Hurricanes turn back Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime as Sebastian Aho gets the winner
Playing a team four straight times is asking a lot. It’s a test of hockey skill but also focus and concentration after seeing the same players on the other side time after time.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets likely are tired of each other after slugging it out four games in a row. But the two teams made the fourth of the four interesting and exciting Thursday at Nationwide Arena, going to overtime before the Canes won 4-3 on Sebastian Aho’s goal.
Martin Necas first had a shot, retrieved the puck and then fed Aho in front for the winner at 1:26 of overtime as Carolina improved to 22-7-3 and took six points from the four games.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour quickly pointed to goalie Alex Nedeljkovic for being the difference in the game. The rookie, given a second consecutive start after shutting out Columbus on Monday, had 33 saves, mixing acrobatic stops with quick glove saves.
“He was great. He got us the two points tonight, plain and simple,” Brind’Amour said.
Added Aho, “Ned, for sure, won this one for us.”
The Blue Jackets (13-13-8) tied the score at 3 with 15 seconds left in regulation after pulling goalie Joonas Korpisalo for an extra attacker as Oliver Bjorkstrand batted in a loose puck in front of Nedeljkovic. But the Canes kept their poise and won in the overtime.
“Nothing fazes this group and that’s good and bad,” Brind’Amour said. “Sometimes we keep playing and not necessarily good and they don’t even realize we’re not playing good. It’s like, “It’s OK, we’re fine’ and I’m losing it.
“There is something to be said because whatever happens out there it’s all about that next shift and they haven’t been fazed by it. It’s certainly a testament to the guys. It’s certainly not me because I’m losing my mind when I see all that.”
The Canes took a 3-2 lead on Nino Niederreiter’s goal with 4:18 left in regulation, going to the front of the net and getting position inside defenseman Zach Werenski. Jaccob Slavin had the primary assist, and Dougie Hamilton also had an assist to push his point streak to 13 games, the longest active streak in the NHL.
Necas gave the Canes a dazzling goal in the second period, sweeping behind the net for a quick wraparound that beat Korpisalo. Had Necas beaten Korpisalo shorthanded early in the third the Canes would have had a 3-1 lead, but Korpisalo made the save and Cam Atkinson then scored on the power play for a 2-2 tie.
Cedric Paquette, a veteran playing on the fourth line with rookies Steven Lorentz and Morgan Geekie, scored for the Canes in the second period 46 seconds after Werenski had given the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead.
“These games were two good teams, playing the right way, no room, definitely grind games, every single one of them,” said Aho, who also scored his 14th goal of the season.
Like a playoff series?
“Almost,” Aho said. “It’s not far from it. The games were intense but they were fun to play.”
(Earlier games updates)
Moments after Necas had a chance to give the Canes a 3-1 lead, the Blue Jackets tied the score 2-2.
Necas, who scored in the second period on a wraparound, had a shorthanded chance early in the third. After the Canes killed off the last 1:36 of a Warren Foegele penalty to begin the third, Jake Bean was called for hooking. Necas, on the penalty kill, soon was off with the puck but had a backhander stopped by Korpisalo.
Cam Atkinson then scored to finish off the Columbus power play at 3:20 of the third for his 12th of the season.
The Blue Jackets had a chance to move in front when Max Domi broke in on Alex Nedeljkovic but had Nedeljkovic glove his rising backhander with 11:22 left in regulation.
Second period: Canes lead 2-1
Necas picked up his seventh of the season at 17:16 of a fast-paced second. Picking up the puck in the Columbus zone, he beat Korpisalo, who got a piece of the puck with his right pad at the post but could not make the stop.
After a tight-checking, scoreless first period, the Canes and Blue Jackets decided to turn it up a few notches in the second.
Both teams raced up and down the ice before the Jackets took the lead on Werenski goal. The 1-0 lead lasted 46 seconds before the Canes’ Cedric Paquette scored to tie it.
The Blue Jackets heavily pressured goalie Nedeljkovic in the first seven minutes of the second before Werenski, off a rebound, whacked the puck in for his fourth of the season at 7:03. Nedeljkovic earlier had stopped Eric Robinson and Cam Atkinson with scrambling saves and the Jackets’ Max Domi had a shot hit the post.
Paquette’s third of the season came when he collected the loose puck in the slot. wheeled and beat Joonas Korpisalo. It was the 50th career goal or Paquette.
Werenski left the game late in the second after a collision with Brock McGinn that had both players tumble into the wall.
First period: Power play hurts Canes
The Canes went into the game with the NHL’s top-ranked power play but the their 5-on-4 play was disjointed and ineffective in a scoreless first period.
At 5-on-5, the Canes were the better team. They outshot the Blue Jackets 14-8, forechecked well, got a few good chances and had Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo giving up some rebounds.
But on the power play? The Canes had two — the second abbreviated — and did not have a shot against an aggressive penalty kill from Columbus. The best scoring chance was a shorthanded breakaway by the Jackets’ Eric Robinson that forced Alex Nedeljkovic into a tough stop.
The Canes’ best scoring chance might have come from the fourth line as Cedric Paquette had a few cracks at the puck in front of Korpisalo.
Ned in net again
Alex Nedeljkovic’s parents had an unexpected road trip to make Thursday.
The Hurricanes goalie had family drive down from his hometown of Parma, Ohio, about two hours away, for Monday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. He then had 19 saves in his second shutout of the season as the Canes won 3-0.
Now, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour has basically said, “Go do it again, Ned.”
Nedeljkovic will start in consecutive games for the first time Thursday as the Canes (21-7-3) and Blue Jackets (13-13-7) close out their run of four straight games. Brind’Amour has used a rotation with James Reimer and Nedeljkovic, but said Thursday morning that the guy called “Ned” would get another start.
“With two days rest I think he’s fresh,” Brind’Amour said. “We’ll probably go back to a rotation after that.”
With goalie Petr Mrazek still recovering from thumb surgery, Nedeljkovic has emerged as one of the team’s MVPs. He has a 7-2-2 record and ranked fourth in the NHL with a 1.96 goals-against average and tied for third in save percentage at .930 among goalies with at least five games played.
“He’s calm, he’s cool, he’s confident,” forward Jordan Martinook said Thursday morning. “He’s loose. When you see a goalie who’s just going with the flow and not too worried about too much, then you don’t get worried too much. He’s been really good.”
Still streaking
Dougie Hamilton’s 12-game point streak is the longest in franchise history for a defenseman. It’s also the longest active point streak in the NHL.
“It’s really impressive,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said Thursday of his defensive partner. “Obviously, he’s that caliber of a player so it doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise to us. In the first eight games he started the point streak, we won all those games, and we’ve been in every game since. It’s not a coincidence.”
During his point streak, he has two goals and 12 assists — and had a potential overtime winner nullified by an offside ruling. His next goal will be the 100th of his NHL career.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 6:40 PM.
