The Carolina Hurricanes put on a defensive masterclass in Detroit to earn a 2-1 win Thursday night
The Carolina Hurricanes put on a defensive masterclass in Detroit to earn a 2-1 win Thursday night
Detroit, MI—Thursday night was "heritage night" at Little Caesars Arena, a call-back to the 2002 Stanley Cup Final with the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. However, the current incarnation of the Red Wings couldn't call upon nine Hockey Hall-of-Famers in support of their efforts and in fact had to do without both of their top two centers for the third time in four nights.
Against that backdrop, it was the visitors who delivered a throwback performance. It was a more recent vintage than an '02—maybe more like a '21—with the Hurricanes offering a quintessential example of the style of play that has defined their renaissance under coach Rod Brind'Amour, full of physical defense, relentless forechecking, and domination on the shot chart and good enough for a 2-1 win.
"They're about as aggressive a team as you're gonna play, especially on the forecheck," said Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot after the game. "They sell out pretty much on every puck; they've got five guys up and forechecking, defense pinching, super aggressive, and they've been doing it for a while now."
"They flip, they chip in, and they fire everything on net," said coach Derek Lalonde, explaining that there is no mystery behind the Hurricanes' approach under Brind'Amour. "They turn the game into a bunch of battles, and they're big and strong, and that's why they're a really, really good team and a tough match-up for us." "You could literally call a penalty on every single shift if you wanted to be ticky-tacky, but that's good hockey, man," he added.
The Red Wings applied early pressure on Carolina netminder Pyotr Kochetkov but found themselves short-handed before the game was three minutes old via an Alex DeBrincat high-sticking minor. Detroit killed off the penalty without incident, only to concede to Jack Drury—completely unmarked at the back post after a defensive miscue—22 seconds after DeBrincat returned to the ice.
Armed with the lead, the Hurricanes could settle into the simple game Lalonde described: Flip the puck out of their end, dump into Detroit's, and get after it on the forecheck.
After a commendable opening 2:26 prior to DeBrincat's infraction, the Red Wings couldn't seem to recover their momentum after Drury's goal. By the first intermission, Carolina led 1-0 in goals and 10-8 shots, and the latter margin would only grow as the game progressed.
Five minutes and 20 seconds into the second, Jonatan Berggren and Andrew Copp combined to nab the puck away from an attempted Hurricanes breakout, and Copp switched sides with a cross-ice pass for Michael Rasmussen. Rasmussen then blistered a shot over Kochetkov's shoulder to tie the score.
Just as it seemed Detroit was finding its stride, however, Ville Husso—who made several excellent stops in the first to keep the Red Wings' deficit at just one—had a puckhandling misadventure that resulted in a lay-up goal for Jordan Staal.
Once again, Carolina appeared invigorated by the goal, even if it was more gifted than earned, and the Hurricanes quelled whatever momentum their hosts may have been building. Carolina proceeded to out-shoot Detroit 15-11 in the second, then 14-7 in the third to smother the Dylan Larkin-less, J.T. Compher-less Red Wings.
On the rare occasions when Detroit was able to find its way into the Hurricane zone, it looked unable to create quality chances once it got there, instead relegated to the perimeter.
By the end of the night, the Red Wings looked like exactly what they were: A team trying to get by without several vital contributors that was also playing its third game in four nights and doing it against an opponent almost tailor-made to exploit such vulnerability.
"I liked a lot of the things we did, and probably a lot of credit to the team we played," reflected Lalonde. "I think many other teams in this league that's not Carolina tonight, I think we probably find a way to get a point."
Unfortunately for Detroit, the opponent on this occasion was indeed Brind'Amour's Hurricanes, and while the Red Wings managed to hang around, their effort wasn't enough to salvage even a point.
Now 15-10-4 for the season, Detroit will look to rebound Saturday evening in Philadelphia in a road date with the upstart Flyers.
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