Nedeljkovic, Red Wings shut out Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. --Alex Nedeljkovic made 46 saves to help the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 at PNC Arena on Thursday.

Nedeljkovic, who was acquired by the Red Wings from the Hurricanes on July 22, 2021, is 2-1-0 in three starts against his former team with a 2.30 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. His shutout was his third this season and sixth in the NHL.
"Any time you can get a shutout in this League it's always special, so maybe tonight it was a little bit more," Nedeljkovic said.
Moritz Seider, Adam Erne and Filip Zadina scored for the Red Wings (29-35-10), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games.
"I thought our guys battled hard," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "We didn't do everything perfect, obviously. 'Ned' was outstanding. And good for him, by the way. I know this one meant a lot to him."
Antti Raanta made 19 saves for the Hurricanes (48-19-8), who are two points ahead of the New York Rangers for first in the Metropolitan Division.
"We want to finish first," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "That's what we set out to do for these 82 games. We still want to accomplish that. It made it a little tough for tonight, but that's still what we're trying to do."

Seider made it 1-0 with 13 seconds remaining in the second period off a Dylan Larkin drop pass just as time expired on Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce's tripping penalty.
"I think there's a lot of areas where he could continue to get better," Blashill said of Seider. "One of the areas is, if [he] can become an elite power-play guy. Running a power play is different than being an elite power-play guy. He's got offense for sure. I just think it's the overall game that ultimately will separate him."
Erne made it 2-0 at 3:01 of the third period when he tucked a backhand inside the right post off the rebound of Mitchell Stephens' shot from along the goal line.
Zadina extended the lead to 3-0 at 13:33 from the top of the right face-off circle.
Carolina outshot Detroit 11-4 in the first period. Nedeljkovic then made 18 saves in the second, including a sliding pad save on Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter's shot from the right circle at 13:16.
"That's the way you want to do it," Brind'Amour said. "If you're going to get zero (goals), at least put up (46) shots. Tip your hat and move on."

Carolina was 0-for-3 on the power play with two shots on goal.
"It is frustrating," forward Sebastian Aho said. "Those scoring chances, you're supposed to score enough goals to win a hockey game. Ned played really well. No reason to panic. But, learn from these and be a little bit sharper when we get those chances."
NOTES:Seider's goal ended a 24-game drought. … Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi was minus-1 and had one hit in 15:20 of ice time after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. He was the only Carolina player without a shot on goal. … Larkin has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past seven games. … In 23 games as a rookie with the Hurricanes last season, Nedeljkovic was 15-5-3 with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, given to the NHL's rookie of the year.