Recap: Kotkaniemi, Kochetkov Lift Canes To Third Straight Win

DALLAS - Two goals from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and 22 saves from Pyotr Kochetkov helped the Carolina Hurricanes take a 2-1 decision over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Tuesday. The Canes have now won three straight contests, including two in the last two nights.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

It took nearly 40 minutes for two of the best defensive teams in the NHL to find the game's first goal, and fortunately for Carolina, it came off the stick of Kotkaniemi at 17:07 of the second stanza. Scoring for the second straight game, Carolina's #82 took a seam pass from Martin Necas before wiring a wrist shot under the crossbar from the right circle.

The Stars mounted a third-period push and tied the game midway through the frame, but Kotkaniemi responded 24 seconds later as he redirected a Sean Walker centering pass for his second go-ahead goal of the contest.

Kochetkov stymied the Stars' remaining opportunities to earn his second consecutive win between the pipes and extend his personal point streak to four games (3-0-1).

Stats & Standouts

• After becoming the fastest coach to 300 wins last month, Rod Brind'Amour notched his 500th game behind the bench on Tuesday. His 307 wins are the most by any head coach in NHL history through their first 500 games.
• Getting the game's first goal has been a challenge for Carolina as of late, but tonight they were able to check that box. It was just the eighth time in 26 games since American Thanksgiving that they held a 1-0 advantage.
• Tuesday's win marked the fourth career multi-goal game for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and his first since Mar. 14, 2023. The 24-year-old Finn is up to nine goals on the year, including three in his last two outings.
• The victory was Carolina's second of the season with two or fewer goals scored, having gone 1-12-1 to date when scoring at that rate. Meanwhile, the Stars had entered the game with a perfect 26-0 record when holding opponents to two or fewer goals.
• With assists on both of his team's goals, Martin Necas posted his 16th multi-point game of the campaign - tied for 10th-most among all NHLers.

They Said It...

Brent Burns on there not being a lot of opportunity to create offense, but the Canes still finding a way...

"We knew that they play a hard game. There's not a lot of room and they're obviously one of the top teams for a reason. We expected that. After the second period, shots were 10-10 (13-11*). It seemed a little more exciting, a little more back-and-forth than that, but we knew they're a very detailed team, obviously. Pete (DeBoer) takes control of a team and gets them dialed in, so we expected that."

Rod Brind'Amour on what he saw from Kotkaniemi, his line, and Pyotr Kochetkov tonight...

"Noticable on the offense, which is great. That was a great shot there on the one goal and driving the net, being heavy [on the other]. He's a big kid. When you get him doing that kind of stuff, he's very noticeable. I thought that line was probably our best line, in general. They were pretty solid. Obviously, our goaltending was great tonight. That's the difference."

Rod Brind'Amour shedding more light on Kochetkov...

"He had three or four [big saves]. Really, it was the same story as last night, where you've got a guy all alone in front and he was able to shut it down for us. That's the position. We talk about it over and over and over. If our guy can be better than the other guy at the other end, we're usually in good shape."

What's Next?

The Canes will travel back to Raleigh immediately and are scheduled to be off on Wednesday. They'll return to action Thursday night against Columbus.

Next Game: Thursday, Jan. 23 vs. Columbus | 7:00 p.m. | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights