RALEIGH — Self-inflicted wounds cost the Carolina Hurricanes on the first day of 2026 — so much so that even a five-point game by Sebastian Aho wasn’t enough.
The top line of Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers combined for 11 points, but countless turnovers and miscues allowed the visiting Canadiens to erase a two-goal lead and win 7-5 Thursday at Lenovo Center.
“It was just our lack of sticking with what we got to do,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, “and we were just turning pucks over at an unbelievably high rate, all for no reason.”
Things started to unravel for the Hurricanes in the second period when, after extending their lead to 4-2, three mistakes flipped the lead to Montreal.
At 5:01, Joel Nystrom and Mike Reilly misplayed a stretch pass, which allowed Sammy Blais to get in alone on Brandon Bussi (16 saves) and score his third of the year.
Montreal then scored twice in 23 seconds off Hurricanes’ turnovers to take the lead.
Carolina defenseman K’Andre Miller’s dump-in attempt instead hit Jordan Staal, leading to an odd-man rush that Cole Caufield finished at 16:23.
On the next shift, Ehlers passed the puck right to Josh Anderson in the slot, and the Habs winger snapped the puck past Bussi for his ninth goal and a 5-4 Montreal lead.
“It’s one bad play, really, that Nicky made,” Brind’Amour said. “Other than that, he was really good tonight. But that’s the difference. You can’t make those.”
The night was full of “those.”
The Hurricanes dug themselves a two-goal hole in the first period with a pair of mistakes.
After Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi turned the puck over at the Carolina blue line, Canadiens center Nick Suzuki wired a shot past Bussi at 3:10.
Oliver Kapanen made it 2-0 Montreal with his 12th of the season after fellow rookie Ivan Demidov dangled around Logan Stankoven and set him up for an easy back door bang-in 56 seconds later to double the visitors’ lead.
After giving up a total of 15 goals in seven December starts, Bussi allowed six against the Canadiens.
“I don’t know how many saves he made, but he didn’t make too many,” Brind’Amour said. “But he’s been great all year, so we’ve got to help him out at that point and not give up those odd-man rushes and things that create those scoring opportunities.”
The Hurricanes were quick to respond in the first period and regain the lead.
After Alexandre Texier was penalized for slashing Ehlers below the belt, Ehlers jumped on the ice with the top power play unit and snapped a shot past Jakub Dobes (20 saves) for his ninth goal to halve Montreal’s lead at 10:47.
Ninety-two seconds later, Svechnikov set up Nystrom for a one-timer that Aho redirected in for his 15th goal of the year and a 2-2 tie.
Carolina then forced a turnover with its forecheck, and Svechnikov finished a scramble in front for his third point of the night and 11th goal at 14:51.
The Hurricanes extended the lead to two early in the second period.
Alexander Nikishin’s one-timer on the power play 54 seconds into the period — his fifth goal of the season and first multipoint game of his career — extended the lead to 4-2. Carolina was 2 for 3 on the night on the power play, moving up 19% and 17th in the league after spending much of the season near the bottom of the NHL.
But Montreal rallied with four straight goals, and Aho’s second of the night — with Bussi on the bench for an extra attacker — was followed by a long-range empty-netter by Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson to ice the game.
“I kind of mirror my own success with the team and how the team does, and it kind of just sucks to lose in this fashion, any game,” Aho said. “But, yeah, just — I don’t know what to say. … If we want to go anywhere this year and make a deep run, we have to just somehow figure this out.”
Notes: Aho became the first player to have five points in a regulation loss in franchise history and the first overall since Gabriel Landeskog on Dec. 16, 2017. … Forward Seth Jarvis and defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Jaccob Slavin did not play due to injuries. … Kotkaniemi played his 500th NHL game. … Miller played his 400th career NHL game. … Mark Jankowski won 10 of 12 faceoffs.
