The Hurricanes smothered the Predators for their fifth straight win.
The Carolina Hurricanes picked up their fifth win in a row on Wednesday night with a 4-1 win in the Music City over the Nashville Predators.
Jackson Blake got the scoring started with his ninth goal of the season in the first period, as he won a net front battle against Nick Perbix to jam home a loose puck after a shot from Logan Stankoven. Stankoven and Alexander Nikishin both picked up their ninth assists of the year on the tally.
The Hurricanes had several chances to extend their lead later in the first and the second, including one notable look that came when Eric Robinson used his speed and a strong angle to get a break in alone on Saros, who gamely turned aside Robinson’s bid.
Saros was strong all night for the Predators, as he was frequently under siege behind a team that had little success in imposing its will against Carolina’s puck-possession game.
The second period cost the Hurricanes a key player in Jordan Martinook, who did not return for the third period with a lower-body injury.
The Hurricanes finally broke through again early in the third period, when a notably more shot-happy power play found the back of the net when Blake fed Sebastian Aho in the slot, and Aho beat his countryman low to the blocker side to give his team some breathing room.
Seth Jarvis was next to get in on the fun when he hammered home a feed from Aho on a quick passing play that Nikolaj Ehlers figured into with a secondary assist.
While he wasn’t called upon often, Pyotr Kochetkov was able to stay in his rhythm and come up big when Nashville did breach the Canes’ structure to create a chance.
The Predators finally broke through in the third period when Filip Forsberg swept home a rebound to get his team within two.
The goal clearly gave Nashville some jump, as the home team started to ramp up the intensity and found ways to test Kochetkov, who came up with several big saves to keep the lead at two.
Aho put home the empty-netter to salt the game away and wrap up a much-needed three-point night for Carolina’s first-line center.
The Hurricanes will have a travel day before kicking off a back-to-back in Florida to close out the week. Carolina will take on the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Friday before visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Category: General Sports
