
The Carolina Hurricanes simply cannot be stopped.
After falling behind early to the Washington Capitals, the Canes scored six-unanswered goals en route to a 6-2 win Friday night at Capital One Arena.
Vasily Ponomarev scored in his debut, as did Dmitry Orlov, Andrei Svechnikov Seth Jarvis and Brent Burns.
After the win, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Svechnikov, Burns, Orlov and Ponomarev spoke with the media in Washington. Here's what they had to say:
Rod BrindAmour
On the game: I loved the way we played. The first period, I thought, was great and yet... We gave up a couple of chances and they ended up in the net, but I just liked the way the guys just kind of... you always talk about sticking with our game, sticking with what we have to do and we didn't get off track. I know it was a tough grind in that second period, but we were able to get one and didn't give up much. A couple, one went off the bar there, so that was a nice break, but then the third period, again, early [Kochetkov] had to make some saves and then all of a sudden we just got going. So it was a great effort all the way around.
On Vasily Ponomarev scoring in his debut: Love seeing that. Love seeing that. We love this kid. He's been around a while, a couple years. He came to camp and then he got injured. So a tough break for him and we couldn't really see what he was about. He's just been playing really well, waiting for his time and he earned his game tonight. Obviously a huge impact. So a great memory for him and I'm really happy for him.
On his impact: He was impactful. You never know what you're going to get when you're put in that situation, but what you do know with him is the effort. There's a certain thing that we expect and you can count on him for that. That was great and a huge part for the game because we were shorthanded and he did his job.
On the power play: That's the difference. Like I said, we were having a great game and they got the one power play goal and all of a sudden, we're down. So we needed to bounce back. We got those couple of chances in the third and we were fortunate enough to cash in and then a huge kill at the end of the game. Special teams are always big in the game and they were again tonight.
On the defensive scoring: We all know that our backend is our team. Not the whole team, but it's a huge part of what we do. We have super talented players back there and they're on display every night. You saw that again tonight.
Andrei Svechnikov
On Vasily Ponomarev: It was a special night for him. Flew today to Washington and to get the win and a goal, it's special for sure.
On the comeback effort: For as many years as I've played here, it was always like that. Whenever we're losing, it's always go, go, go and that's kind of our game. Forecheck. It was good for us today and it worked out perfectly.
On his production: I feel like it's chemistry and the power play has been clicking a lot and hopefully we keep doing that. It's definitely the chemistry and you get those couple of games and you feel confident and I try to stick with that confidence.
On feeling fully back: I would say so. I feel good right now and we'll see what'll happen.
On Brent Burns: Everyone knows he has a good shot and everyone is scared of that. He also can find you. We always try to talk in the locker room about things we're going to do before and it was kind of the play we were talking about in the locker room.
On Dmitry Orlov: So happy for him. Playing here for 12 years and then signing in Carolina and coming here to play his first game back... I don't know. I can't describe that. It probably was so hard. He scored today and got an apple. Super excited and super happy for him.
On Sebastian Aho' All-Star nomination: Not surprised. He's an elite player and he should be an All-Star every year. That's what he's showing. I'm happy for him and he's just going to keep crushing it.
On Max Pacioretty: That guy didn't play for a long time and I was just so happy to see him. He was on our team last year and I thought he was a great player. To be honest, I learned a lot from him in those four games in how he protects the puck. I had never seen anything like that how no one can really take the puck from him in the corners. It kind of stuck with me in my head and I was so happy to see him back.
Brent Burns
On the game: We knew coming in that even strength was going to be a grind and not a lot of room for either team, but special teams is always such a big part of the game and it's been good. I think both have been rolling and that's not always the case so it's nice when it's happening.
On Andrei Svechnikov: He's just such a special player and a special guy. He just has such a special energy about him and he can just do everything so well. A guy like that, he just plays so hard and he's so skilled. I'm lucky to play with a guy like that. As a lefty there too, he can score from anywhere. Obviously [Aho] on the other side has just been making some unbelievable plays and he's just been buzzing for what seems like a month, month and a half. It's been huge. It's nice to see the power play going. At times, it's been hard to create and score but obviously it's going in right now, so it's nice.
