Seven-goal barrage fuels epic Canes comeback

Brady Skjei and Steven Lorentz scored twice each to help Carolina overcome a 4-0 deficit to beat Columbus

Steven Lorentz celebrates his goal that helped the Carolina Hurricanes overcome a four-goal deficit to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brady Skjei and Steven Lorentz scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes had the last seven goals to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 on Saturday.

The Hurricanes (23-7-1) scored four times in a 3:57 span of the third to overcome a 4-2 deficit. They had five goals in the period.

“That was special,” Lorentz said. “Sometimes you get a game like that where a team is a little bit down and out or not getting the breaks then all of a sudden you get one and stick to the game plan and good things happen and that’s what happened.

“After two periods we kind of regrouped a bit. We said, ‘We’re right there. Once we get the next one by him the flood gates might open’ and sure enough they did.”

Ethan Bear scored at 10:50 of the third make it 5-4 and Lorentz made it 6-4 at 11:59 as part of the spurt. Andrei Svechnikov scored into an empty net at 17:30 for the final score.

Nino Niederreiter also scored, and Seth Jarvis and Vincent Trocheck had two assists for the Hurricanes.

Gustav Nyquist in his 600th NHL game scored shorthanded and had an assist for the Blue Jackets (15-14-1). Alexandre Texier had a goal and an assist and defensemen Zach Werenski and Adam Boqvist also scored for Columbus.

“When it was 4-0, I never felt comfortable with how that game was played,” Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. “They kept coming and we didn’t have an answer to it.”

Daniil Tarasov made 31 saves in two periods for the Blue Jackets before exiting with a lower-body injury. Elvis Merzlikins made 11 saves in the third period.

The Hurricanes scored seven consecutive goals to erase a four-goal deficit for the second time in franchise history. The Hartford Whalers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 7-4 on Jan. 19, 1989.

“That’s what’s special about this team. There’s no question we didn’t think we would win,” Skjei said.

Columbus led 3-0 after the first period with Werenski and Boqvist scoring before the Nyquist goal.

Werenski made it 1-0 6:54 with a backhander on the rush after a slick around Brett Pesce in the left circle for his sixth goal.

Boqvist got his seventh at 12:30 with a shot from between the circles with Nyquist setting him up.

Nyquist put the Blue Jackets up 3-0 at 18:04.

Carolina goalie Antti Raanta was lifted after making six saves in the first period. Frederik Andersen made eight saves over the final two periods.

Texier made it 4-0 at 8:39 of the second period before Lorentz redirected a shot by Tony DeAngelo at 9:11 to make it 4-1.

“They just keep on their game and play the way they want to play and that’s what they did tonight,” Werenski said. “They just kept coming and coming.”

NOTES

The Hurricanes had their first five-goal period since scoring five in the second in a 5-2 win vs. the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 23, 2019.

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Carolina: The Hurricanes host the Calgary Flames on Friday.