Fluky goals, perfect penalty kill, and a stellar goalie bounce-back powered the Hurricanes' crucial victory over the Devils.
The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 Sunday night at Prudential Center.
The win was a gritty one and snapped a three-game skid for the Canes, which can hopefully act like a stepping stone of sorts for the team.
Here are five takeaways from the win:
1. A Little Help From Unlikely Sources
The Hurricanes were actually the recipients of a little luck Sunday night as all three of their goals were helped along by the Devils.
New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes knocked home Carolina's first goal off of a rebound and then essentially teed up Taylor Hall for the second one as he tried to carry a puck directly in front of his own net.
Then a Jake Allen turnover behind his own net allowed Hall to collect the loose puck and set up Logan Stankoven right in front to give the team the breathing room they needed in the third period.
The Canes' pressure of course helped all three of those goals along, but the team will also take some fortunate bounces with the way things have been going as of late.
"I don't want to call them freebies, but if not for [Hall] using his speed and getting in there, it wouldn't have happened," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour.
2. Perfect Penalty Killing
The Canes' penalty kill has struggled this season and only had a 78.8% success rate heading into last night's game.
They're missing two key pieces in Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis, are incorporating two rookie defensemen into it and have another player playing his first year in Carolina, so it makes sense that there would be some growing pains, but it's been a whole different story this year.
The kill has struggled even with some of the veterans out there, and after losing the team's last game because of it, it was clear they needed to be better.
And better they were, as the kill went a perfect 5-for-5 against the Devils.
It's hard to get much better than perfect and although they did allow some high-danger chances to the talented New Jersey power play, everyone did their jobs to battle and find a way to keep them off of the board.
"I thought we did a much better job then the other night," Brind'Amour said. "We got a fortunate a few times. They had a couple of backdoor ones that they just misconnected on, but overall it was a pretty solid job."
"Obviously we know the skill that they have in that other locker room, especially on the power play," said K'Andre Miller. "I think all five guys over there have great skill and can make you pay at any moment. So I think the penalty kill stepped up big time when they were needed and made some great clears, some great blocks and had some great goaltending."
3. Bussi's Bounce Back
It's no secret that Brandon Bussi had a tough go in his last outing, surrendering six goals on 22 shots against the Montreal Canadiens.
It was the first big stumbling block for the rookie netminder in his short NHL career, so the big question really was on how he would respond.
Well, Sunday night showed that he's made of stern stuff, as he had a strong bounce back performance, stopping 28 shots in the win, including all 10 he faced while on the penalty kill.
"He's been great," Brind'Amour said. "The other night was not great, to be blunt. He let in a lot of not great ones, but it's all about how you respond and obviously he did. That says a lot about him. It's been a big part of this year so far."
Bussi has now moved to 14-2-1 on the year, with a 0.906 save percentage. If Carolina wants to continue fighting for a playoff berth and beyond, it's going to be him leading the charge.
4. Top Line Chugging Along
The Hurricanes have found some magic with their new top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers.
The trio were put together starting with the game against the Montreal Canadiens and it's since led to a plethora of goals.
At 5v5, the three have scored four goals while controlling 65% of the scoring chances while they're on the ice.
But even beyond 5v5 play, the three have been the heartbeat of the team as of late.
Over the past seven games, the Canes have scored 21 goals and at least one of those three have had a point on 16 of them.
Those three are getting it done at 5v5, one the power play and shorthanded, which is much needed with leading scorer Seth Jarvis still sidelined.
5. Philp's First
New center Noah Philp played his first game as a Carolina Hurricane Sunday night.
The 27-year-old forward centered the fourth line and played 10:48, registering one shot, two hits, but winning just 44% of his draws.
At 5v5, he was outchanced 6-8, but he lost one of his wingers just a little bit into the game and he's also still learning a new system with the Hurricanes.
On a more positive note, Philp also played 2:09 on the PK, the fifth most among forwards, so he himself had a hand in keeping New Jersey from scoring and making it a closer game.
It'll certainly take some time for him to get into a rhythm should the Canes elect to keep utilizing him.
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