Detroit goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made 46 saves to shut out his former team as the Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Moritz Seider, Adam Erne and Filip Zadina scored for the Red Wings (29-35-10, 68 points).
Goalie Antti Raanta stopped 19 shots for Carolina.
The Hurricanes (48-19-8, 104 points) were blanked for the second time in their last nine home games. Carolina is 2-2-0 in four games since clinching a playoff berth.
Nedeljkovic, a rookie standout for Carolina last season, lost in a December visit to Raleigh and then was the winning goalie against the Hurricanes in a March 1 overtime victory.
Seider, who notched his sixth goal of the season, scored on a power play with 12.1 seconds remaining in the second period. Seider’s shot was set up when Dylan Larkin dropped off a pass in the circle. It marked the first goal for Seider since Feb. 12.
That came on the Red Wings’ first power-play opportunity when Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce was called for a tripping penalty.
On an early Hurricanes’ power play, Carolina failed to produce a shot on goal against a Detroit penalty-killing unit that ranks 31st in the NHL.
Erne also posted his sixth goal of the season when he scored 3:01 into the third period. Zadina’s 10th goal of the season came at 13:33 of the third period.
Through two periods, the Hurricanes held a 29-14 advantage in shots on goal. In the second period, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho’s shot hit off the crossbar.
For the Red Wings, Thursday’s contest began a stretch of six games against playoff-bound teams across a 10-day period.
This game came two nights after the Hurricanes won a road showdown against the New York Rangers in a clash between the top two teams in the Metropolitan Division. Next for Carolina is Saturday night’s game at Western Conference leader Colorado.
–Field Level Media