The Carolina Hurricanes needed a response.
After a tough, 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers one night earlier, the Canes' top players, their work ethic, and their commitment to playing the right way were called into question.
And in those moments, a player can either make a choice to ignore it or take it to heart and it seems like Carolina, as a team, chose the latter.
The Hurricanes answered the challenge, storming out of the gate and laying the boot to the Tampa Bay Lightning to the tune of a 4-0 shutout win Saturday night at Amalie Arena.
"It's what we were looking for," said head coach Rod Brind'Amour. "I thought that right from the start of the game and really through 60 minutes, we were really, really good and got what we deserved tonight. I think we were on it and ready to go from the start of the game."
Carolina had an especially good night on special teams, converting on the power play as Teuvo Teravainen put home his ninth goal of the season off a feed from Sebastian Aho, and the penalty kill went a perfect three for three.
The kill was a crucial key to the game too, as it not only kept Tampa off the board, but it also sucked any potential momentum the Bolts hoped to create as the Hurricanes generated more shorthanded than the Lightning managed to generate with the man advantage.
It was also a much-needed win for netminder Pyotr Kochetkov who turned aside all 22 shots he faced, including quite a few high-danger ones.
He was great tonight," said defenseman Brady Skjei. "There were some big saves he made. Some grade-A chances that he kept out of the net."
He looked perhaps the calmest I've ever seen him in net. He was tracking pucks extremely well, pucks seemed to stick to him and even when scrums broke out in his crease, he simply skated away from the chaos.
He earned every bit of that shutout and got a win he deserved.
"That's what you've gotta have," Brind'Amour said on his netminder's performance. "If you get goaltending like that... the other team's going to create opportunities and have chances and he looked like nothing was going to get by him tonight. That's calming for the group. He also played the puck really well and helped us get out of our zone. Just little things that don't really show up necessarily, but certainly help."
It was also a night of milestones as quite a few occurred for the Hurricanes.
First, Jaccob Slavin assisted on an Aho goal in the second period to pass Dave Babych for the most assists by a defenseman in franchise history (197).
"[Offense] is a part of his game, but it's probably a bit underrated because his other part is so good," Brind'Amour said. "Sometimes that happens with people. They have a skillset and they're way over here and everyone just talks and raves about it, but you forget that he can do the other things too. He can do whatever you want him to do out there. He's that good."
Then Brent Burns moved up to 9th place on the all-time list for goals by a defenseman in NHL history with his third period, out-of-the box goal.
"He's been around forever and there's a reason for it," Brind'Amour said. "You can't be around that long and play that high of a level without putting the work in and having dedication to your craft and preparation. He's one of the best ever at it."
Finally, Stefan Noesen celebrated his 300th career NHL game by scoring the dagger goal for Carolina.
"It's been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of grind and a lot of support from my family and friends," Noesen said on his journey. "I'm just very appreciative of getting the opportunity to have a chance to play here.
"I think just the way we play suits my game to a tee. I'm a very simple player. I'm not the flashiest of guys and I love a good puck battle. I think that 's pretty good for the system we play and Rod has a lot of belief in me. My forte is being in front of the net, so I appreciate him letting me be able to do my thing."
After playing 11 of their first 15 games on the road, the Hurricanes will now return home for at least two weeks.
"It's a tough start to the season," Brind'Amour said. "No one really talked about it, but when you're 11 games of 15 on the road, that's a long time and a big chunk of time playing good teams. I thought we had some hiccups in there, but hopefully we can build off of this one."
Next on the agenda, a Wednesday night matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers at PNC Arena.
"It's been a long month or so, for sure, being on the road," Skjei said. "We're excited to get back and play in front of our fans and be in Raleigh."
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