RALEIGH, NC– The brass band rocked, the sold-out crowd celebrated and the Carolina Hurricanes had an unforgettable experience at their first outdoor game.
The Hurricanes scored early and rolled and defeated the Washington Capitals 4-1 in front of a crowd of 56,961 on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in the Navy Federal Credit Union’s 2023 NHL Stadium Series.
“I don’t think it could be better, so I’m glad we got one,” said Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour. “If we never get one again, that’s fine because that was very special.”
Video: [email protected]: Stastny gives Hurricanes a 2-0 lead
Martin Necas had a goal and two assists, and linemates Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Teuvo Teravainen each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (37-10-8), who play the North Carolina State University Marching Band from their north seats heard Endzone after every goal Carolina scored. Frederik Andersen made 24 saves and had one assist.
The Hurricanes have won three straight games and are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games through Jan. 12, including a 3-2 win at the Capitals on Tuesday.
“It was something we all will never forget and of course it feels a lot better when you win,” Necas said. “Every second of it was time you enjoy. You try to focus on the game but you still feel the fans and the energy. It was my first outdoor game and it was amazing.”
Tom Wilson scored after missing the previous seven games with a lower body injury, and Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves for the Capitals (28-24-6).
Washington lost their fourth game in a row, all right. The last three came without captain Alex Ovechkin, who is retiring from the team following the death of his father Mikhail.
The Capitals lost an outdoor game for the first time (3-1-0).
“I think the only answer to getting our swagger back is to get wins, and to get wins now we have to play playoff style,” Washington forward TJ Oshie said. “We miss the big man [Ovechkin]we miss (defender) John [Carlson]. We have to play playoff-style hockey with the lineup we have to win games.”
Video: [email protected]: Necas rips a PPG for a 3-0 lead in 2nd
Carolina became the 28th team to play an outdoor game; the Arizona Coyotes, Seattle Kraken, Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers are the four who haven’t.
It was the NHL’s 37th outdoor game, 22nd in a football stadium, and 13th in the Stadium Series. Home teams are 18-16-3 and the team to score first is 20-12-5.
The Hurricanes did so, taking a 1-0 lead at 2-11 of the first period thanks to Kotkaniemi’s goal. He sliced into the net from the left, punched Matt Irwin in the slot and knocked Teravainen’s pass out of the right circle.
“In a game like this you want to get the crowd involved, you want to get your team involved and try to take the pressure off,” said Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal. “A great start to the game and second place was a good feeling. I thought we pushed hard in that second and controlled the game from there.”
Video: [email protected]: Teravainen finishes up and down in 2nd place
The Hurricanes scored three goals on 12 shots and held a 31-10 advantage on shot attempts in the second half.
“They were the better team,” said Capitals coach Peter Laviolette. “They were faster. We couldn’t get escape speed out of our end. We couldn’t get through the neutral zone. They were quick on defense. We couldn’t get off the walls, couldn’t get forward. They were playing with a different gear and also won most of the fights.
Paul Stastny started for Carolina in the second game and gave it a 2-0 lead at 5:47 on the rebound of Jalen Chatfield’s shot.
“It’s another goal but it’s cool,” said Stastny. “Scoring a goal in a football stadium is always sweet.”
Neca’s power play goal gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead (8:48). He scored a one-timer from the left circle after a pass from Brent Burns.
Teravainen made it 4-0 at 11:17 by scoring a give-and-go with Necas. Andersen started the game with a long pass to Teravainen.
“I thought we got through the first period well,” said Laviolette. “It still wasn’t good. We didn’t push it offensively as much as we would have liked. But we got out of there.”
Video: [email protected]: Kotkaniemi kicks off Stadium Series scoring
Wilson cut it down to 4-1 at 10:32 of the third period with a swirling forehand shot from the bottom of the left circle that went through the legs of Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei.
But the Andersen and the Hurricanes wrapped it up from there to put the finishing touches on one of the most memorable nights in team history.
“The weather was incredible,” said Staal, “the venue and the lights, it was just really cool and something I’ll never forget being a part of. Just a great night.”
REMARKS: Capitals forward Lars Eller played his 926th NHL game, the most among Danish-born players. He passed Frans Nielsen. … The Hurricanes become the 15th team to win in their first outdoor game. …North Carolina becomes the ninth U.S. state to host a Stadium Series game (California, Colorado, New York and Pennsylvania twice each; Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Tennessee once each). … Necas has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his last 11 games. … Kotkaniemi has goals in consecutive games and three in his last four. … Hurricanes video coach Chris Huffine, who has been on the team since arriving in North Carolina from Hartford, Connecticut, in 1997-98, joined the coaching staff on the bench at Brind’Amour’s request for the third period. Huffine typically watches and documents games from a video room, never from the bench. … It was 43.5 degrees when the puck was released.
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