Recap: Smith's Game-Winner Caps Canes Victory Over St. Louis

RALEIGH, NC -The Carolina Hurricanes capped off a back-to-back set at PNC Arena Saturday night with a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

The Big Moment
The biggest moment of the entire evening came with just a shade under three minutes remaining in regulation, tied at a 2-2 contest. The Canes had unfortunately let go of a third period lead for the second consecutive night and were now just mere minutes from heading to overtime. Friday night against Philadelphia two goals in 6:14 sealed the Canes' fate, giving them no points in the standings despite playing a strong game for 40+ minutes. A similar result tonight would have severely dampened the gusto surrounding a team that entered the home set 10-1, coming off of a victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion earlier in the week.
It was then when first-year Cane Brendan Smith received a pass at the left side of the point from Tony DeAngelo, where he'd then wind up and fire, beating St. Louis Blues rookie netminder Joel Hofer to put his team ahead and send the PNC Arena crowd into a celebratory mode. There was a strong sense of tensity in the air for the 16 minutes between Smith's eventual game-winner and the game-tying goal from Vladimir Tarasenko to start the period, and the Canes blueliner released that sensation with a positive spin for the home crowd.

Lyon's Debut
With Frederik Andersen having played the full 60 minutes against Philadelphia on Friday and Antti Raanta still unable to play after suffering his injury one week ago against Florida, Rod Brind'Amour and staff turned to 28-year-old Alex Lyon in net on Saturday.
Signed in the off-season to provide depth behind the two aforementioned goalies, Lyon had played 22 career NHL games over four seasons entering his first start with the Canes this evening.
Beginning his evening slowly with just six shots against in the opening period, the Yale product's workload increased as the evening went on and in the midst of a stretch of three minor penalties within nine minutes for the Canes during the second period, he was finally cracked for his first goal against on the night. In the first minute of the third, a second effort by the Blues made it a tied contest.
There was an evident push from the visiting side in the third, but Lyon hung in, shutting the door on all remaining shots from his opposition, bringing his night to 27 stops on 29 shots with a win at the end of the night.
What They Said About It:
Brendan Smithon his game-winning goal, which was also his first with the club:
"For me, it's really exciting. Anytime you score your first with the franchise you remember every play, who made the pass, everything about it. I remember my first one with the Red Wings, it's really thrilling, especially with it being the game-winner."
Alex Lyonfollowing the win, candidly:
"I feel good. I feel normal. I feel like every time I play up here it gets a little easier. Feeling like normal on the back end is a positive thing for me."
Rod Brind'Amouron the team being able to win a game with so much of the lineup in flux over the last 48 hours due to injuries and illnesses:
"Every team goes through it. There's team's that miss a bunch of guys and then find a way. Hockey is interesting in that sense, that you can certainly do that. Not long-term, I think it starts to show. Short-term, you can kind of grind it out with the guys you have. It was a gutsy effort."
Bonus Notes:

What's Next?:
The team has off on Sunday and will then practice Monday before departing for a near two-week road trip that will keep them away from PNC Arena until November 28. The trip includes games against Vegas, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle and Philadelphia.
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