David Ayres sounds warning siren for Canes but Stars win game 4-1
David Ayres did his part, again.
Sounding the warning siren before the Carolina Hurricanes’ game against the Dallas Stars at PNC Arena, the world’s most famous emergency goalie gave it a good, hard crank. Canes fans loved it. It was soon time to drop the puck.
But the Stars, not the Canes, took it from there. They scored three times on Canes goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in the first period and glided to a 4-1 victory, preventing Ayres from getting into a postgame Storm Surge celebration.
Sebastian Aho scored his 36th goal of the season in the second period, extending his point streak to 13 games. But that’s all Stars goalie Anton Khudobin allowed, making 40 saves in beating the Canes for the second time this season.
Ayres was the man of the moment Saturday night in Toronto. When Canes goalies James Reimer and then Petr Mrazek left the game with injuries, in came Ayres, a designated emergency goalie at Leafs home games. The Canes won 6-3, everyone wildly celebrated and Ayres became an instant celebrity.
“He’s a miracle worker,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Invited to Raleigh by the Canes, Ayres had another media blitz during the day and good seats after sounding the siren. But the Canes were missing the desperation that showed in playing in front of him Saturday.
The Canes (35-23-4) went into the game two points out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference. At this point of the season, a regulation defeat is a dagger loss.
It was first game after the NHL trade deadline for the Canes, with forward Vincent Trocheck and defenseman Brady Skjei making their Carolina debuts. Both had a few rough moments in the first period — a turnover by Skjei on his first shift resulted in a Tyler Seguin goal for the Stars 51 seconds into the game, and Trocheck had an offensive-zone tripping penalty that resulted in a power-play score by Roope Hintz., who also had two assists.
“It’s tough when you get new guys in and throw a lot at them, whole systems,” Brind’Amour said after the morning skate. “We brought in really quality people here so I’m pretty excited about that. We know they’re good hockey players but whole new systems for them and I don’t want to expect too much out of them.”
Skjei, obtained from the New York Rangers, was in the top defensive pairing with Jaccob Slavin, who played his offside. Like Trocheck, he had some good offensive looks, joining the rush when the opportunity was there and showing some speed.
“I thought things for me personally settled down after the first few shifts,” Skjei said. “I was trying not to think too much and just play the game and thought as the game went on I played better. A few tough bounces on some of the goals but I’m really impressed with this team and the work ethic and the trust the guys have in each other.”
Trocheck was acquired from Florida in a deal that sent centers Erik Haula and Lucas Wallmark and two prospects to the Panthers. The veteran center was put in Haula’s slot on the third line between wingers Nino Niederreiter and Martin Necas.
“They make plays. It was a lot of fun to play with those two,” Trocheck said. “They both have great vision. They work hard, they get on the forecheck. I had chances I should have buried.”
Skjei and Trocheck both were used on the penalty kill, getting sticks on pucks, making some plays. Trocheck also was used on the power play.
“The first games are always tough, especially when you don’t really know our systems that well,” Brind’Amour said. “But I thought they looked really good.”
With Reimer and Mrazek sidelined, the Canes recalled Nedeljkovic and Anton Forsberg from the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. Forsberg has 45 games of NHL experience but Brind’Amour went with Nedeljkovic, a former Canes draft pick who was the AHL goaltender of the year in 2018-19.
Seguin scored quickly, following up his own shot, for the Stars (37-20-6),
“It’s tough when you’re chasing the game the rest of the night,” Nedeljkovic said. “They had a few good bounces and they capitalized on them.”
Hintz slipped past defenseman Joel Edmundson, another D-man playing his offside, and backhanded a shot for the second goal. Jason Dickinson finished off the first-period scoring, burying a sharp carom off the end boards, and Denis Gurianov had a second-period goal on a good shot from the slot for a 4-1 lead.
“We generated quite a few opportunities but just had a few too many Grade-A mistakes,” Brind’Amour said. “All in all I was not disappointed in that game. I liked the way we came and stuck to our game plan. We just couldn’t find a way to get more in.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 9:38 PM with the headline "David Ayres sounds warning siren for Canes but Stars win game 4-1."