On Vasily Ponomarev: I had such a good time with him over the summer. He worked so hard. To see the amount of work he put in and how serious he took this summer and how bad he wanted to make the team. To have that injury happen right away... Just for the guys that were in town early skating with him everyday, you could just see that 'Wow. This guy is really, really special.' He was working so hard and he was in such great shape and he was so skilled on the ice. We were doing our little scrimmage games and he was always just controlling it. He was working so hard and it was just fun. It was a great energy to be around. To have that injury happen and to see him lose all the work that he put in... it's tough. I can't imagine how tough it was for him, because for us, you feel bad for him. So to see him go down and then get his chance to come up like that. Man, it's just awesome. Such a cool thing to see. He was buzzing on that energy, but I think for all of us, it's such a special thing to see and be a part of it. Roddy said after the game, 'Those things you never forget,' and it's always fun to see and be around. It was awesome.
On Ponomarev flying in just a few hours before game time: With his energy and his personality, I could probably see him doing his warmup in the airport just buzzing. He just has such a great work ethic and you can see how serious he takes everything. All summer, being there early, preparing, doing everything and then extra after, it was really good to see that. You can feel that he was going to be ready. I think he's just such a high-energy guy and I think his skill level is super high too. You could see a couple flashes when he gets a puck and he's making moves. He's a really, really good player.
On the team's success as of late: I don't know. I haven't really looked at all that stuff in depth, but I think obviously it's been a bit of grind since the beginning of the year. We haven't really been getting the results that we wanted and we need to put somethings in a row and get some wins and throw some streaks together so it's been good that since the break, we've been rolling. Got to keep it going though.
Dmitry Orlov
On his return to Washington: For sure it was special. Special night. First time since trade and summer time, free agency. I was drafted '09, played 12 years with this organization. A lot of great memories with the team. It was not easy to stay and watch the video. It was a nice moment from the fans. A lot of flashbacks. It was not an easy time sometimes too. A lot of things in these 12 years happened for me and I appreciate everything from the organization.
On his multi-point night: I just tried to enjoy as much as I can. My family was here today and a lot of friends too that I met in the city. They all support me and we still have good friendship. Saw some guys at dinner time and I'm going to see them after the game too. It's good. From those years, the relationships with my friends. When you make friends, you can keep that all your life. It's important. I'm emotional right now inside and it's kind of tough. Not easy. I tried to not worry about it in the game. It's good that we got the points, but it's more than hockey.
On Vasily Ponomarev's goal: I didn't celebrate because I respect my old teammates, I respect the team. A goal is a goal you know, but it was important. I just appreciate it for my new teammates right now. From Caps team, old teammates, from all the fans to all the staff who put this video together especially with my family and friends here.
On what's been going right: Sometimes breaks happen, but I think [Kochetkov] has been good for us and the power play has been pretty good. Hopefully we're going to stay doing that, stay hot. It's not easy. You look at the standings and the division and everybody is so close and you think playoffs will start soon already so we need to focus on every game and keep working. We have a couple guys step up today. Pono's first game and had two points. I think it's huge for him. He had a special night. Hope everybody can come back and stay healthy because it's important in a long season.
Vasily Ponomarev
On his day: Just woke up in the Windy City in Chicago at 4 a.m. like I usually do. Read some prayer book. I start every day with it. When I came to the rink, I got a call from [Vice President of Communications and Team Services Mike Sundheim] that I got called up. Just did dome recovery stuff there, stepped on the ice for 20 minutes to take some shots, then I came back home, picked up my stuff and went to the airport. Pretty long flight because I was nervous because I knew I was going to come to the arena right before meeting. I was like five minutes before it. I think sometimes it can affect your mindset if you are late for your first game. You don't know how you're going to play at the time, but I just focused on the game and did what I could do.
On his flight: 1:40 p.m. from Illinois. My flight got here at 4:30.
On concerns of being late: Yeah. I was always checking my time, like do I have time or am I too late?
On producing in his first game: Seven years ago, my first game that I saw in real life, it was Washington against Pittsburgh here in a playoff game. I saw how Ovie and Sid scored and I just dreamed big and right now I understand how you have to dream big to be maybe in seven or maybe 10 years to be in the situation like they are.
On what he felt when he realized he scored: I just was happy.
On if he was nervous: Maybe it looks like I'm not nervous every time, but I'm nervous every time.
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