If the powers that be for the Carolina Hurricanes wanted to send a message to their players by waiving forwards Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris on Thursday, you can consider that message received.
Three first period goals from Brett Pesce, Phil Di Giuseppe, and Sebastian Aho got the Hurricanes going quickly and gave them a lead they would not relinquish.
The Hurricanes had been sputtering around aimlessly for the last three games, but thanks to some simultaneous incompetence from some of their division rivals and fellow wild card hopefuls, they remained right in the thick of the hunt for the Eastern Conference’s final two playoff spots.