RALEIGH — Taylor Hall was a bit of an afterthought in the blockbuster trade the Hurricanes made in January. The former league MVP is making everyone take notice.
Hall’s power play goal in the second period — his fourth in the last six games — gave Carolina the lead, and the Hurricanes’ top line totaled six points in a 4-1 win over the visiting Canadiens on Friday at Lenovo Center.
With the game tied 1-1, Hall got his 17th goal of the season after one-on-one forechecking by Sebastian Aho led to a power play.
With the rest of his line changing, Aho pursued Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson, hounding him until he stole the puck. He then passed to Logan Stankoven, who tried to set up Jordan Martinook in front. Martinook, however, was tripped, and Carolina went on the power play.
“I guess that’s a little against the system, I would say, probably,” Aho said of his one-man pressure. “I was fresh there and took my shot, and it obviously worked out pretty well.”
On the ensuing power play, Jackson Blake — who had scored in the first period and finished with his first career three-point night — passed to the slot, and Hall fired a shot past Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault (21 saves) to give Carolina a 2-1 lead at 13:46 of the second period.
“I didn’t have many power play goals before I came here,” said Hall, who was playing his 900th career game. “And you know what? We’ve really just talked it through. We’ve had a ton of meetings, we’re on the same page as much as we can on the power play, and I think we’re starting to click.”
Blake added, “His stick is so hot lately; he’s been scoring every single game. So on the power play, I just tried to get that one to him, and he’s not missing from there.”
Aho then got his 27th goal of the season, finishing off a 2-on-1 on a pass from Seth Jarvis just under 2½ minutes later to put the Hurricanes up 3-1 and in control.
It was a breakthrough game for Carolina’s top line. The trio of Aho, Jarvis and Blake had dominated play in recent games but had little to show for it, with Aho saying following Tuesday’s home loss to Nashville that his line needed to start turning chances into goals.
“It felt nice for us to get rewarded after the last four or five games that didn’t feel like it was going for us,” Blake said.
Each team scored on their first shot of the game.
On the game’s opening shift, Montreal forward Josh Anderson was left unchecked in the slot and fired a one-timer past Frederik Andersen (14 saves) to give Montreal a 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game.
But Carolina responded on the ensuing shift, with a Blake shot being knocked in by Montreal captain Nick Suzuki just 18 seconds later to tie the score. It was Blake’s first goal since Jan. 23.
“That’s probably the best bounce you’re ever going to get,” Blake said, “right off a skate, and then their guy puts it in the net. … I thought I was playing the right way for the most part the last 20 games, so it feels good to get rewarded a little bit there.”
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour continued to give Blake major minutes even during the goal drought, and it paid off Friday.
“You knew it was just a matter of time,” Brind’Amour said. “I think there’s still a lot more coming. Every night, he’s around it. And again tonight, there’s a bounce for him. Maybe that’ll propel him a little forward.”
Andrei Svechnikov, who was playing for the first time since March 9 due to an upper-body injury, capped off the game with an empty-net goal, knocking the Canadiens out of a playoff spot following Columbus’ 7-6 home win over the Canucks.
Carolina’s win improved the team to 44-24-4, good for 92 points. The Hurricanes are nine points ahead of the Devils, who lost Friday, for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 10 games remaining — two more than New Jersey.
Notes: Blake scored his 12th goal of the year but was not credited with a shot on goal. … Blake’s three-point game is the 27th time a Hurricanes rookie has had that many points since relocation to North Carolina. …The Hurricanes are 14-2-1 this season when Jesperi Kotkaniemi takes a penalty.
