Beginning a stint of three games in four days, this evening's contest got off to an ugly start for Carolina.
The very first shot of the night found twine for Detroit, as Dominik Kubalik flew into the Canes' end with a head of steam and with a step on his defender, unleashed a shot past the blocker side on Frederik Andersen.
While it put Rod Brind'Amour's club behind the eight ball for the time being, the response over the next 19:01 was somewhat positive. The bulk of play was spent in Detroit's end and although the Canes weren't able to even the score in the first period, one could argue that it was a building block for what would come early in the second.
In the middle frame, it was Carolina's turn to score in the first minute, as Brent Burns then made it a 1-1 contest just 42 seconds in.
Adding to his already franchise record for points by a defensemen in a single season (55), the marker was the first of what would be two by Carolina's blue line in the second period.
3:36 after Burns' seeing-eye shot, Jaccob Slavin followed suit, fitting one home from the left point.
