As you go along, we're talking about the Rangers, we're have to play better if we expect to win.
*Svechnikov was credited for a goal as his centering feed was deflected in by Robert Bortuzzo in the first period.
Brady Skjei
On the quick goals: Definitely some fortuitous bounces, but our strategy and what we always talk about is getting pucks to the net. Obviously some crazy stuff can happen and that's what happened there on a couple of those goals. Obviously proud of the guys and it was a great job closing out the series.
On Noesen's goal: I don't know, it something. Stanchion or something. Those are pretty rare. Actually I think it happened again right after so I don't know what was going on. One of those lucky bounces that went our way.
On Kuznetsov's penalty shot: We all thought he was going to score. We've seen that move against us and in the past. He does an amazing job of waiting a goalie out and once he went for that poke check, he slid it right by him. That was a huge goal in a big moment in the game.
On the team's dominance in third periods: It's huge. We don't really change the way we play throughout the whole 60 minutes. We try to put it on them and get our forecheck going. We try to stay aggressive and I think that's how those numbers add up.
On bailing out Frederik Andersen: That's just unfortuante. We wouldn't even be in that position at all if it wasn't for Freddie. That's just unfortunate as he catches an edge in the ice. He's been so good for us and he's going to continue to do that.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
On his penalty shot: I almost lost the puck there. I've always been dreaming to have a shootout in a big moment like that. It's not often in those games and I've never had one like that before. It was a good emotions.
On the team having a good start: Yeah, but they fought back. They got back and it was a 3-3 tied game that could have gone either way. I'm glad that we continued to work and get those two goals.
On the series: Every game is different. That first game, I felt like they were on top of us, but the rest of the series was back and forth. I thought they played well it was just one of those where we believed in ourselves and got the goals.
On finally scoring on his slow move for Carolina: I never attempted this one. It was a different one. It was a different move.
On stepping his game in the series: I've been playing for a long time and always playing 15 to 20 minutes. It's not easy to have a different role, but that's sometimes what it takes. I've accepted that. I want to play for the team and I want to help the team. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who's scoring the goals. It's about if we can execute our roles, play for each other and get those good wins.
Stefan Noesen
On getting a lucky bounce: Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't.
On what's going through his mind when he see's that bounce: Don't f--k it up. And I almost did. It was a good bounce that went our way there. Sometimes, in a couple other games, we didn't get them but that one was fortunate for us.
On the team's play in third periods: We kind of gave it to them a little bit there but that's what makes a good team a good team. It's how we come out and how we face a little adversity. Obviously Freddie's been keeping us in it for this whole entire series. Things happen on the ice and I think he just battled. It goes in sometimes and you just try to buckle in and you try to do it for him. I thought we were pretty good towards the end there and I thought once we got that lead again, we turned it on.
On if the team takes any moment to appreciate advancing: You guys set the expectations, you know what I mean? We know how good we are in general and how hard we've worked. You media are the ones who try to say all this stuff. We obviously have a goal in mind that we want to accomplish. We started in preseason and it's little victories all the way up until you have the chance to potentially lift the Cup. This is step two. We obviously have a big challenge ahead of us with the Rangers so we're all looking forward to it.
On Jack Drury: I can't say enough good things about that kid. I almost wish he was my son at some point. In Chicago [Wolves] with us, he was so good down there and he was so crucial in us going on to win. It's great to see him filling out his role and he stepped up, won some big faceoffs and he's really honing in on that craft. It's great to see him doing great things and it's nice to see him score.
On scoring from in close: It's still in the blue paint, so I'll take it.
On scoring in quick succession: It was our first shift and we were just trying to maintain that momentum and have a big shift. When that happens, you try to just keep it simple and again like I said earlier, it was just a fortunate bounce that went our way. We're happy we're here right now.
Seth Jarvis
On pushing back after the Islanders tied the game: We knew we kind of, I don't want to say let off the gas, but we let them crawl back into it in the second and you never want to do that especially with a team like that who can score and just with the momentum it gives them, but we have so many good veterans and they just kept us calm. We never really got flustered. They made sure we knew what was at stake and just came out in the third and executed.
On Evgeny Kuznetsov's penalty shot: We have a lot of confidence. The closer he gets to the net, the more comfortable we feel. We know how nasty he is. He's done it to us a few times so to see it work for us in a moment like that was absolutely massive.
On how better equipped the team is this postseason: Anytime you can acquire two guys who are playoff proven and known to show up in big games, it's a boost for your team. Having guys like [Guentzel] and [Kuznetsov] and just overall having Svechy back in the lineup too, I think that's what we missed a lot last year. So just three guys who are just so dynamic and having guys that have thrived in the big moments and have fun is so huge for our team and our locker room.
On Andrei Svechnikov: When he wasn't scoring, he was hitting everything. His speed really played a factor and especially you saw it on his goal tonight. Just having that outside speed to be able to bring him on. He brings a lot of different factors and I think it's nice having a guy like that where the other team knows he's on the ice and he makes his presence felt.
Jack Drury
On closing out the series: They play the right way and they play hard, but we got the job done. I think we stayed resilient too and it was a good bounce back in the third.
On scoring his first career playoff goal: For a second, I looked over at their bench and I was like, 'Don't be reviewing this.' But it was a good faceoff breakout. Tony kind of called that play so I have to give him some credit and it was good to get that one in.
On the veteran leadership: It's big. We have a lot of good leaders. It's such a good locker room. You have the good veterans and then you just have beauties like Jarvy in there. So it's a good mix of guys and we have a lot of fun.