Nedeljkovic makes 24 saves, Hurricanes shut out Panthers

RALEIGH, N.C. --Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 3-0 win against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on Thursday.

Nedeljkovic's shutout was his third in 15 starts this season.
"That's the biggest thing right now, getting the wins," he said. "Obviously, you want to play well individually and guys want to do well for themselves, but at the end of the day, if we're winning games as a team and we're going far, we're all going to succeed."
Vincent Trocheck and Martin Necas each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (27-9-3), who have won three in a row and are 5-0-1 against the Panthers this season.
"I don't know that we were very good, but we worked hard and our defense really got in the way and made it tough for them to get a lot going on," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I like the fact that we found a different way to win tonight."
Chris Driedger made 19 saves for the Panthers (26-11-4), who were swept in the two-game set following a 5-2 loss here Tuesday.
"The games have all been close, but I wouldn't call this one close, for sure," Florida coach Joel Quenneville said. "They're a good hockey team. They don't give you much room and you've got to be ready to play that type of game."

Sebastian Aho gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 14:31 of the first period, scoring on a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Trocheck during a power play. The goal was Aho's 300th NHL point in his 349th game.
Trocheck made it 2-0 at 6:35 of the second period when his shot from a sharp angle hit the junction of the right post and crossbar, deflected in the air and landed on Driedger's back before going into the net. Trocheck has scored one goal in each of the six games against his former team this season.
"It looked pretty lucky," Trocheck said. "The hockey gods were on my side on that one. Luckily for me, it's going well right now."

Necas scored an empty-net goal with 52 seconds remaining for the 3-0 final.
The Panthers were 0-for-4 on the power play and are 0-for-11 in their past four games.
"I think Carolina does a really good job on their penalty kill," Florida forward Patric Hornqvist said. "They pressure us all over the ice, it's hard to settle down pucks. But at the same time, we have to get open for each other."
NOTES:Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov won 20 of 29 face-offs (68.9 percent). … Florida defenseman Brady Keeper made his season debut after being promoted from the taxi squad and had one hit in 9:28. … Trocheck has scored a point in 12 straight games he's played (seven goals, 10 assists); he missed eight in between with an upper-body injury. … Carolina is 14-2-3 at home.