RALEIGH — Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour called Pyotr Kochetkov the team’s player of the game in their 3-2 win over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights, but he also said Jordan Martinook’s effort on the winning goal was the play of the game.
It could be the play that defines a season.
With just over 14 minutes left in the game and Carolina clinging to a 2-1 lead, Martinook first slid on his stomach to deny a centering pass as two Vegas players drove the net.
He crashed into the boards, scrambled to his feet and denied another pass, blocking with his stick a Noah Hanifin feed that was earmarked for Ivan Barbashev for a backdoor tap-in.
“It’s Jordan Martinook,” Brind’Amour said of the play.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Martinook tracked down the puck in the corner and flipped it up ice to Seth Jarvis to set up a 2-on-1. Jarvis quickly gave the puck to Jordan Staal, who zipped a pass under the stick of Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo back to Jarvis. Jarvis lifted the puck over the stacked pads of Adin Hill (25 saves) for his second — and the deciding — goal of the night.
“I’m back with my two dads,” Jarvis said of playing with Martinook and Staal, “and it’s a lot of fun.”
Brind’Amour said of the line, “It’s as honest as they come and as hard working as they come.”
The Hurricanes couldn’t have gotten to that point without Kochetkov. Vegas dominated the opening 20 minutes, out-chancing Carolina 22-4 with 12 high-danger chances to the home team’s one.
The Hurricanes, however, came out unscathed thanks to Kochetkov, who made 13 saves in the first and 29 in all.
While Kochetkov’s first period was his best, his biggest save came in the second.
With Carolina down 1-0 after Tomas Hertl scored on a backhand at 4:22 of the middle frame, the Golden Knights had a chance to double their lead just before the midway point of regulation when Keegan Kolesar was awarded a penalty shot. Kochetkov, however, made a stand-up save on the attempt.
“I tried not to think about this, and I just (said) to myself, ‘no poke check this time,’” Kochetkov said. “I just tried to save it, and I’m happy (I did) it.”
“There’s a bunch you can pick,” Brind’Amour said of Kochetkov’s saves on the night. “The penalty shot … he played it perfect.”
Two and a half minutes later, Carolina tied the game.
The trio of Staal, Martinook and Jarvis cycled the puck below the Vegas goal line and then worked it to the point. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin’s shot was partially blocked, but Martinook took two backhanded hacks at the puck and centered it in front, where Jarvis got position on Pietrangelo and banged a shot past Hill at 11:57 of the second.
“He was evident all over the ice tonight,” Jarvis said of Martinook.
Carolina took the lead 46 seconds into the third period when Jackson Blake’s attempted pass to Andrei Svechnikov was deflected in the net off Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin for a 2-1 lead.
“It’s one where you don’t ask, how, right?” said Blake, whose goal gave him 10 on the season. “You know, I don’t mind those once in a while.”
Vegas got the lead down to one with a power play goal by Shea Theodore at 9:52 of the third, but Kocehtkov made five stops — including two with a dozen seconds remaining — to preserve the win.
“For us to come out here and do as well as we did — I mean, they still got their chances,” Jarvis said, “but for us to limit it the best we could, and then to capitalize on the other end as really big.”
Notes: Frederik Andersen was activated off injured reserve earlier Friday and backed up Kochetkov. … Staal win 17 of 24 faceoffs and Jack Drury won 12 of 14. … The Hurricanes now have seven players with at least 10 goals this season.
