Hurricanes complete come-from-behind stunner, rally to post 5-4 OT win over the Kings
Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour had all but lost his voice by the time the game ended Tuesday.
A lot of Canes fans could probably say the same, if hoarsely.
It’s just that the Canes put together another improbable comeback, rallying from a three-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in overtime in the madhouse that was PNC Arena.
That Sebastian Aho scored the winning goal, with 54 seconds left in the OT, surprised no one. Playing some of the best hockey of his career, the Canes center had chances to end it earlier in overtime and finally did on a power play, ripping a shot from the right circle.
The Hurricanes (33-9-8) had done it — again. Just a few nights after a last-gasp victory over the San Jose Sharks, when they erased a 4-2 Sharks lead in the final two minutes of regulation and won on a Martin Necas goal in overtime, the Canes left another team muttering and dejected.
Several Kings players loudly smashed their sticks in the tunnel leading to their locker room after the game. As for the Canes, it was all smiles, if also some relief as they left the ice.
“It was an awesome win,” Aho said.
Aho was named the first star of the game after scoring his eighth career OT winner, a franchise record, extending his personal goal streak to five games and the Canes’ winning streak to six.
“It was a great third (period). We decided to dig in a little bit and played like we wanted to play,” Brind’Amour said.
The comeback began 3:27 into the third when forward Paul Stastny knocked a shot past Kings goalie Pheonix Copley. It was 4-2.
“We needed something to get some life,” Brind’Amour said. “Just a simple shot to the net and drive the net and all of a sudden now you get a little life.”
Then, Jordan Staal scored, redirecting a Brett Pesce shot past Copley at 9:54 of the third.
“We knew they were going to push. We thought we could handle it,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said.
But the Kings (28-18-7) suddenly were shaky, Quinton Byfield flipping the puck over the glass and drawing a penalty. When Teuvo Teravainen one-timed a shot from the right circle for a power-play goal, it was 4-4 with 7:29 left in regulation and PNC Arena was very loud.
Brind’Amour juggled three of his lines before the third. He moved Teravainen off Aho’s line and had him centering Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis. He had Aho with Stefan Noesen and Necas, and a third line of Stastny, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Derek Stepan. Only the Staal line remained the same.
“Fresh blood on the lines worked today,” Aho said.
The Canes, coming off a complete-game victory Sunday over the Boston Bruins, led 1-0 after an evenly matched first period, defenseman Brent Burns scoring off a Svechnikov pass and goalie Frederik Andersen off to a sharp start. But things turned in the second as the Kings forced the Canes into mistakes and surged ahead.
Adrian Kempe scored twice, Kevin Fiala had a goal and Anze Kopitar added a power-play score after a Teravainen penalty for the Kings’ 4-1 lead.
“They played a great two periods and we couldn’t get anything going,” Aho said. “We weren’t happy but it wasn’t like it was panic mode.”
And the third period?
“It felt like every shift was in their end,” Aho said. “We got our game going. We just went to work.”
Aho had a chance to win it in overtime with a wraparound but didn’t. Then Svechnikov was tripped by defenseman Drew Doughty as he drove the net, setting up the four-on-3 power play that Aho ended after taking a cross-ice pass from Burns.
Brind’Amour joked after the game that he was losing his voice because he was coaching two teams — the Canes and his son’s junior team. “It’s been coming,” he said.
So is the NHL All-Star Game break, followed by the team’s week off. But the Canes must first play Wednesday at Buffalo, and Brind’Amour then will coach the Metropolitan Division team during the All-Star weekend.
He might have just enough voice left.
This story was originally published January 31, 2023 at 9:55 PM.
