The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 Friday night at PNC Arena.
It was a tight game throughout most of the night, but ultimately a late power play goal by Andrei Svechnikov boosted the Canes to victory.
Jordan Martinook, Martin Necas, Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho all tallied goals while Antti Raanta saved 10 of the 12 shots he faced.
Here are my three takeaways from the game:
Staying Patient
From the final shot count (30-12), it might not seem like a game in which the Hurricanes had to bide their time and not extend themselves too far, but that certainly was the case last night.
Despite the advantage, Carolina only led for 2:52 of total game time until midway through the third period. Detroit was holding it together thanks in major part to goaltender Alex Lyon.
He allowed the Red Wings to keep hanging around and it was the type of game where it would be easy to get frustrated by the results not showing immediately.
Especially after earning a hard-fought lead in the second period only for the officials to call a soft holding call and then for Carolina to give up a 2-on-1 rush after turning the puck over trying to put together a shorthanded rush.
But despite that and, especially at 5v5, the Canes stayed on top of Detroit all night not allowing them to stretch the game out.
The Wings were looking to hit some long passes and generate high-danger chances off the rush, but the Hurricanes did an excellent job not overextending and being ready to negate plays.
"They were waiting to activate and get up the ice with a whole bunch of long stuff," said Rod Brind'Amour. "You get a little frustrated and you want to hang out a little bit and next thing you know, that's how they catch you. I thought our guys did a great job of sticking with the game plan and obviously got the two points."
And it eventually all paid off with the Canes capitalizing on the one power play chance they got in the third period to seal the win.
"It was kind if a grind game on both ends and it was just about capitalizing on our opportunities," said Michael Bunting. "We were able to get one there on the power play which was huge to get the lead and then we didn't look back. We were patient and let our skill take over once we had the opportunity to."
Martin Necas' Return
Martin Necas returned to the ice last night for his first game since January 2, and boy, what a performance it was.
The Czech forward had a goal and an assist along with a team-high six shots on goal — he actually outshot Detroit 4-3 through 20 minutes.
It wasn't just the fact that he showed up on the stat sheet either, as he was driving play while also supporting the team through the neutral and defensive zones.
Playing on a line with Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen, Necas had the jump early, so Brind'Amour made sure to give him plenty of ice time.
"He was the best player on the ice, right?" Brind'Amour said. "That'll do it. You get a little rest mentally and physically. It's a grind in the NHL. Obviously he'd been out for a while, but he was a difference maker tonight. He was all over it. I don't what else to tell you. That's the kind of play we need out of him."
It seems that he does well with that pair and I think part of it is the fact that he can be the primary forward and facilitator. Neither of the other two are necessarily dominant, on-puck players so Necas gains a lot more freedom and opportunity with the puck which he likes.
He was cutting to the middle of the ice with regularity, which is great to see and that's how he grabbed his goal as well.
He could have had a few more and even rang a long-range attempt off the cross-bar with the opposing net empty, but eventually he set up Sebastian Aho for the empty net with a smart little play.
"It feels like a new season, so let's make it a better one," Necas said. "Good win for us and felt good to be back."
The Western Canadian Connection
Jordan Martinook simply can't be stopped.
After tallying yet another goal last night, Martinook now is on a career-high, four-game goal streak.
He's finally converting his chances that he had been robbed of so often this year and perhaps a big part of it is playing alongside his fellow Western Canadian, Seth Jarvis.
Having an offensively dynamic player like Jarvis on the Jordan Staal line has given them a definite boost and since he can play defense too, there's been really no downside to the change.
He brings a new element that is helping to elevate everyone around him.
Well, it's either that, or the fact that Martinook has started to wear his helmet in warmups now.
"Marty's been great," Bunting said. "You know what it is? He's been wearing his helmet in warmups now. I think that's what has turned his whole game around in terms of scoring goals. Yeah, quote that. That he's wearing his helmet in warmups now."