The Carolina Hurricanes couldn't get the offense going in a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
Dmitry Orlov scored the lone goal for the Canes as former Hurricane goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic saved 39 shots in the win.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Jordan Staal and Jake Guentzel spoke with the media in Pittsburgh. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the difference in the game: Well we couldn't score. We didn't get to the net. We had a lot of... actually after the first period, we played pretty good. It was just a weird game. The second period, I thought, was pretty solid overall, but we gave up two. We didn't really get enough at the net. We were a little light around that area. We put up some good shots, but we didn't have enough traffic. Kind of made it an easy night for [Nedeljkovic].
On Pyotr Kochetkov: He kept us in it early. I didn't love our first period. Didn't have a ton of work there, but we have to score more than one. And that didn't happen.
On rebounding: We were flat tonight, that's for sure. We can talk about it, but it's just hard. You could see we were just a little off. We kind of got to it, but it wasn't enough obviously. I don't know if they did anything special, but they got the lead and were able to keep it. We didn't do enough early, in my opinion.
On Jake Guentzel: He's a good, smart hockey player and is very talented obviously too. All of that in combination makes it pretty easy.
On his video tribute: Those are special nights. We had one the other night with [Kuznetsov] too. It would have been nice to see Guentzel get one. He had quite a few little opportunities around the net, it kind of just was one of those nights. It just wasn't meant to be, but he was a special player here for a long time and those are nice moments.
Jordan Staal
On the game: It wasn't a great first. Beyond the kills, it was pretty slow. Started to get to our game a bit. I think we put up enough shots, but there really wasn't too many grade-As and not enough net traffic to create havoc and create those second opportunities. We were okay. We weren't what we can be and the way we want to play. It was not a great start. Got behind the 8-ball after that.
On Guentzel's video tribute: Pretty cool. Obviously was a heck of a player for this team for a while and had some huge moments for this organization so it was cool to watch that video. Now, having him on our squad, he's an amazing player. [I kind of had] similar emotions. A great organization, good memories and I'm sure Guentzel feels the same way.
On what's made Guentzel fit in so well: You watch his game, he's tenacious on the puck and he's all about puck pressure and really just has a great work ethic. And obviously he has the skill and all that to boot. First and foremost, you can tell he has the speed and is hard on the forecheck and that's been our identity for a while. Being a forechecking team and you can tell he's fit in pretty well.
On what he's learned about Guentzel: He's made some unbelievable passes. I obviously knew he had great skill, but I think it was really just his speed and how quick he can get on pucks. He's kind of got that complete package of what you want in a forward. He's been really fun to watch.
On if he thinks he can provide that extra oomph in the postseason: I hope so. That's obviously the plan. We're going to need him and everybody else if we want to have a great run
Jake Guentzel
On his return to Pittsburgh: It was special to be back here. It's where I kind of grew up. A lot of good memories in this building and in the city. Just cool.
On his video tribute: You look back on all the memories you had here. It was just a cool little touch that they did.
On when : It's just hockey after the first shift. You kind of just soak it in during warmups and once the puck drops, it's back to hockey. It's just that easy.
On if anything stood out in his return: We didn't come to the arena this morning so I think when I got to the arena this afternoon, it kind of hit going into the rink and all of a sudden you're going a different route. Obviously good to be back, would have liked to get the win, but it was just fun being here.
On going to Carolina: I was really excited. They like to play fast and the like to play hard. Playing against them, there was not much ice out there and it's been unbelievable so far. Guys have been great and they've welcomed me in pretty easily here. It's been a little bit of an adjustment, but it's been good so far and hopefully we can keep going.
On playing against the Penguins: You kind of know what they're going to do. They're good players out there and a good team, so it was just fun to play against them. A lot of friends out there, but it was a good time.
On if the days before the trade were difficult: Yeah. You're not really sure what's going to happen so you're kind of just sitting there, watching. Not being able to help was kind of tough. But I got a little bit of a heads up that something was probably going to happen so I just soaked in those last couple of days.
On if would have wanted to stay in Pittsburgh: My intention was to stay, but they just thought there was a better direction to go in. It's out of my hands as it's not my choice.
On playing with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis: They like to work hard. Both guys like to get in on the forecheck and work hard. There's a lot of different players in this league, but it's been good so far and hopefully we keep going.
On if returning to the Penguins after this season is an option: I don't know. That's... I don't know. We'll see how this year goes. I really like it in Carolina.