Stars shine in Detroit victory: Hall, Gostisbehere ignite offense while Brind'Amour praises defensive grit and Andersen's crucial saves.
The Carolina Hurricanes pushed their point streak to 12 games as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 Saturday night at Lenovo Center.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Taylor Hall each had a three-point outing while Frederik Andersen stopped 27 shots in the win.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Hall, Gostisbehere and Jackson Blake spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the team's defensive effort: They did a nice job. Obviously we gave up a couple of grade-A opportunities, but overall, I thought we were fairly tight and created a lot of momentum for most of the game. Obviously there was a stretch there where we took our foot off of the gas and it didn't look so good, but I thought overall, the D played really well.
On Frederik Andersen performance: Obviously they have some real good firepower over there and they got behind us a couple of times and Freddie kept us in there. That allowed us to settle down and get to our game. Crucial saves at pivotal times tonight.
On working with Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake: I love the fire that they play with. To me, that's probably the thing with Blaker that stands out the most. I mean, the talent is obviously there, but there's a fire there that he has and it helps him throughout the game. I think he could be a little more shoot-first mentality, and he did tonight a few times and got rewarded. That line, in general, has just been really, really solid here. Clearly the best line that we have going right now.
On resetting the team after the 4v4 debacle: The game was still in a good spot for us and I don't want to lose track of the fact that we were playing really well for whatever it was. It was a minute a half of bad. And yeah, the game's now, we have to get to it, but what we were doing for the most part is what we had to do. And we did. We came out in the third and guys answered and got one right away and I thought played fairly well.
On Blake's confidence: I think that stuff [turnovers] doesn't affect him. There's certain players where you want them to... they're going to have some of that. Otherwise they wouldn't have the other stuff. There's a trade off. Now, there's a time and place and he's learned too to know when and where to do that kind of opportunities to go for it. 4v4 is the time to try and make little things happen. He's learning every day and I think he's going to get better and better as he goes along. He clearly is just watching him from where he was last year to now. He's taken huge steps and I still think there's more there.
On Shayne Gostisbehere and Alexander Nikishin: I thought Ghost was really good. He fed Niki a few times and bobbled it a bit. Like, they could have had more. But again, we're talking about a young player that is still learning away from the puck and that's the hardest part in this league. Stuff that most people don't really notice, but there's a-whole-nother level for him that I think he can get to. We're already pretty happy with what we're seeing. Ghost, I thought he might have been one of our better players tonight too. He was all over it. Everyone played well, but he was a standout.
Taylor Hall
On losing a tooth (veneer): It's an implant. If it was a real implant, it probably would have taken out my gum. So it's like a plastic that breaks off, so that only the tooth comes out. It all worked out according to plan, but I've spent way too much time in the dental chair lately. But it didn't hurt.
On his line's chemistry: For most of the time that we've been together, we've had nights where we're like, "Man, how do we come out of that game without any goals?" So it's just a credit to us for sticking with it. We've played with a lot of pace and we're around the net a bit more. Maybe in some games, we've been on the boards, a little farther from the net. So I think we're getting to the inside of the ice really well and that's when you score goals and you maintain play.
On Jackson Blake having more of a shoot-first mentality: It's a balance. The game is so quick. He made a great play to me last game on a 2-on-1. It's just knowing when to shoot and taking what's there. He processes the game so well. He's a very heady player and really fun to play with.
On his breakaway goal: If that's at the start of the period, it probably goes all the way down to the goalie with fresh ice, but it didn't. I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do, honestly. I tried to sell forehand, didn't really work, so I went to option two. I'm not much of a backhand on the breakaway kind of guy. I like to go to my forehand, but it managed to work out. Big goal for our team there.
On taking advantage of the matchups: That's our role, right? We'd love to be out there against top competition, but we have two lines that do that really well. So it's up to us to drive play against who we're playing against and now that we're going on the road, we might not get those same matchups. We might get some harder ones, so it might be a bit of a different game, but we have to play the same way.
