Recap: Andersen, Canes Stymie San Jose For Sunday Victory

RALEIGH, NC. -The Carolina Hurricanes earned their fourth victory in six days Sunday, shutting down the San Jose Sharks for a 2-1 victory.

THREE THINGS:
1) The Canes Found A Way To Win
Was the early evening affair the most exhilarating game of the season for the Canes? No. Was it the type of contest that the team will have to try and find way to win in the playoffs? Definitely.
San Jose plays a very structured, defensive style, leading to a limited amount of offensive chances for their opposition. It felt tight through. A chess match, if you will.
Vincent Trocheck was able to capitalize after scooping up a loose puck at center during the first period, but then for the next 50 minutes James Reimer was locked in, snagging the next 20 shots faced. Carolina wasn't able to create and generate the way that they've seen them at times this season, however, they found a way to get it done with Andrei Svechnikov putting home the game-winner inside the final five minutes of regulation.

2) Yet Another Outstanding Goaltender Performance
In three of the Canes four wins this week goaltending could be highlighted as one of, if not the biggest reason for victory. Thursday night in Ottawa Frederik Andersen stopped 37 of 39, plus three more in the shootout. Saturday against New Jersey Antti Raanta turned away 24 of 25. Today? More of the same, as Andersen stuffed 26 of 27 attempts by the Sharks.
So often in the hockey world we hear that all you can ask of a goaltender is for them to give you a chance to win. Lately the duo has done just that.
Andersen now heads to Vegas for the All-Star game tied for the league-lead in wins and third with his .929 save percentage (SV%).
3) Headed To The Break On Top
While some NHL teams will play up until Wednesday, the Canes will get an early jump on their All-Star break, which began effective immediately post-game for the crew.
Some will spend the time with family, some will get out of town and step away from the game a bit, and either option is well deserved. With a record of 31-9-2, which currently places them atop the Metropolitan Division, Rod Brind'Amour made sure to give his team a ton of credit in speaking about the victory, but was also quick to say that this race is only halfway through and that there is a whole new race after that.

They Said It:
Vincent Trocheckoffering a thought on his team being able to pull out a win in a game like today:
"This is the kind of atmosphere you have in the playoffs. The tight 1-0, 2-1 games. To have these back-to-back, that's the way we want to play, those are the games we want to win. We want to win the games 3-2, 2-1, keep the puck out of our net as much as we possibly can. Tonight's game was a good example of how we want to play."
Andrei Svechnikov on the effort of his netminder today:
"It's a huge confidence boost for Freddie. I don't even know what to say, Thursday in Ottawa] I said he is a superstar. He's playing really well and he's going to keep doing that. Obviously we're confident with him."
***Rod Brind'Amour***sharing his thoughts on his team going four-for-four this week, in six days:
"You look at every game on an individual basis. I felt like we had our ups and downs in there, like you're going to, but I felt like every game there was a different story, a different guy stepped up. Different guys played well to get us wins and I thought everyone contributed, especially tonight."
**What's Next?:**
The All-Star break! The team, sans Sebastian Aho, Frederik Andersen and Rod Brind'Amour will be off for the entire upcoming week. The three All-Stars will be back in action Friday for the league's Skills Competition.
Bonus Notes:
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