Diskussionen » We were trying to make plays in cute areas

RALEIGH Adidas Chris Terry Jersey , N.C. — Just days before the season began, Curtis McElhinney wasn’t even in the conversation about the Carolina Hurricanes.Now he’s emerging as the team’s top goaltender.He’ll likely have another chance to prove his worth Friday night against the visiting Anaheim Ducks at PNC Arena.Article continues below ...McElhinney holds a 7-2-0 record in nine games. This is the first time in his career that he has started in as many as nine games in a season prior to December.“He’s a pro, you could tell. We said that Day 1 that we got him,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of McElhinney, who was claimed off waivers right before the regular season. “Whatever you throw at him that wasn’t ideal, he handles it.”The Hurricanes have won four of their last five games, with McElhinney in the nets for each of the victories, including a 2-1 decision Tuesday night at Montreal.“Where the goalie just stole the game,” Brind’Amour said. “We need that sometimes. We all know how important that position is.”McElhinney, who has played in 195 career games, tied his career-high with 48 saves in the Montreal game. The other time when he was so busy was with Columbus in an April 2015 game.“It feels good. It’s all about building something here now,” McElhinney said. “Things start rolling and people get excited about it.”Carolina goalies Petr Mrazek and Scott Darling are a combined 5-7-3 in 15 games. Darling Adidas Dennis Cholowski Jersey , who was projected to be the team’s top goaltender this season, was placed on waivers Thursday.The Ducks, who’ve also won four of their last five games, will be in their fourth game of a season-long five-game road trip.“You’ve got to feel good about ourselves a little bit, but we’ve got lots of room for improvement,” said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, whose team won on back-to-back nights this week at Tampa Bay and Florida.The Ducks turned to two goalies for the victories in those games.John Gibson has been Anaheim’s primary goalie, though Ryan Miller has had success against Carolina, mostly as a Buffalo Sabres goalie. He owns a 16-9-4 all-time record vs. the Hurricanes.Miller moved into 17th place on the NHL career wins list with his 373rd victory when the Ducks defeated Tampa Bay. He’s within one victory of matching John Vanbiesbrouck for the most by a U.S.-born goalie.The Ducks had their mothers along for the first three games of the trip. The phase of the trip has concluded.“She’s good luck, I guess,” left winger Nick Ritchie, who scored two goals Wednesday night at Florida Adidas Wade Megan Jersey , said in reference to his mother.Carolina defenseman Jake Bean made his NHL debut Tuesday night and could be in line for his first regular-season game at home.“He was fine. He came in there and made a couple nice plays,” Brind’Amour said of Bean. “It was a good first game for him.”The Ducks won both meetings last season with Carolina and hold a four-game winning streak in the series. They’ve won in their last four visits to Raleigh.The teams meet again next Friday night at Anaheim. ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — After playing from behind for much of this season, the Philadelphia Flyers weren’t fazed when Anaheim’s Pontus Aberg tied Tuesday night’s game late in the third period.Nolan Patrick scored 21 seconds later, and the Flyers beat the Ducks 3-2 to snap a three-game losing streak.“We needed to change the direction of how we have been playing, tonight is a real good start to that,” said Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott, who made 23 saves. “We didn’t take our foot off the gas. We kept pressing and we responded really well after they scored the power-play goal. They couldn’t even announce it by the time we put it back in their net.”Oskar Lindblom had possession of the puck behind the net and found a wide-open Patrick, who buried it past Ryan Miller with 1:51 remaining for his third goal of the season.It marks the first time since Feb. 2, 2008 the Flyers have defeated the Ducks in regulation. Anaheim was on an 11-0-3 roll against Philadelphia.“Every time we play here, it is a little chippy and they are fun games. It was pretty open out there today but I was happy when Patrick scored,” said Claude Giroux Adidas Evgeny Svechnikov Jersey , who had two assists.Aberg scored both goals for the Ducks, who are winless in their last six games. The left wing is the first Anaheim player since Daniel Winnik (Jan. 19-21, 2013) to record consecutive multigoal games. Aberg has already matched his four goals from last season.Sean Couturier and Ivan Provorov scored the Flyers’ other goals. Miller made 33 saves and Ryan Getzlaf had an assist to extend his point streak to three games.“We were trying to make plays in cute areas. They didn’t really have a complicated game plan,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “They were forcing us to dump the puck. We got stubborn and stopped doing that.”The Flyers scored the first goal for only the second time this season. Philadelphia was on the power play less than three minutes into the game when Couturier positioned himself at the front of the net and redirected Giroux’s shot past Miller for his fourth goal of the season. It was only the second power-play goal for the Flyers in their last 21 chances.“When you score first you get control of the game a little bit more. You are a little bit more confident, too,” Giroux said.Aberg tied it less than two minutes into the second when he fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that Elliott was unable to stop with his glove.The Flyers regained the lead seven minutes later when Giroux carried the puck into the Ducks’ zone and fired a shot toward the net, where it was redirected by Provorov for his first goal of the year.Anaheim appeared to send it to overtime with a power-play goal late in the third when Aberg screened Elliott in front of the Flyers’ goal and was able to redirect Cam Fowler’s shot into the net. But Patrick’s goal dropped the Ducks to 0-2 on their four-game homestand.“It’s brutal. That’s as high and low as you can get in a matter of seconds,” Getzlaf said.Notes: The Flyers’ have not lost four straight games since Oct. 29-Nov. 3, 2015. … RW Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who was selected by the Flyers in the second round of the 2014 draft, made his NHL debut and was on Philadelphia’s fourth line. … Anaheim recalled D Marcus Pettersson from San Diego before the game and assigned right wing Kiefer Sherwood to its American Hockey League affiliate. … Sherwood had two goals and two assists in 12 games for the Ducks this season.UP NEXTFlyers: Continue their four-game road trip at Los Angeles on Thursday.Ducks: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday.