Alex Nedeljkovic posts shutout, leads the Red Wings to a 3-0 win over the Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes traded away Alex Nedeljkovic after last season, saying they wanted to upgrade their goaltending.
Nedeljkovic, back in PNC Arena on Thursday, graded out very well.
The guy the Canes called “Ned” was the best player on the ice for the Detroit Red Wings, battling his way to a 3-0 win, roaming the crease and making 46 saves in his second victory of the season over his former team in being named the game’s first star.
“Any time you can get a shutout in this league it’s always special,” Nedeljkovic said after his third of the season. “Maybe tonight was a little bit more.”
Defenseman Moritz Seider scored with 12.1 seconds left in the second period and forward Adam Erne early in the third for the Red Wings, who entered the game 8-14-4 since the NHL All-Star break and giving up 4.5 goals a game in that span. Filip Zadina’s score later in the third on a shot off the rush made it 3-0.
Nedeljkovic had struggled, allowing 24 goals in his five starts before Thursday. But he looked more like the goalie who was a Calder Trophy finalist for NHL rookie of the year last season with the Canes, doggedly scrambling around the net and making both tough and routine saves.
“I know they like to shoot the puck a lot, they like to cause a lot of chaos,” he said. “We were doing a great job of tying up sticks. There was a few times I was getting a little sloppy and kind of falling on my butt, and we found a way to keep the puck away from the net, which was great.”
In the end, Nedeljkovic was better than Antti Raanta, who the Canes signed in the offseason along with Frederik Andersen. Both made high-quality saves Thursday but Nedeljkovic made more in earning his 19th win while Raanta lost in his second start since March 29.
And no hard feelings, Nedeljkovic said.
“At the end of the day it’s a game but there’s a business side to it and I understand that,” he said. “They had to make what they thought was best for them and honestly it’s a really good move for me, as well. I was given an opportunity with Detroit to play a lot of games. It hasn’t been the best of seasons, I guess, but it’s part of growing up, part of learning and maturing and learning how to be a good hockey player.”
It was the type of game the Canes (48-19-8) have played at times this season. They outshot the other team handily -- 46-22 on Thursday. They piled up “high danger” scoring chances. But they ran into a goalie who had all the answers and lost to a lesser opponent.
The Canes, who lead the Metropolitan Division by two points, are headed to the Stanley Cup playoffs and can’t seem to get there fast enough. The Red Wings (29-35-10) continue to rebuild around players such as Seider, soon to be an NHL star, and forward Lucas Raymond plus such veteran players as Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi.
The power play continues to be a problem for the Canes — a pressing one. Carolina was 0-3 Thursday with just two shots and has gone without a power-play goal in the past seven games.
“Not good enough,” Canes center Sebastian Aho said. “Today, if we get one I’m pretty sure we win that game. The power play let us down today, especially our group.”
The Canes had a first-period power play that was disjointed, their zone entries mostly adventures and held without a shot. Their two power plays in the third were better executed but no one could get the puck past Nedeljkovic, who was the loser in December in his first return to PNC Arena but won the March 1 game in Detroit.
“Obviously we’ve seen him steal games,” Canes forward Jordan Martinook said. “Tip your cap. He was good.”
Even a successful penalty kill by Carolina did not end well late in the second period. Just as Canes defenseman Brett Pesce was coming out of the penalty box, Larkin set up Seider for an unchecked shot and his sixth goal of the season.
Erne’s sixth of the season came when he beat defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the front of the net. Zadina got off a shot that appeared to nick the stick of defenseman Ian Cole.
It was the fourth time the Canes have been shut out this season -- the third since March 3.
“It’s going to happen over the course of a year,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s going to happen when you have a good team. I give my guys a ton of credit. They play hard. It seemed like we were getting chance after chance but it didn’t work out.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 9:38 PM with the headline "Alex Nedeljkovic posts shutout, leads the Red Wings to a 3-0 win over the Hurricanes."
