Recap: Canes Cap Road Trip With 5-1 Win in Dallas

DALLAS - Less than 24 hours after punching their return ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes capped a six-game road trip with a 5-1 win against the Dallas Stars.
Jordan Staal (2g, 1a), Sebastian Aho (1g, 2a) and Andrei Svechnikov (3a) led the way offensively with three points apiece, while Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves on 28 shots, helping the Canes collect nine of a possible 12 points on the six-game swing.
"We're trying to win every game," Staal said. "Whatever these games mean at the end of the year, it's going to be important. We want to show up, play our style and stay sharp … to keep it rolling into playoffs."

HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY | STATISTICS

Fist Bumps

Jordan Staal
Justin Williams has cast his vote: "J. Staal for Selke,"

.
Who says no?
"Yeah, obviously. I've been saying it for a long time," head coach Rod Brind'Amour stumped. "You do have to have the numbers. I get it. Clearly he does. Hopefully he'll get his due."
Staal has put together a compelling body of work in his 15th career NHL season, and his first-star performance tonight underscored the type of campaign he's having. The captain tallied twice on the power play and added an assist for his third three-point night of the season.
On the Canes' first power play of the game, Andrei Svechnikov's shot deflected off Sebastian Aho's skate and right to Staal, who banged home his 15th goal of the season.

The Canes began the second period with 94 seconds of power-play time on fresh ice, and Staal made it count. Aho's shot skied over the net and off the glass before careening back into the slot where Staal knocked the puck in for second of the night on the man advantage.

In the third period, with the Canes comfortably ahead by three goals, Staal helped his team add insurance. From behind the net, he spun off Esa Lindell with ease before threading a pass to Nino Niederreiter for the tally.

"He's very good every night," Aho said. "He scored a couple goals, but his effort level and commitment and the way he grinds out there, it's every night. He never changes."
And what does Staal himself think of the Selke push?
"Willy is biased," he shyly smiled. "I'm happy with where I'm at and where the team is at. It's been a fun season."
Sebastian Aho
Just 61 seconds after Staal got the Canes on the board first, Aho doubled his team's lead.
As the bump-up shift following the power-play goal ended, the Canes rolled a line change and maintained puck possession in the offensive zone. Brett Pesce lined up a shot from the point, and Anton Khudobin kicked out a big rebound that Aho, fresh off the bench, skated right to and hammered in for his 21st goal of the season.

Max McCormick
After having not scored an NHL goal since Nov. 3, 2018, McCormick now has two in his last two games, both highlight-worthy. On Monday, he batted the puck out of midair and past Jake Oettinger. The next night, he cut to the net and received a gorgeous pass from Morgan Geekie before dangling around Khudobin for a slick backhander.

"Our four lines, everyone can score. You can't just pick one," Svechnikov said. "It's good to have that."

Turbo Boost

It's been a challenging season for Teuvo Teravainen. He played just three games before being placed on the COVID-19 protocol list. He returned to play nine more before suffering a concussion. He then played in just one of the Canes' next 33 games, as he wrestled with lingering concussion symptoms.
"He's been through a long year," Staal said. "It's not fun. It's not a fun injury, and you just want to get back out there."
Teravainen had been skating with the Canes on a regular basis, and after testing it out again on the ice on Tuesday morning, he gave the thumbs up. He was ready to get back into the lineup, and he was reunited with linemates Aho and Svechnikov.
"He looked fast," Aho said. "I felt like he was right in the game from the first shift. He's only going to get better from here."
"It was awesome to see him back out there," Staal said. "He's only going to get better, and he looked good already."
Teravainen logged one shot attempt, one hit and two blocked shots in 16:32 of ice time.
"All the guys were happy in the locker room to see him playing. I think he was really good today," Svechnikov said. "He was looking good, like always."

Stats Pack

2: Two power-play goals is a single-game career high for Staal.
10: This marked the 10th game of the season in which the Canes have scored multiple power-play goals.
49: With 49 points (21g, 28a) in 49 games, Aho has now equaled his point total from his 82-game rookie season (24g, 25a).

Quote of the Night

"We got to the game we wanted to play. Everyone was buying in, moving their feet and making the right, strong plays. It turned into some good stuff." - Jordan Staal

Up Next

It's time to head home, where the Canes will play five games in eight days against Detroit, Columbus and Chicago.