RALEIGH, N.C. — It was just the way the Carolina Hurricanes wanted to head into the NHL All-Star break.
The Canes outlasted the San Jose Sharks 2-1 Sunday at PNC Arena for a fourth straight victory, getting the winning goal from Andrei Svechnikov with 3:46 left in regulation. Outfighting defenseman Brett Burns in front of the net, Svechnikov swept in a loose puck for his 16th goal of the season.
Goalie Frederik Andersen took it from there and will head to Las Vegas for the 2022 All-Star Game with 24 wins for the Canes, who sit in first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 31-9-2 record and 64 points.
Andersen will join Canes center Sebastian Aho at the All-Star Game next weekend competing for the Metro Division team coached by Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour.
The Canes’ Vincent Trocheck scored 4:36 into Sunday’s game for a 1-0 lead. The two teams then spent a lot of time hunting the next goal before forward Rudolfs Balcers tied it 1-1 for the Sharks at 3:36 of the third period.
Andersen finished with 27 saves and had fans chanting “Fred-die, Fred-die”after being named the game’s first star.
Goalie James Reimer, who helped the Canes reach the playoffs the past two seasons, was making his return to PNC Arena with the Sharks. He also was coming off a Saturday road game against Florida in which he faced 50 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Panthers.
Reimer was beaten on Trocheck’s shot from the top of the slot but was sharp enough after that. Trocheck jumped off the bench on a change, grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone and used Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic as a partial screen when he released the shot.
Both teams were in the second game of a back-to-back and neither found any real offensive rhythm. The puck was bouncing, neutral-zone turnovers being made and open ice or uncontested shots hard to find.
While the Sharks (22-20-3) were on the road Saturday, the Canes outlasted the New Jersey Devils 2-1 Saturday at PNC Arena as Antti Raanta was given the start in net and Andersen sat and watched.
Through the first two periods Sunday, the crowd might have been at its loudest midway through the first. The Sharks’ Jeffrey Viel shoved the Canes’ Andrei Svechnikov as the two were leaving the ice on a change and they tumbled and fell through an open door at the Sharks bench.
Viel received four minutes for roughing and Svechnikov two minutes but the Canes could not convert on the power play.
Andersen made some nice pad saves in tight on Viel, Tomas Hertl and Matt Nieto in the first. Reimer was tested on a few one-timers but was burned only by Trocheck, who scored his 11th of the season.
One of Reimer’s best saves came moments after Balcers scored for the Sharks early in the third, Balcers dragging the puck and outwaiting Andersen before shooting. The Canes’ Jesper Fast had a good look to Reimer’s right but the goalie quickly made the stop.
The Canes had some strong forechecking shifts in the third as Brind’Amour stuck with lines he tweaked in the third period Saturday against the Devils. Reimer kept his cool and made the saves until Svechnikov jumped on the rebound.
A year ago, the Canes had Reimer, Petr Mrazek and Alex Nedeljkovic as their goaltenders. They signed Andersen and Raanta for this season and now have beaten Nedeljkovic, now with Detroit, and Reimer in their return games.
