RALEIGH — The Hurricanes won their second their second straight game, getting a hat trick from Andrei Svechnikov, four assists from Sebastian Aho and three assists from Brent Burns as Antti Raanta picked up the win in his first start back since his assignment to the minors.
Jesper Fast added two goals in the win.
Carolina is 5-1-3 since snapping a four-game losing streak and improved to 19-13-4 on the season — good for 42 points and a playoff spot.
Three observations
1. Raanta picked up his first win in more than a month, stopping 18 of 21 shots in his first start since a two-game stint in the American Hockey League.
The veteran goalie only faced two shots in the third period, allowing a goal on Josh Anderson’s breakaway in the opening minute that tied the game at 3-3 and then stopping a Michael Pezzetta shot at 2:50 of the period.
“He didn’t have a ton of work, but it was just good to get him back in here and get him hopefully feeling good about the way things went,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
It wasn’t a standout performance from Raanta. He allowed a wraparound power play goal to Mike Matheson in the final seconds of the first period that tied the game after Carolina had spotted him a two-goal lead, and the Anderson goal is the type of situation where the Hurricanes could really use a big save.
But what Carolina looks for from its goalies is the chance to win, and Raanta — especially in the second period —did enough to give him that.
In the end, Raanta got the W.
“I’m sure that’s a big one for him,” Aho said.
Svechnikov added: “It’s gonna give him confidence and hopefully he’s gonna move on from that.”
2. Aho is officially on a tear, posting his second straight four-point game and doing it on back-to-back nights.
Sebastian Aho is the first player since Jeremy Roenick (11-25 & 11-26 1999) to have back-to-back 4 point games in consecutive nights. pic.twitter.com/D352ESSQ20
— The Canes Stats Brand™ (@CanesStats) December 29, 2023
Since ending a four-game point drought with three points in the Dec. 12 win at Ottawa, Aho has six goals and 11 assists in the last nine games.
“Obviously you try to score four points every night, but it doesn’t always go your way,” Aho said. “I feel like we’ve been pretty good, with Svech and (Teuvo Teravainen), and they obviously have been helping me a lot.”
Only Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon has more points so far in December than Aho’s 19.
3. Carolina’s new fourth line totaled four points (plus had one goal taken off the board on a challenge), and Fast scored twice for the first time since Dec. 23, 2022. The veteran winger has spent most of his Hurricanes career on Jordan Staal’s wing, but his line centered by Jack Drury opposite Stefan Noesen has immediately found chemistry.
“I think it’s pretty similar: You’re working hard, good at draws, so it doesn’t change my game really,” Fast said of moving from Staal’s wing to Drury’s. “It’s good to have some success elsewhere too.”
Fast’s first goal came at 12:30 of the first period when he came on the ice during a partial line change and fanned on a one-timer. The Canadiens’ clearing attempt went to Burns at the point, and his shot was deflected by Aho right to Fast for a tap-in.
“It was probably one of the easiest goals I’ve had so far,” Fast said.
He then got his fourth of the season in the second period.
After both Noesen and Drury forced turnovers with checks, Noesen backhanded the loose puck into the right circle where Fast snapped a shot past Cayden Primeau (29 saves) to reestablish Carolina’s lead at 3-2.
The effectiveness of the line — along with Seth Jarvis, who had five shots on goal, fitting in with Staal and Jordan Martinook — brings an added dimension to the Hurricanes’ offensive attack.
Number to know
11 — Consecutive periods Raanta had allowed a goal until he stopped all 12 shots he faced in the second period. Raanta’s last empty frame before Thursday was the third period of Carolina’s 2-1 loss in Winnipeg on Dec. 4.
Plus
Andrei Svechnikov, Hurricanes forward — Is Svech all the way back? It sure seems like it.
Svechnikov extended his point streak to three games and notched his third career regular season hat trick to double his goal output on the season.
Since returning from an upper-body injury suffered against Winnipeg earlier in the month, Svechnikov has five goals and three assists in five games. His long-range empty net goal — “I was a little worried it was going to be an icing, but thank god it was in the net.” — even extended the Hurricanes’ power play streak to three games.
Perhaps most interestingly, he and Aho have clicked in a way that hasn’t happened in their careers until now.
“We just gotta kind of put those games behind us and focus on the next one and play the same way,” Svechnikov said.
Before the game, I asked Brind’Amour if Wednesday’s goal — a nifty play by Svechnikov during which he collected a blistering Aho pass, went between his legs and scored — could provide confidence to Carolina’s power forward as he still works his way back to 100% following knee surgery.
“Every team has these players that have to be good and get on the scoresheet,” Brind’Amour said a couple of hours before the game. “He’s one of them for us.”
Brind’Amour echoed his statement after the game.
“He’s got to get on the scoresheet for us to be the team we need to be,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a dominant player, and to do that too, you gotta score. He does other things, obviously. But tonight it was the big difference.”
Minus
Brady Skjei, Hurricanes defenseman — It was a tough night for Skjei, who was twice called for tripping and played a part in Montreal tying the game 25 seconds into the third period.
Skjei wound up for a one-timer at the top of the left circle but mishit the puck, allowing Anderson to head off on a breakaway. Anderson’s attempt just trickled through Raanta’s pads to knot the score 3-3 in the opening shift of the third.
They said it
“It was Swedish Christmas food for me during all the break. So Swedish meatballs and all that stuff. Apparently they’re working good so far.”
— Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast on the homemade cuisine his in-laws have made for him during their visit from Sweden
