The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Anaheim Ducks 6-3 Thursday night in a wild outing.
The Canes had six different goal scorers in the contest, but lost starting goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to injury in the second period.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Seth Jarvis, Jordan Martinook and Antti Raanta spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On if he had a status update on Pyotr Kochetkov: Nah, I'll know more tomorrow. They're still evaluating him a little bit, but it's an upper-body injury, that's for sure.
On Jaccob Slavin who didn't play the final five minutes: He didn't need to.
On the intensity level: I thought we had a great first period and kind of came off of it a little and they got a couple of bounces. Then I thought we got the emotion back in the building with [Lemieux] standing up for his teammate, which was great. Then I thought the power play was really good there, got a big goal then had a good third period.
On playing their style of hockey: If any team does what they're trying to do, they're probably going to win or look like they should win. We were able to do that in the first period, probably could have had more, their goalie made some great saves, but we had a little dip there at the start of the second, didn't love that, but the rest of it I thought was pretty solid.
On getting back out to a lead before the second intermission: They tied it up, which wasn't good, but we were able to score right away after it. I thought that was huge and then that power play goal kind of put it away. It was a good answer to the push they had.
On Andrei Svechnikov's physical strength on the forecheck: It's not easy, but there's a reason [he's so good]. The guy puts a lot of work in. Off-ice, he trains like no other and you can see it. That's definitely part of his game.
On Seth Jarvis: He's having a great year. He's making plays, but he's doing it right. He's certainly not afraid. He'll get in there against the big guys and you need to have that to be successful. He's been very consistent, very noticeable. No matter what role I'm putting him in, he seems to excel.
On finding a consistent game: It really started when our goalie started playing really well and it just settled everything down. We had some injuries, Svechnikov came back to the lineup, that helped obviously. So there's a lot of things that kind of lead to playing a little bit better, but you're going to have injuries and it looks like we're going to have another one that we're going to have to deal with. That's just part of it.
On Jordan Martinook: It's great. 600 games, that's a long time, especially the way he's done it. It's great. The same way for probably all 600 games. Just that energy and giving everything he has. He's a true professional. He knows his job and he finds a way to do it every night.
On the schedule: It certainly did right at the end of that second to last road trip. It was just like, 'Holy moly.' Everyone plays the same amount by the end of it, but we definitely had a tougher schedule. We didn't use it as an excuse or anything, but it does matter. Obviously we've played pretty well here. Had great crowds, which helps, so hopefully we can continue to do that.
On if there's thoughts about starting to ramp up even more: You kind of talk like that, but at the end of the day, you're trying to play your best Game 1 and Game 82. There's really no 'Let's ramp it up.' We say that, but realistically, you're trying to do it every night. But obviously it does seem to gain more importance as you go along because everything starts to tighten up and you're like 'Okay, we're running out of time' or whatever. I don't know. I think we just have to keep forging ahead. There's a lot of season left and we have to focus on just doing it right every night.
On having to rely on Antti Raanta for the foreseeable future: I don't know how that's going to work out, but we knew we were going to need both of those guys and it certainly looks for sure that we're going to need him to play like he did and has the last little bit.
Seth Jarvis
On getting back to their game in the third: [The second period] was a little scary. You don't want to let them back into the game. I thought we had a really good first, so we kind of made it tougher on ourselves, but we did a great job responding. That power play goal by Jack [Drury] was huge at the end just to kind of take the momentum away.
On playing their brand of hockey: It was pretty nice, huh? We were flying out there, doing good. I think our first, some parts of the second and then our third were really good. When we find our game, we feel like we can win any night.
On the wake-up call in the second period: There were a few. [Lemieux's] fight was huge. That always gets the crowd into it and the building back into it. Seeing Pyotr [Kochetkov] go down, you never want to see that happen, especially in the situation we're in right now. But he battled. Raanta came in and did an unbelievable job so it's nice to know we have two guys that can stay solid for us.
On Jordan Martinook's 600th career game: It's super hard to play one game in this league so 600 is... people don't understand how tough that is to do, especially the way he plays. The way he's been able to stay in shape, keep his body healthy because he plays a hard game. It's even more impressive that a guy like that has played that long and there's many more to come.
On the All-Star voting: It's too late, I'm going to Mexico. I got a non-refundable trip now, so I'm totally set on warm weather, but I still do appreciate all the effort.
