Peter Koutroumpis (@pksport)
RALEIGH, NC – A deflected point shot made the difference as the Carolina Hurricanes, led by goaltender Antti Raanta’s 36 saves, blanked the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 at PNC Arena on Thursday.
Defenseman Ethan Bear’s point shot with 5:40 remaining in the game made it past Avs goaltender Darcy Kuemper, blemishing an equally impressive 36-save performance from the veteran netminder.
Bear’s third goal of the season was his second game winner this year.
Sebastian Aho scored an empty-netter, his team-leading 25th of the season,(13th point in his last 13 games) and extended Carolina’s current win streak to three games.
Respect for the other side
“It was kind of one of those feelings where you know it’s not gonna be easy for us to score,” Raanta said of the Canes facing Kuemper, his former teammate in Arizona.
“I think he played unbelievable. He was dialed in. In the first period, he was probably the only reason why we didn’t score.”
After giving the puck away to Aho in the neutral zone to tuck away the Canes insurance empty-netter with 92 seconds remaining, Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog calmly summed up the game as competitive and fast.
Particularly so after being assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty due to exhibiting his frustration with the referees in missing a call earlier on the play.
“Fast game, for sure,” Landeskog said.
“They’re a fast team, and we’re a fast team. It was a good matchup. It was fun, it was physical. Two good teams going at it. Yeah, it was fun.
“He (Kuemper) did a great job of settling things down and keeping us in that game because they came out fast and hard in the first period.”
Colorado head coach Jared Bednar had equal praise for Carolina’s consistency in matching up with his team.
“They came out firing on all cylinders,” Bednar said.
“It’s a team that’s gonna shoot the puck from everywhere. I think they lead the league in shot attempts. And they were buzzin’ in their own building. They were a rested team, they came out hard.
“I thought it a well-played hockey game by both teams – highly competitive, lots of pace, not a lot of room to move. It was a good hockey game.”
Up next
Sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings at 40-12-5, the Hurricanes face off against the Philadelphia Flyers at 3 p.m. on Saturday at PNC Arena.
Carolina has won its last six games at home, marking the team’s longest home win streak this season.
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