Aho, Teravainen lead Hurricanes to big win over Bruins on Whalers Night

Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins was important for a variety of reasons.

For starters, the Hurricanes had started 1-2-1 on their crucial 5-game homestand and had just fallen below NHL .500 against the Pittsburgh Penguins less than 20 hours before hand.

Also, it was a special night as they honored the history of the franchise. The Canes were green-jersey clad on Whalers Night against their old northeast rival, the Bruins.

An early Micheal Ferland cross-check to the face of David Backes gave the Bruins their first man-power advantage of the evening, and they were able to make it count.

Rookie Ryan Donato got credit for the PPG after a loose puck in the crease deflected off of Trevor van Riemsdyk and behind Petr Mrazek.

Just a few moments later, the Hurricanes got a power play of their own. After 1:03 of sustained pressure, they drew another penalty and were gifted with 57 seconds of a 5-on-3 which they promptly squandered.

Like clockwork, less than 20 seconds after the expiration of Carolina’s power play, the Bruins scored again. Steven Kampfer one-timed a floater from the point and Mrazek couldn’t detect it through traffic in front. Just like that, it was 2-0.

The Hurricanes needed an early Christmas gift to get back into the game, and they were lucky enough to get one.

From behind the goal line, Teuvo Teravainen threw the puck to the front of the net and Charlie McAvoy accidentally swatted it into his own goal. Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho got the helpers on Teravainen’s seventh goal of the season.

Through 20 minutes, the Bruins had a 2-1 lead over the Hurricanes.

A late-first-period penalty carried over into the second period, and the Canes’ PK had to keep the game close. Instead of keeping the game close, they just went ahead and tied the score. Teravainen forced a turnover in the Boston zone and found Aho all by himself in front of Tuuka Rask. Aho’s shot snuck through Rask’s pads and just barely got over the goal line.

Less than six minutes later, Fishy did it again.

On a quick transition, Teravainen found Aho streaking through the slot, and Aho sniped his second goal of the night home to give the Hurricanes their first lead of the hockey game at 3-2.

Just over four and a half minutes later, Justin Faulk added an insurance marker. After a face-off win, the Carolina alternate captain shot the puck through traffic in front and the puck found its way home. It was Faulk’s first goal in 26 games.

Before the closing of the second period, Boston got one back.

Donato deposited his second of the game with just 3:55 left in the middle frame to cut the Carolina lead in half to 4-3 entering the second intermission.

Donato kept causing problems for the Hurricanes in the third period. He nearly put them on a highlight reel after he danced through the defense and had a chance to score the game-tying goal. Instead, he was hooked and the Bruins went on the power play.

Just like earlier, this power play didn’t end like the road team wanted it to.

Teravainen scored his second goal of the night after Rask misplayed a puck and made an unreal hat-trick-stealing save on Aho. That marked two short-handed goals from the Canes’ dynamic Finnish duo on Sunday.

That goal made it a 5-3 games and let Canes fans in the building exhale.

Fun was had for the remainder of the third period. The Hurricanes salted away a huge win over a very good Bruins team on Whalers Night.

Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen both fin(n)ished with two goals and four total points. They had a banner night and were the driving forces behind the win. Petr Mrazek had a solid night, providing support for the Canes when they needed it.

It wasn’t a great homestand for the Hurricanes, but with the win they finished it at 2-2-1. Could have been better. Could have been worse. They are back at NHL .500, as well, at 15-15-5.

It was a fun night and an important win for the Canes. They’re going to have to kick things up a notch after the holiday break if they want to stay in the playoff picture, though.

Postgame Quotes

Sebastian Aho

[On what the difference was between last night and tonight] I felt like the whole team was in the game and everyone played really well

[On the team’s fight after falling behind 2-0] Yeah, I think that was huge. Down 2-0 and, I’m sure, you kinda start to get those thoughts in your head; “Oh God, this again?”. It was really good to see (us) come back from behind 2-0 against a good team.

[On the Whalers uniforms] Yeah, it fit well. (laughs) I liked it.

[On how getting the bounces to go your way can influence your confidence] Obviously, when you’re scoring, you get more confidence. That’s how it goes. Maybe, it’s a little bit easier to score when you’re (getting the good bounces). I’m feeling pretty good right now, but it’s not just me. I think my line-mates are helping me out a lot.

[On playing with Svechnikov] Yeah, he’s a great kid. Like I said, I’ve liked every guy I’ve played with this year. He was really good.

[On the post game celebration] We were whales... Not my idea. I don’t know whose idea it was, but you’re laughing so (it must’ve been good).

Justin Faulk

[On bouncing back after a bad start] Honestly, getting that ugly one (Teravainen’s first goal) got some of the weight off of our shoulders. I still don’t really know exactly how it went in, but I think when that happened there was some life. You could hear the mood on the bench change a little. Obviously, being down by two is tough. I don’t think we were right there, mentally, but we got the bounce and we got some life and we were able to feed off of that a little bit.

[On how big his goal was] I don’t know. Maybe I don’t feel it the way... I’m not throwing the monkey off my back like Foeges (Warren Foegele) and kick it or punt it. Whatever he did. But yeah, it’s nice. Obviously, any time we can get a goal, as a group, and build on a lead and get a two-goal lead, that’s huge. You go up by one and you’re not too sure, and then the old saying is “the two-goal lead is the worst (lead) in hockey”, but I’ll still take two over one.

[On the atmosphere in the building] Yeah, I got a text this afternoon from an old friend who used to suit up (play) here. He asked me what the chant was going to be. Would it be “go Canes” or “go Whalers”? At first, to be honest, the first one I heard was “go Bruins” and I wasn’t really sure if that was going to continue, but then the group of fans came together and I heard “let’s go Whalers” throughout the night. That was fun. It’s fun when the crowd can get into it. That’s what we want. We want to provide a type of game for them to enjoy and create an atmosphere that’s fun for them, as well.

[On the importance of the win] Yeah, after the last (stretch of games), it was tough on us. The guys were feeling it. We were pretty unhappy and embarrassed, as a group. I don’t think anyone in here was comfortable with our performance or the product we (put out on the ice) over the last little bit. We always say, “we need something to build on” and hopefully this (win against the Bruins) provides that. We don’t have to sit on (the loss) at home and be grumpy during the holiday.

Rod Brind’Amour

[On how the bounces went their way] It wasn’t that way early. It felt like the same old thing was going to happen. They got kind of a weird one to start the game, it bounced around and then we got down 2-0 and were actually playing fine. The guys really dug in, and they didn’t hang their heads. They just kept at it and then we got a break to get on the scoresheet. We banged one in off their (defenseman) in front and that hasn’t happened much this year, so it was nice to see.

{On how his team bounced back after yesterday’s loss] They prepared today. They had their own little chat and it really got them ready. You could see they were engaged, even when we got down, and that was nice to see. (High) level of engagement for 60 minutes, it was there. Obviously, you’re playing a high-end team with some high-end talent and they’re going to have their moments, and they did, but we just kept battling and we got the win.