On the team stepping up for each other: I really appreciate that. I know that I have guys who have my back and it makes it easier to play out there. That's why [Staal] has a 'C' and [Martinook] has an 'A.' That's why those two guys are so beloved on our team. They're willing to do that for me and they didn't have to. It wasn't that big of a play, but for them to come in like that meant a lot to me and it just shows the comradery of our team.
On his goal: I was a little upset. I kept getting hit there and I didn't like it. So to score felt really good. We did a good job of just getting the puck to the net anyways and had a ton of traffic. Just happy I got a stick on it.
Jordan Martinook
On his 600th career game: I'll take that for sure. It was a good one.
On reflecting over his accomplishment: Looking back at kind of the way I got here, it's pretty cool. To go from the start where I was just happy to be here when I was breaking in and now I have my kids here watching and it just kind of shows the journey that life's taken me. Just so grateful and happy to play 600. That's a good accomplishment for sure.
On scoring: They've been hard to come by and it's not from a lack of effort or lack of trying. I'm trying every night to score, but it just hasn't went in. Hit a lot of posts. Hopefully I can kind of get in a groove here. Playing with 2-4 (Jarvis) right now. He's playing pretty incredible. Try and ride shotgun with him and I'm sure [Staal] will jump on as well.
On the team's wake-up calls in the second: You never want to see anyone go down and especially with the way [Kochetkov's] been playing and the way he's held the fort down for us. Credit to [Lemieux] too with the fight right after that. It kind of woke everyone up and the crowd got going. Hopefully [Kochetkov] is okay and we'll see after this.
On Seth Jarvis: From the day he came, he's been... you can't really put into words what he's been. I think this year, he's just taken such big steps. He's playing in every position and he's just turning into a very, very good player in this league. To watch it first hand and see him evolve has just been so cool. Happy to keep watching him.
On both he and Jarvis being from Western Canada: He's built like a Western Canadian. There's only two of us so we've gotta ride together. He's one of a kind. Love him.
On sticking up for Jarvis: They were joking about it after the second there that the big brother came to his defense, but yeah, like I said, he's playing incredible and he's one of our best players and if somebody is going to go after him, we have to go help him out. He's not the biggest guy, but he's a little bulldog. He would have been in there, but we'll let the big man go in. We'll protect him.
Antti Raanta
On entering the game midway through: It's always a weird feeling. You've been sitting there for a couple hours and everything kind of feels a little off. The gear is a little softer. You go in and then just have to deliver. Its not easy.
On knowing Kochetkov was hurt badly enough for him to come in: You can usually tell. If its just a little bump, it might take a couple seconds but usually, as a goalie, you kind of know that if you get a hit to the head or neck area that... if its not too bad you can shake it off but it was a pretty hard hit so you could tell pretty quickly that it was probably going to need to be looked at. Haven't seen [Kochetkov] yet, but hopefully everything is okay. It's always tough to see when your goalie partner goes down, but at the same time you have to go in there and do your job. But guys were doing an amazing job in front of me. Probably faced three shots, but I'll take that.
On what he was doing during the second intermission: Pretty much the same stuff I usually do when I'm playing. I didn't try to go there and throw the balls or anything like that trying to get my hands ready. Just laced up my skates again and did the normal routines that I usually do when I'm playing. Check the clock and get ready before the two-minute mark and things like that. You just try to have that clear mindset. The only thing you can worry about is the first shot or the next one that's coming. That was the mindset and it's been the mindset lately when starting also. Just go out there and take it one shot at a time and see what happens.
On the crowd support: It always feels good to hear the crowd and that always gives you a little energy. Whatever the situation is and you get your home crowd behind you, it's always the little push that you need. Just go out there and try to do your best. It's always nice when you get that crowd behind you.
On the intensity of the game: It was kind of a weird game overall. Like the first period we were dominating then the second period was just a little bit sloppy and obviously got a little fight there. That's not what we usually get, but the home crowd was loving that also.
On his mindset moving forward with Kochetkov potentially out: It never changes no matter what happens. You always do your job in the practice and to be prepared to play. If they tell you it's your net, you go and play. It's pretty much going to be the same tomorrow. Just come here, put the work in and get ready for Saturday. Nothing specific or special about it. Just one game at a time and one day at a time.
On the team's play in front of him: Overall, when I was out there like 25 minutes, the guys were defending great. Blocking shots and the shots that did come in, I had pretty good vision for. It always helps and big kills in the third period. We didn't give them anything to climb back into the game. That's always a good thing.