One of the most intriguing National Hockey League stories in 2020-21 has been the remarkable play of Alex Nedeljkovic of Parma, OH. The Hurricanes rookie goaltender was not expected to see much action this year as he was behind Petr Mrazek and James Reimer on the Hurricanes depth chart. However, after Mrazek missed over two months with thumb surgery, there was an opportunity for Nedeljkovic to see some action, and he has made the most of his opportunity.
On Thursday, Nedeljkovic recorded his third career shutout. He made 24 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers 3-0.
Nedeljkovic made six saves in the first period, eight saves in the second period, and 10 saves in the third period. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov of Tampere, Finland, and three-time NHL defenseman Keith Yandle of Milton, MA led Florida with four shots on goal each.
Offensively, the Panthers were led in scoring by Martin Necas of Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, and Vincent Trocheck of Pittsburgh, PA. Necas and Trocheck each have one goal and one assist for two points. Sebastian Aho of Rauma, Finland scored the lone other goal for the Hurricanes, which came at 14:31 on the power-play from Andrei Svechnikov of Barnaul, Russia, and Trocheck.
On the season, Nedeljkovic improves to a record of nine wins, four losses, and two losses in extra time. He has a goals against average of 1.98, and a save percentage of .928. Nedeljkovic’s goals against average currently leads the NHL. He is .02 better than Philipp Grubauer of Rosenheim, Germany, who has a goals against average of 2.00.
Now with Mrazek back with the Hurricanes, expect Mrazek and Nedeljkovic to share the workload for Carolina down the stretch. The Hurricanes currently lead the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning by a single point in the Central Division. Carolina is at 57 points, while Tampa Bay and Florida are each at 56 points.
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