Carolina Hurricanes fall behind Islanders early, rally to earn road win in overtime

Saturday’s game might feel like Grand Theft NHL: The Long Island Expressway to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Trailing by three nearly halfway through yet another road game — their ninth in 12 games this season — the Hurricanes got a jolt of energy from a Jalen Chatfield tally about a minute after giving up the third goal. In the third, the Canes put on a full-court press, outshooting the Islanders 20-5, and outscoring them by a pair to force overtime, where a Sebastian Aho goal at 3-on-3, on a feed from Mr. OT Martin Necas, gave Carolina a 4-3 victory.

The win is the Canes’ fourth in five games and brings their record to 7-5 on the season, good for 14 points and second in the Metropolitan Division.

Chatfield and Dmitry Orlov scored their first goals of the season for the Canes, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi netted the equalizer on a power play in the third period, his fifth goal of the season.

Aho’s game-winner was his second, and came just 1:14 into the 3-on-3 overtime period.

Antti Raanta stopped 22 of 25 shots to earn the win. The Canes peppered Islanders starter Ilya Sorokin with 47 shots, including those 20 in the third period.

The Canes were without Brett Pesce on defense as he continues to nurse an injury, and forward Michael Bunting, who missed the game for personal reasons.

Hurricanes find offense on defense

For the second year in a row, the Hurricanes’ defenders are getting in on the scoring fun for one of the top scoring offenses in the NHL.

Two more defensemen — Chatfield and Orlov — scored their first goals of the season Saturday, leaving Tony DeAngelo as the lone Canes defender without a goal. Jaccob Slavin has three, Brent Burns two and Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei one each.

A year ago, buoyed by a career year from Skjei (18 goals) and an average-to-better-than-average year from Burns (18), the Canes led the NHL in scoring by defenders, which helped make up for what some people described as the lack of a pure goal scoring forward.

This season, through 12 games, the Hurricanes’ forward group is scoring in bunches, and doing so across the lineup. Only two forwards who’ve seen the ice in every game this season — Jordan Martinook and Jack Drury — have been held without a goal. DeAngelo is now the lone defender with that distinction.

Updates from earlier in the road swing:

Rangers edge Hurricanes

It was every bit the Metropolitan Division slugfest everyone expected: Tight-checking. Defensive. Special teams making a difference.

There will be plenty of games like it. Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes came out on the wrong end of a game against the New York Rangers that is seemingly emblematic of the grit it will take to win the division this season.

Will Cuylle scored on a snap shot just past the midway point of the third period to snap a one-goal tie, lifting the Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Chris Kreider scored on a power play for the Rangers (8-2-0) in the first period, and Seth Jarvis reciprocated for the Canes (6-5-0) later in the frame.

Igor Shesterkin tended goal for the Rangers, making 27 saves on 28 shots to keep his team in the win column. Frederik Andersen allowed just two goals on 26 shots in the loss.

The Hurricanes are back in action Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against the Islanders on Long Island.

Hurricanes handle Flyers

Not only is Tuevo Teravainen scoring in bunches for the Carolina Hurricanes early this season, he’s scoring at the right time, too.

Teravainen scored the go-ahead goal at 16:13 of the third period to lift the Canes past the host Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Monday, the team’s third win in a row after a mediocre West Coast road trip to start the season left the preseason Stanley Cup favorites at 3-4.

Stefan Noesen and Michael Bunting each added one goal and one assist for Carolina. Goaltender Frederik Andersen made 26 saves.

Owen Tippett and Garnet Hathaway scored for the Flyers, who have lost two straight. Flyers goaltender Carter Hart stopped 30 shots in his 200th career start.

In a tie game at 4:19 of the third period, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho fired a slap shot from point-blank range, but Hart sprawled out to make a stellar save. On the Flyers’ next trip down the ice, Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson each had solid scoring chances. The pace picked up from there with both teams buzzing with scoring opportunities over the next 10 minutes.

Teravainen, fresh off a hat trick in the Hurricanes’ 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday, ripped a slap shot to break the tie, and the Canes’ forecheck did the rest, preventing the Flyers from pulling the goalie until fewer than 10 seconds remained.

Hurricanes overcome early deficit

After scoring quickly to take a 1-0 lead on Noesen’s goal through Hart’s pads, Tippett and Hathaway scored for the Flyers to take a lead on home ice.

The Hurricanes appeared to tie the game at 2 at 3:28 of the second when Jack Drury gathered the puck following an initial save by Hart and scored. However, the Flyers used their coach’s challenge, contending that the play was offside, and the call was overturned to deny the goal.

Carolina eventually scored to equalize at 2 when Bunting connected on the power play at 9:02 of the middle period, setting the stage for Teravainen’s late winner.

The Canes have two days off before another pair of road games, first at the Rangers in New York City on Thursday, and then at the Islanders on Long Island on Saturday.

This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 12:33 AM.