The Carolina Hurricanes added another notch on the belt as they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 in their penultimate game of the regular season Sunday night at United Center.
Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 14 of 16 in the win and Jordan Staal, Seth Jarvis (x2) and Sebastian Aho all lit the lamp for Carolina.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Aho and Andrei Svechnikov spoke with the media in Chicago. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the win: I thought we were okay. It was a tough game to play. We got our eyes on some other things and to get through a game like this... I thought we got going a little bit. I thought Petr Mrazek made some great saves and we missed a couple of empty netters. Then they were able to hang around. The penalty kill and power play was the difference tonight. It got us the win.
On the power plays: We did a nice job I thought of executing. We knew what we had to do which was get it down there and [Jarvis] is a good player so he made a couple of nice plays. Ones a shot and a rebound but that's what you do on power plays. The key, I think, was staying patient with it. We didn't have a power play until the third period so the penalty kill had to come up big and kill there. That could have been a difference in the game too.
On Chicago: They've got tons of talent, we know that and you could see it. We saw it last time we saw them and they've added a few more. That's where they're at. Two different teams right now with where they're kind of built. Obviously they have some good talent coming.
On Pyotr Kochetkov: First period we didn't give up a lot, but it's a breakaway and it's in the net. Then he didn't see a lot of action. So it was good on him to stay ready because that's the key. On the couple of the power plays they had. They had to make some saves and keep us right there in tight in the game so we could have a chance to win.
On Kochetkov's diving poke check: I don't know. He's good at it, right? Good at getting the puck but I guess he got the feet after which is why it's a trip. But you certainly don't want to see any injuries. That's the big thing.
On the all the different potential playoff scenarios: It's tough because it's out of our hands. We all know that we're in the playoffs and maybe we move up, but the chances are probably not and nobody is catching us. That's why I give my guys a lot of credit. Because we've been in this spot for a while and yet we still find ways to get it done. So I think it says a lot about the group and they understand that they have a job to do regardless and they've been doing it.
Sebastian Aho
On special teams: It's huge. Big kills throughout the game and obviously we won the game with the power play goals. It's huge.
On the team's confidence: You need all kinds of experiences throughout the regular season so you can lean on those later on in the season. Another one of those tonight. You just keep fighting and obviously it doesn't always go your way but it was a good job to get those two power play goals and that got us the win.
On Chicago: They play with a lot of speed and a lot of skill so we knew to not give them too many rush chances, but obviously they got a few too many. Both their goals were rush opportunities so we could have done a better job there, but just overall, a good win.
On his line: There's a lot of good things in our games. Honestly, it just starts with working hard. We all skate pretty well and we try to be quick and active on the forecheck and produce offense off of those turnovers. It's been fun to play with them. Just going to try and keep it going and be even better.
On the approach to the end of the season: Just play our game. Kind of business as usual. We're trying to win hockey games and develop good habits and just play our own game. That's pretty simple. You try to build your game towards Game One of the playoffs. I think we've done a pretty good job of just sticking with it and playing our game. I know it's a cliche, but especially at this time of the year, it's big to not pick up bad habits and all that.
Andrei Svechnikov
On the team's resiliency: We're one of the best teams in this league and obviously we have to have a great mentality and be a great team to do what we did during the season. We're not done yet. We have one more game to go here, but our mentality is the same. We have to win every game and just stick with that.
On his new line: They just make the game easier for you. They're always working behind the net. They try and give the pucks to you and you kind of try to hang out and look for them as well. The effort they put out on the ice is just something special. You don't see that a lot and that's why I'm enjoying playing with them so much.
On the keys to the win: Just scoring goals. That's how you break them down. The power play obviously was a big one tonight.
On the power play: We just move the puck really well and Burnsy shot it a couple of times and we all kind of were shooting. That was kind of our mentality and we kind of made nice plays in a couple of places and that was nice.