Antti Raanta on Waivers | Goaltending Options for Carolina Through one period, this was a close game. Andrei Svechnikov scored the opening tally on the power play in his first game back since Dec. 6, however, the visitors got it right back a few minutes later. But then the second period started and the Carolina Hurricanes absolutely blew the Vegas Golden Knights out of the water. Six different goal scorers appeared on the stat sheet for the Canes in their 6-3 rout of the Golden Knights and not only did Carolina's penalty kill go a perfect 4-for-4, but the power play also went a perfect 3-for-3. "[The power play] did a very good job," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Penalty kill too. That's one of their strengths as a team, special teams. They have special players. We were able to win that tonight and that was obviously the difference in the game." It was the fourth time this season the Hurricanes have had a perfect special teams outing, and third time in just the month of December. The other opponents: Philadelphia Flyers (Oct. 30), Buffalo Sabres (Dec. 2) and Ottawa Senators (Dec. 12). So it's safe to say this outing was the most impressive being that the Vegas Golden Knights are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the current top team in the NHL and not one of the bottom feeders. Svechnikov, Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis all tallied on the man-advantage and they needed just 2:21 of the six minutes Vegas handed them to do it. "We built momentum off the power play and obviously that's huge to go 3-for-3 on it," Bunting said. "Anytime you can do that, you build momentum going into the game and keep rolling off of it. Like I said, it's huge. Anytime your power play goes out there, even if you don't score, you want to gain momentum and create chances. Building momentum for the next line coming out. I thought obviously we did well, 3-for-3, and that's obviously a good thing. The kill was great too. Really good. They were solid and perfect as well. You can't ask for anything more from special teams on our end. In addition, for the fourth straight game, Pyotr Kochetkov was lights out in goal. What should have been a 0.970 save percentage performance, shrunk to just a 0.909 save percentage due to two garbage time goals where the Canes had pretty much packed it up, but it's been a upward trend of strong outings. Since losing in Calgary on Dec. 7, Kochetkov is 3-0-1 with a 0.935 save percentage. He's been everything the Hurricanes could have asked for especially with all the turmoil surrounding the rest of the goaltending situation in Carolina. "His last four games, he's been lights out which allows us to just keep playing our game whether we get goals or not," Brind'Amour said. "It allows you to just play confidently. He's not been a pleasant surprise, but it's been well-needed. You can't say enough about him." It was also a big game for two forwards: Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Svechnikov, who was making his return from an upper-body injury he received due to a cross check against the Winnipeg Jets, scored the opening goal of the game and was just a force all over the ice. "[Scoring] gave me a little confidence," Svechnikov said. "The first goal is always important for the team. You feel the game right away. It was important for sure. I had some juice and was trying to make some plays. I hit some guys and it made it easier on the boys." He had a few big hits, a few takeaways and he was back to being that dynamic player the Canes have needed. "You're missing this impact player, all year really," Brind'Amour said. "He came in and was still kind of getting going. I wasn't sure how he would look since he hadn't played, but he was impactful and that's what we were missing." Kotkaniemi scored the Canes' third goal of the game, snapping a 10-game goal and point drought and he did it with some special faces in the crowd. "My grandparents flew in last night," Kotkaniemi said. "They had come to Montreal but I got sent down the same day, so they've never seen me play in the NHL. Felt good." The Hurricanes now have points in five straight games and a statement win over the defending champs will hopefully keep propelling them forward as they near the holiday break. "Just have to keep building off of it," Bunting said. "We know what we need to do to succeed and have success. I thought we did well there and we just have to build off of it. We're going right back into it in Pittsburgh in a couple of days here and then another one. We want to finish off strong going into the Christmas break."
