Hurricanes blank Red Wings to clinch berth in Stanley Cup Playoffs

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Frederik Andersen made 24 saves, and the Carolina Hurricanes clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings at PNC Arena on Thursday.

The Hurricanes have qualified for the playoffs in all six seasons under coach Rod Brind'Amour.

“It’s unfortunate it gets overlooked a little because of where we sit,” Brind’Amour said. “You forget how hard that is to accomplish, and to do that with (eight) games left. That’s impressive, and these guys deserve credit for that. It’s a huge accomplishment.”

Carolina remained three points behind the New York Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout on Thursday.

Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis each had a goal and two assists for the Hurricanes (46-21-7), who are 10-2-1 in their past 13 games. Jake Guentzel had two assists.

It was Andersen’s second shutout of the season and 26th in the NHL. He has won all seven of his starts since returning on March 7 from a blood clotting issue that caused him to miss 50 games.

“We took it to them. We were ready to play,” Andersen said. “We didn’t really get rewarded in the first period, but obviously we did in the second. We got a nice lead and hung onto it.”

James Reimer made 29 saves for the Red Wings (36-30-7), who have lost three straight and 11 of their past 14 (3-10-1).

Detroit remained two points behind the Washington Capitals for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Washington lost 5-1 at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Red Wings forwards Patrick Kane and Austin Czarnik were each scratched with an illness.

“We knew we were going to be up against it tonight,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “Where our lineup was, to have that happen to you right before the game is kind of a stinger. That’s a tough team to play (with) 11 forwards with the pace they play at.”

Aho gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 4:42 of the second period. Guentzel took a short pass from Jarvis and made a cross-ice backhand pass to Aho for a redirection at the left post.

The goal was Aho's 250th in the NHL.

“I get to play with great players and play high minutes and the power play,” Aho said. “So, I expect myself to produce. It’s always nice to score goals and get points, but I try to look at my game a little differently, like how do I do all three zones in the game and if I’m on it. Obviously, tonight was a good game and that’s why we were able to get scoring chances.”

Jarvis extended it to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 5:39. Aho carried the puck over the blue line and fed Jarvis for a wrist shot between Reimer’s blocker and body.

"Momentum is huge, so when you score like that to kick it off, you always want to get the next one,” Jarvis said. “We did a good job of sticking with it for the most part and making it tough to come back.”

Martin Necas pushed it to 3-0 at 10:46 with a one-timer after Evgeny Kuznetsov passed through the legs of Detroit forward Robby Fabbri across the slot.

Brady Skjei made it 4-0 at 16:23, skating the length of the ice before scoring on his own rebound with a sharp-angle shot from the left face-off circle.

“I think we’ve done a good job of cementing ourselves as a top team in this League,” Jarvis said. “Making the playoffs is one thing, but we have a bigger goal in mind. It’s a good start, but we’ve got a lot of stuff to take care of.”

NOTES: Aho has 83 points (32 goals, 51 assists) this season, tying his career high. … Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov played in his 400th NHL game (129 goals, 181 assists).