RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The Carolina Hurricanes came limping into the post season, losers in seven of their last eight regular season games but it didn’t take the Canes long to show that the post season is a different animal, with Carolina scoring the first three goals of the game and never looking back in a 4-1 win over New Jersey.
“Yeah, well, for us to win, we’re going to need 20 guys chipping in and after the game, going ‘yeah, I contributed in some way somehow’ and I think that’s what we got tonight,” said Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour.
To be fair, the Canes clinched a playoff spot weeks ago and, late in the regular season, decided that rest was more important than the results of meaningless games. This past week, a handful of veteran players sat out games, the rest good for the body, but making for anxious times heading into game one against the Devils.
“Yeah, it was a long week, a good week. I thought everyone looked fresh and ready to go,” said Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal. “You know we were chomping at the bit and ready to get into the series and now we’ll move on from game one and get ready for two.”
Logan Stankoven scored two goals in the Hurricanes win, including a power-play goal in the second period that gave Carolina an insurmountable three-to-nothing lead. Stankoven, who came over to Carolina in the Mikko Rantanen deal at the trade deadline, was excited to help the cause in his first playoff game in front of the Caniacs.
“Yeah, it was nice to get the first one out of the way and start off on the right foot,” said Stankoven. “I think when you come into a series the first one is big and there’s a lot of hockey left to play but yeah it’s a lot of fun playing out there.”
Freddy Anderson got the start in goal for Carolina and while he didn’t face many shots in the first two periods, he did have to come up with some big saves late, holding the Devils to just one goal.
“Yeah you never really know what a game is going to bring but you’ve got to stay ready for that next shot and stay in the moment and not think about what the score is and what’s going on in the game too much just trying to react to what’s in front of you and focus on the next shot,” said Andersen.
There was a lot of anxiety among Canes fans about the way Carolina was playing heading into the postseason. A resounding 4-1 win in game one should alleviate those fears.
“You always worry that you come out sluggish, but obviously that was not the case,” said Brind’Amour. “And we were a healthy group, so maybe it was a calculated risk, maybe, but at least after game one that was the right decision.”
The Hurricanes focus turns to game two on Tuesday night at Lenovo Center.