New Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stuffs Hurricanes, snaps Carolina’s point streak
The Carolina Hurricanes suffered through a 3-1 loss Saturday to the Minnesota Wild at PNC Arena.
The Canes had a hard time getting the puck past Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, getting plenty of shots but only a third-period goal from Teuvo Teravainen.
The Canes’ usually reliable penalty killers allowed a goal, the fifth power-play score Carolina has given up in the past five games.
Teravainen was left bloodied after being hit in the mouth by a puck in the second period, although he did return in the third to score.
The Wild (42-20-5), winning for the second time this season over Carolina, ran its point streak to nine games while ending the Canes’ point streak at six games.
It was that kind of night and game for the Canes (45-16-8), the Metropolitan Division leaders. In a matchup of two of the league’s best teams, with a crowd of 16,375 on hand, the Wild was the better team as Fleury outplayed Canes goalie Frederik Andersen.
Fleury was terrific in his 19th career win over Carolina. A trade-deadline pickup by the Wild from the Chicago Blackhawks, the future Hockey Hall of Famer pushed his record to 3-0-0 since coming to Minnesota.
The Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov continued to do what he does best — collect points. The dynamic winger had a goal and an assist, beating Andersen in the third with a filthy tight-angled shot for his 39th of the season and a 3-0 lead.
Teravainen’s goal, his 18th, came off a nice feed from Sebastian Aho. But Fleury stopped everything else, with a potential Canes goal in the final minute of regulation overruled for goaltender interference.
Mats Zuccarello had the power-play score in the first period for the Wild, whipping a shot from the top of the slot that Andersen couldn’t track for his 20th of the season. He also assisted on the Kaprizov goal.
The Wild made it 2-0 in the second after snuffing out a Canes power play. Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov jumped out of the penalty box and soon was filling the left wing on a rush into the zone, beating Anderson with a shot from the left circle.
The Canes had two near-misses in the first that could have made a difference.
Forward Jesper Fast redirected a shot that appeared to hit Fleury in the pads, the puck skidding just wide of the post. Late in the period, Martin Necas ripped a shot from the left wing off the rush that found metal.
The Canes tested Fleury with 15 shots in the second period, from all angles, but the veteran goalie was flawless, showing the form that made him the Vezina Trophy winner last season with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Wild, playing the first game of a four-game road trip, did its part defensively, getting in shooting lanes, blocking shots, clearing the zone, keeping tight gaps. But Fleury was the star of the game.
