RALEIGH, N.C. — Jesse Puljujarvi’s first game with the Carolina Hurricanes will be memorable in that he played it, not that his new team won it.
The forward, obtained from Edmonton a few days before NHL trade deadline, made his Hurricanes debut Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights. He also was in the starting lineup, getting a nice hand from Canes fans during the pregame introductions
But the story of this game was Vegas goalie Jonathan Quick, who stymied the Canes early and often, making 34 saves, as the Golden Knights earned a 4-0 victory at PNC Arena.
The Hurricanes (43-13-8) had a four-game win streak end and their lead in the Metropolitan Division sliced to two points over the New Jersey Devils, who won Saturday in Montreal. The Canes and Devils go at it Sunday at the Prudential Center.
Jonathan Marchessault scored in the first period, Reilly Smith in the second, and Paul Cotter and Brett Howden in the third for the Knights (40-20-6), and Quick took it from there for his third win since being traded to Vegas on March 2. It was 58th career shutout for Quick, who won two Stanley Cups with the L.A. Kings, as he earned his 373rd career win.
A concern for the Hurricanes on Saturday was having winger Andrei Svechnikov leave the game in the second period with an apparent right leg injury.
Svechnikov left Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers after being cut on the leg by a skate. It proved to be a small, superficial cut — for Svechnikov and the Canes, very fortunate.
Svechnikov’s injury Saturday came after a hit on the Knights’ Alec Martinez. He skated about the ice during a media timeout, then left for the locker room. He returned to the bench, got in a shift, then immediately went back to the room.
But Svechnikov was back for the third period but the Canes couldn’t get a puck past Quick — or one that counted.
The Canes appeared to have scored early in the third, but the referee ruled the whistle had blown and Quick had covered the puck — even though it popped free.
So it went for the Canes, which had its offensive chances and open looks but could not convert. Each team had one power play but did little with them.
Quick, traded March 2 to the Knights, made a big stop in the first period on a Sebastian Aho shot and was calm and in control throughout the game in winning his duel with old rival Frederik Andersen.
It was a hard-fought game in all three zones, without a lot of open ice.
Marchessault scored four minutes into the game, gliding into the Canes zone with the puck and firing a shot past Andersen.
Reilly took advantage of a bobble by Canes defenseman Brent Burns to score in the second period, his 22nd of the season.
When Svechnikov left the game, Brind’Amour moved Puljujarvi to Aho’s line for a few shifts. The two Finnish friends played together on a dynamic line as Finland won the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki.
