RALEIGH, N.C. — Yes, the number of shots — Carolina had 46 against the Avalanche on Tuesday night — concerned coach Patrick Roy. There were no attempts to say many of them were of the relatively benign variety, because that just wasn’t the case, especially in the Hurricanes’ 20-shot first period.
“It’s way too much,” Roy said after the 3-2 shootout loss to the Hurricanes. “I’m not sure, in the first … we had so many turnovers and giveaways, we were not sharp at all.
“But this is a good group. They bounced back in the second and the third and played a lot better. Let’s not forget, we played (Monday night) in Washington and traveled. I’m not looking for excuses here, but they were ready for us. They were waiting. …
“At least we picked up a point. We’re certainly not happy. We’d like to have both points, but we managed to stay in that game, and obviously our goalie (Calvin Pickard) was the key factor.”
Street activated. Center Ben Street, signed as a free agent last summer, was activated and was in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 25. He had been unavailable the last 21 games because of a hand injury suffered in his second game after his recall from Lake Erie.
Street at the outset centered the fourth line with Cody McLeod and Marc-Andre Cliche.
Scratches. With Street playing, the Avalanche’s healthy scratches were winger Borna Rendulic and defenseman Zach Redmond (his seventh consecutive game). Rendulic had a goal in his first game following his call-up from Lake Erie, against Philadelphia on Dec. 31, and hadn’t scored in the six since.
Day off. The Avalanche traveled to South Florida after the game and won’t practice Wednesday before meeting the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
From Canes. Jordan Staal, who had one of Carolina’s goals, noted, “You want a start like that every time and obviously, they’re going to be a team that pushes back, and they did.”
