The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 Thursday night at Honda Center to remain the last undefeated team in the NHL.
Frederik Andersen made 23 saves in the win, Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere each had three points and Alexander Nikishin scored his first NHL goal.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour, along with Andersen and Nikishin spoke with the media in Anaheim. Here’s what they had to say:
On the win: I thought our penalty kill was great tonight and when we had little breakdowns, Freddie was really good. It might have been one of the better games he’s played for us, because we needed it. There were a couple really good grade-As that they had and he was able to shut the door and allow us to cruise through it. Special teams though was probably the difference in the game.
On the power play cashing in: It was weird. [The power play] was spotty, but it was a huge goal for us at the time, and [Jarvis] with a rocket shot. It was all just talent there. Blake made a nice play too. It’s slowly coming. We need that group to be a little more dynamic, but overall, we’ll take the two points, for sure.
On Alexander Nikishin’s growth: Well you definitely know the talent is there. We talk about it all the time. It’s the NHL. It’s a really tough league to just get thrown into and with learning the language, but I really think he’s just scratching the surface. There’s a lot of raw ability there and that was a big goal to kind of put the game away.
On the team already looking ‘tremendous’: Well, I appreciate that. I don’t know if I would totally agree with you, but especially with Jaccob Slavin out, our best defender… he’s a huge part of what we’re doing. There’s a lot of good, but there’s a lot of room to get better for our group.
On starting the road trip off with two wins: You’re hitting teams that everybody predicts to be right there at the end, so we had to get a couple wins in here, which is huge, but they all count the same. This time of year, all 82 games, you have to get off to a good start, which we have, so it’s nice to get those points in the bank.
On the game: I definitely thought special teams was good. The D was great today and it was fun to see Niki get his first goal too. That was awesome. But yeah, I thought we were just continuing to build on what we had going on in San Jose and how we ended that game. Good team win.
On playing in Anaheim: I don’t know what it is, but I’m obviously pretty familiar with the rink. That always helps, but I just try to focus in on getting on a little bit of a roll and settling in better. Felt good today.
On the keys to the team’s 4-0 start: I think we’re still building. We know we can better in certain areas, but I think we’re looking at it in a positive way and continuing to move forward, I think we know there’s going to be some ups and downs, so it’s nice to bank some points early, especially on this long road trip. It’s a good start.
On the keys to the team’s hot start: [Nikishin] I think every day, work, block shot, forecheck and shots on goal.
On scoring his first NHL goal: [translated by Andrei Svechnikov] He said, ‘The goal was amazing.’ Obviously a special moment for him.
On how the team has welcomed him in: [translated by Andrei Svechnikov] He said he’s very happy when the boys help him out like that and when they’re getting excited. He’s pretty happy, yeah.
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