The Canes acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury. The Carolina Hurricanes overcame some internal handicaps, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 Thursday night at Lenovo Center despite playing with one less skater. The Hurricanes have been hit by an illness bug and on top of a lot of guys not being 100%, the team was also without Sebastian Aho and Taylor Hall as neither was able to go tonight due to illness. But Carolina dug in and found a way to win thanks to goals by Seth Jarvis (SHG), Mikko Rantanen and Jaccob Slavin as well as 18 saves by Pyotr Kochetkov. After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Rantanen, Juha Jaaska and Ryan Suzuki spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rod Brind'Amour On the game: It wasn't pretty, but we had some good segments in there. We were able to get ahead and then we just, I don't want to say stopped playing, but we kind of just hung around. Considering what we're missing and then we have a couple of guys who were not feeling 100%, that's for sure. We gutted it out and we move on. On Mikko Rantanen getting that first goal out of the way: He knows that he wants to come in here and help contribute right away. You've gotta be on the score sheet. That's everyone's goal. He's got his goal and he was impactful. He could have had a couple tonight. He was really good. It's nice to see him get that and now he doesn't have to worry about it. On when he found out Taylor Hall wasn't going to be available tonight: Around 4 o'clock. He called in and said he wasn't good and we had a couple of other guys that played and weren't up to it either. I give them credit for sticking it out. On Ryan Suzuki's path to the NHL: He didn't play much. I didn't put him out there too much, but I thought he was fine. We watched him for a lot of years and he's dealt with a lot of injuries and things happening to him on the injury front. So a nice moment that we were able to get him here in time to get the lap in and all that because he got in here at like 5:30 or 6. It was right before warmups, so nice moment for him, for sure. On if Suzuki could have ever imagined when he woke up that he'd have some shifts alongside Rantanen that night: You never know, right? That's the beauty of this game sometimes. But he's been playing well in the minors. That's how it works. On Juha Jaaska: That was a heck of a play there [on the shorthanded goal]. Nice touch. We had a necessity and were looking for killers as we were running out of them, but he stepped up and that was a crucial moment really. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mikko Rantanen On getting his first goal as a Hurricane: It's great. A couple of looks in the first two games. Guys had been making good plays around me. Again tonight. Roslovic made a heck of a play on the entry and then the drop pass and this time it went in, so I was glad to help the team that way. On double shifting with the team down a skater: It's obviously not ideal. You always hope for some health and hopefully guys can come back quick, but I think we battled pretty well. I think Chicago played a pretty good game, you know? They put us on our heels a couple of times, but we did a good job defending against the biggest chances and got some big saves as well. On how his adjustment has been: It's not easy, but the guys make it easier for sure. It's been great. Every guy in the team is very tight with each other which is obviously nice to see and easy to come into because it's so tight. It's going to take a little more time to get fully comfortable with everything and on the ice that it comes with instinct and no thinking at all. It was better today and I think we could have had a couple more goals there, but yeah. A lot of good players around me so I'm happy. On if the initial trade shock has started to wear off: Yeah, it's getting better every day like I said. After every skate we have, the more time I hang out with the guys and after every game. It's going to feel more comfortable and comfortable. So just a really good team and I can tell that right away. I'm obviously happy to play on a really good team. On the Lenovo Center crowd: It was great. Playing here as an away team, it's always one of the toughest buildings, so I was always happy that we only came here once. Not because... I like the city and everything, but just the building is tough to play in. I'm happy to be on the home side. The crowd was great again and I got some chills as well. It was roaring. Happy to see that. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Juha Jaaska On being used as a penalty killer and setting up a shorthanded goal: Super cool. It's just nice to get a little more ice. Some games are pretty hard when you're not playing. I understand it of course, but yeah. Super nice to get some points too. Building confidence. On his setup to Seth Jarvis: Maybe in the first games I wouldn't have done that, but now, like I'm building a little bit of that poise. Not trying to push too much and relax more and enjoy while I play. On Ryan Suzuki: Super cool. I was so happy that he came here. He's such a good player with such good vision. I think we played pretty good today. Pretty good shifts today, but yeah. It was super cool and I'm super happy for him. On Seth Jarvis' goal: He was so hyped and I was so hyped. Those are the moments when you get the emotions. It's super cool especially when you don't do much points and then it's like, oh my. It feels super good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryan Suzuki On his arrival: I got here just in time for warmups and ended up getting out there. On taking his rookie lap: Obviously I didn't have a lot of time to prepare, but less time to be nervous so I felt good. On if he was nervous: I feel like if I got a night to sleep on it, I would have worked myself up a little bit, so it was nice to just get here and get on the ice. On having a few familiar faces in the room: I played with a bunch of guys here and it's always nice to see them and be around them. They were super supportive of me tonight and it helped a lot. On having some stability this season: I think the biggest thing for me was just being healthy this season. It hasn't been that way the last couple of years so it was nice to get off to a good start and obviously be familiar with the city of Chicago. It was nice to be back with your own organization. It was huge for me. On if his debut was everything he thought it would be: No, I mean, it was a little weird obviously at the start finding out pretty late and then getting here without much time to prepare for the game, but it was fun and really exciting. On where he feels his game is: I think with the right opportunity, I can make an impact up here. I obviously haven't made it yet, it's just one game, but hopefully there's more to come. On if it's sunk in at all for him: No, not really. Like I said, I didn't have a lot of time. Got here, got on the ice. I'm sure it will really sink in tonight, maybe even tomorrow, but I'm just excited. I checked my phone and had a bunch of messages and I'm thinking about all the people that helped me get here. It will be nice to catch up with people. On who he first called when he found out he was getting called up: I called my dad. My mom was working so he let her know. On playing with a jumbled lineup: I don't think it's that hard. There's so many good players here so I felt that whoever I was on the ice with was an excellent player. So it made my job a lot easier. I just tried to get out there, be responsible with the puck and do my job.
