The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 Tuesday night in what was a solid road outing by the Canes.
Carolina outpaced the Flyers in every period, outshooting them 36-29 by the end of the game and outchancing them 61-50 at even strength.
"I thought we didn't really have too many lulls in there," said head coach Rod Brind'Amour. "We had a couple shifts that weren't really good, but for the most part, we stuck to the game plan we needed to and pulled it out."
After waiting until the final 10 minutes in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Hurricanes decided to strike early this time with Michael Bunting potting his fifth of the year just 5:39 in.
Bunting was back to skating on the top line as Andrei Svechnikov was out of the lineup due to illness.
"I thought we played well together," Bunting said of his line. "Obviously they're two good players and I thought we connected well. We were able to produce a couple of times. That's my game. I can play anywhere in the lineup and I'm very confident wherever I am too. Anytime I get the opportunity, I'm going to roll with it."
In Svechnikov's absence, Brendan Lemieux drew back into the lineup for his first game since Nov. 4, and he certainly made the most of it.
Skating on the fourth line with Stefan Noesen and Jack Drury, the trio outchanced their opponents 12-2 at even strength and even grabbed a goal.
The Flyers had tied up the game midway through the second period after Travis Konecny was sprung for a breakaway, but a hardworking shift by the Hurricanes' fourth line put them back in the lead.
Lemieux crashed to the front of the net and Flyers' forward Scott Laughton rushed a clearing attempt which hit Lemieux in the leg. Lemieux picked up the rebound and tucked it in past Philly netminder Carter Hart to restore the lead.
"My linemates have played really well in the last month," Lemieux said. "Noesen, Drury and a few other guys have slotted in on that line and they've done a good job adjusting which isn't easy, but they've been able to play some really solid, good defensive hockey and be hard to play against. They're growing and that depth really helps a group, especially later in the year."
The Canes and Flyers stayed interlocked in a tight back and forth, but netminder Pyotr Kochetkov really battled to keep his team ahead.
He ended up stopping 27 of 28 shots and saved 1.28 goals above expected according to naturalstattrick.com.
"He made some big saves in the third, especially because it was a tight game," Brind'Amour said. "Those couple of grade-As they had... that's the difference in the game. He makes those saves and keeps us in the lead and not having to change what we're doing."
Seth Jarvis finally got the Hurricanes some breathing room with his late, third-period tally and Jesperi Kotkaniemi would seal the win with an empty netter.
The Hurricanes will now return home after their one-stop roadtrip to take on the New York Islanders on Thursday, Nov. 30.
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