Shayne Gostisbehere
On facing his former team: Yeah, I don't mind it. We played pretty good against them too. They're a good team. Much different than past years. It's good to get wins against good teams.
On his production: Our offense is heavily driven on low-to-high stuff and getting pucks to the net, so I think it works for an offensive defenseman. For myself, just trying to do what I do best and try to help out offensively while being responsible defensively.
On how much the break helped him: A lot. Probably helped a lot of guys, obviously not the guys that went to the Olympics, but the expedited schedule is definitely a challenging one. Even finishing up here, have to be smart, but it definitely helped.
On getting back to their game after the 4v4 debacle: We just got back to where we were having success. Obviously 4v4 there's more ice and their skill guys can get going and touch the puck a little more. I think for us, it was just about getting back to our game and realize what got us success in the first place.
On Frederik Andersen's performance: Definitely one of his better games. He kept us in it in the first, made some big saves. It could have been a different game. That's the Freddie we know. When he's making those big saves, he's a big part of our team. Happy to see him have some success.
On the team's second line: Happy I get to play a lot with them. It's fun playing with those guys. They're puck hounds and they're obviously offensive, but they don't give up on plays. They're dogs. They work their butts off and they want to make a difference.
On Alexander Nikishin's development: It's good. I like how he likes to play the right side. He always wants to play the right and I'm telling him he has to shoot more. Every time he gets it, I'm like, "Just take a one-timer, man." He's got the hardest shot in the world. But he's doing good. The simpler is the better for him. As you get going in the league, myself included when I was younger, trying to do too much can hurt yourself. You have to build that confidence and let that game come to you. Less is more. He's evolving every game.
Jackson Blake
On his line's chemistry: Stanks and Hallsy are really skilled guys and if we work off of each other and play the way we're capable of, like I feel we have these last couple of games, I think we're going to be really good down the stretch. We could have had even more goals than we have right now, but that's the game of hockey, right? I've been having a lot of fun these last few games though.
On focusing on shooting the puck more: My whole life, I've just wanted be a playmaker and setup guys and that sort of stuff, but at the end of the day, when you get opportunities like that, you've got to shoot them. Earlier this year, I've had some opportunities to shoot the puck and didn't and so that's one thing I have to do more, shoot the puck. These guys set me up and I probably could have had more, but great goalie.
On the emotions of missing on grade-A chances: I saw the whole net and I don't know how great my angle was, but I still had pretty much the entire net, so to hit the post, it's frustrating, for sure. You never know if you're going to get one of those chances in the next couple of games or not, so you have to bury those ones when you get them. But I got fortunate by getting a 2-on-1 and putting one in. But it is frustrating to hit the post and come inches from scoring.
On his goal: I think one of the reasons I did shoot is cause I thought that maybe he was thinking pass, right? Like, you never know with goalies, but I saw the defender on Stanks and I did glance and see Niki coming into the play, but I pretty much had a mini breakaway and I was thinking, "I'm shooting this thing. I already hit the post. I'm glad that one went in. It was a good feeling for that to go in, for sure.
On Frederik Andersen's performance: Freddie was the best player tonight, for sure. For both teams. He was unbelievable and that's what he brings. We know how good Freddie is and what he can do for us as a group. He was outstanding. There was at least three or four breakaways that he stopped and many more chances. But he was phenomenal.
On Taylor Hall's impact: Me and Stanks, this is pretty much are second full year in the league and Hallsy's a vet, an unbelievable player and he's won an MVP, so we're gonna listen to that guy. He's kind of the guy that when we're getting our chances and we're rolling a little bit, he's telling us to stick with it and that it's going to come. We trust in him and I'm happy to play with him.
On Hall losing a tooth: I didn't even know he lost it until I went up to him and he smiled, but he's still a good looking guy. I like him without a tooth, honestly. It's good. But that one's already fake he said. At least it's not a real one. He can probably get that puppy back in there.
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