The Carolina Hurricanes got back in the win column with a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday night at PNC Arena.
Frederik Andersen was the difference maker in the win, stopping 32 of 33 shots, and Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho each scored for Carolina.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Skjei, Andersen and Aho spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the game: It was a good start. Really, it was a good game until they got that one and then all of a sudden, they got going and kind of flipped us a little bit. But overall, it was a great effort for sure. Got a ton of opportunities, they had theirs. For a low-scoring game, there was quite a few opportunities.
On if he's surprised by how good Frederik Andersen has been since returning: I'm not surprised, but I didn't know what to expect. We know that he's a great goalie, but when you're out that long, I don't care what position you play, there's going to be some rust factor, but he certainly doesn't look like he has any of that.
On the penalty kill bouncing back from a tough outing: You're going to have that. I mean, we took too many penalties. You're under stress. Stuff's going to happen. Tonight, we were against a great power play and that was the difference in the game, being able to kill those. So good job by our guys. And again, we certainly don't want to be in the box against the se guys, but we managed to escape.
On the fortunate bounce for Aho's goal: We had a bunch of good looks before that and after. So it's weird how it works out sometimes, but their goalie had a heck of a game too. Tons of opportunities and not a lot of goals
On Jack Drury's return: He was injured for a little bit, but he had a solid game.
On Andrei Svechnikov's penalty troubles: It's never a lack of effort with that guy. He gives you everything he has. But we've talked about it. He's gotta be smarter. It's that simple. You can't take o-zone penalties. That's death. So he has to figure it out.
Brady Skjei
On the penalty kill: It was definitely solid. I got to give Freddie a tone of credit. He was our best player tonight and helped us out on the kill a lot. That power play can really snap it around and we did a good job of limiting their chances but when we did give up a chance, Freddie was there to bail us out.
On if he expected Andersen to be as good as he's been so quickly: I know what kind of goalie he is. I think he's always been really good for us. I didn't think this break would have changed that. Obviously it was a crazy life scare and we're happy that he's healthy and that comes before hockey, but he's a solid goaltender. There's no way around that.
On playing with the lead: That team has some fire power. There's no question about that and they can put a few in the net pretty quickly, so getting that lead and trying to maintain that... obviously we were trying to get that third one, but playing with a two goal lead is obviously a better spot to be against a team like that.
On his goal: I just try to get it through and on net and through the traffic. That one luckily sneaked in. That wasn't exactly where I was trying to shoot, but we'll take it.
Frederik Andersen
On playing with a lead: I don't play any different. I just try to make the next save no matter what the score is. That's how I look at it.
On getting a win against his former team: They're a good club and having a good year. This is one of the games you get up for and you want to measure yourself a little bit. Obviously we played really well and came out ready to start and got a good lead. Thought we could have made it bigger, but Joe [Woll] played really well down there and kept them in it and gave them a chance.
On how quickly he's gotten back to his level of play: I haven't really thought too much about it. Just trying to do what I can to be at my best. I've had a lot of help here and a great support system around me. Just been really fun. You appreciate being back and doing what you love. It feels good.
On his defensive support: Everyone buys into helping out the team. Sometimes you get a little help from your D-men and forwards. Obviously nice, but when everyone buys in like that, we'll be rewarded.
Sebastian Aho
On his goal: That's how it works sometimes. I'll take it.
On the penalty kill: It's huge. Obviously the kill gives us a lot of momentum and it gives us a little boost every time we kill a penalty. We've been doing a solid job as of late and both goalies, it doesn't matter who we have in net, they always give us a chance to be aggressive because that's your most important guy on the kill: the goalie. Once again, an unbelievable game by Freddie.
On having the third most points in franchise history: Seeing my name up there among those names is obviously pretty cool. Something that's not really in my mind daily. I just try to work on my game and win hockey games. But yeah, when I have a little time, I'll probably look back and see that it's pretty cool. That stuff is not in my mind all the time, but you see it every once in a while and it feels good.
On if he feels like he still has even more to give: Yeah, absolutely. That's kind of been my goal all my career and basically all my life. I feel like I still have another level to get to and I just have to keep working for it. I'm a fairly young guy and I still can improve in many areas.
On what his expectation was for Andersen when he first returned: Yeah, great question. It's just... You know... it's Freddie. I've seen him do this stuff over and over and the whole team obviously trusts him a lot, but you never know. You were almost a little nervous for him. After that long of an injury you hope to see him have a good start, which he obviously had and ever since then, he hasn't looked back. He's looked very calm as always actually. It's huge for us. He's one of the best goalies in the world, so happy to have him.