Recap: Canes' Quick Start Not Enough In Montreal

MONTREAL - A pair of goals in the opening 7:09 couldn't get the Carolina Hurricanes to two points on Tuesday, eventually falling 5-2 to the Montreal Canadiens.

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Bursting out of the gate once again, the Canes' power play, which struck three times en route to victory in Pittsburgh on Sunday, needed just 2:36 to keep their scoring streak going. An attempted pass from Nikolaj Ehlers to Seth Jarvis caught the stick of a Montreal defender and got past Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes to give the visitors an early lead.

Just a few shifts later, Jordan Staal doubled up the early advantage, and it was all Carolina through the first seven minutes and change.

But shortly thereafter, the tide of the contest completely flipped.

A redirection tally got the hosts on the board before the conclusion of the first period, and it was the start of what would be five unanswered goals for them. Building on their momentum in the second period, young stars Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky propelled their group into the lead, and in the third, an insurance marker from Ivan Demidov, coupled with a Jake Evans empty-netter, put a bow on the scoring.

Frederik Andersen's personal five-game win streak, as well as Carolina's bid for a perfect road trip, both came to an end in the defeat. At the other end of the ice, Dobes finished with 41 saves.

Stats & Standouts

• Nikolaj Ehlers' early power-play goal marked the fourth consecutive game with at least one conversion for the man advantage.
• Ehlers' 59th point of the season moves him to within five of his single-season career-high (64; 2016-17) with 11 regular-season games remaining.
• Jordan Staal's first-period marker was his 196th goal with the Hurricanes, tying Geoff Sanderson for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time list.
• Staal's goal was also his 18th of the season. His last 20-goal campaign was the 2015-16 season.
• Defenseman Charles Alexis Legault was recalled during the afternoon hours because Carolina had a few players "not feeling great." The "precautionary" recall wound up not being needed, though, and the 22-year-old was subsequently assigned back to Chicago (AHL) just before puck drop.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour giving his assessment of the contest...

"We played really, actually a solid game. We had a few mess-ups where we're right beside a guy, and we're not getting the sticks, and they tip them in, or tap them in. That was really the game. They had one breakaway. We kind of lost the puck there. Other than that, we were pretty solid. We've got to get more out of those periods where we were on it. Coming out of [the first period] only up one [is not enough.] You've got to get a little separation there."

Jordan Staal giving his point of view...

"We had a tough second [period] there. They had their push, and we didn't defend well enough to keep it out of our net. They got three quick ones, two in that period, and playing behind in this league is tough. We had our chances to tie it up. There (were) lots of chances, but we have to find a way to keep the puck out of our net if we want to win games against a team like that."

Rod Brind'Amour continuing on the defensive mishaps...

"We had a couple in our d-zone where we just weren't tight. We've got to get a little more juice in there and not give them a little bit of space, and it ended up in our net. Tough game, because I thought we probably deserved a little better, but it's a good lesson. You can't take breathers."

Jordan Staal touching on Montreal's hunger and ability to cash in on mistakes...

"They're a puck pressure team. (If) you make a quick turnover, they're going to make you pay. They did that tonight. It wasn't a terrible game; we had lots of looks, lots of chances to win the game. We've just got to find ways to defend better and make sure we keep the puck out of our end and out of our net."

Rod Brind'Amour talking about his message to the team, post-game...

"It's pretty clear. We know what we need to do to win; you can't let off the gas just for even a little bit. You can have nine shifts really good, but if that tenth one, you just decide, 'Ehh, I don't really need to do it.' That's the guy who taps it in on that one. It's those kinds of things. It's hard because, for the most part, we were really good tonight. Look at the score, and you're like, 'What just happened?' But, it wasn't that kind of game."

Rod Brind'Amour on turning the page and moving forward...

"If you want to look at the big picture, or the even bigger picture, we played really well for the most part. You've got to learn from these little mess-ups that we have and hopefully not repeat them."

Jordan Staal summarizing the road trip as a whole...

"It was a good road trip. A tough road trip. [We played] some good teams. I thought we were in every game and playing hard. We'll continue to build on it."

What's Next?

The Canes will fly home immediately post-game. They are scheduled to practice on Wednesday, be off on Thursday, practice again on Friday, and then return to game action on Saturday against the Devils.

Next Home Game: Saturday, March 28 vs. New Jersey | 5:00 p.m. ET | FDSNSO | Tickets | Parking