Comeback complete: How the Hurricanes dug out of an early hole to top the Penguins in OT
Seth Jarvis had a new look and Sebastian Aho a different look about him Sunday for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Jarvis, shedding his mustache for a clean look and a fresh start, finished with two goals and an assist. As for Aho, the center was the best player on the ice — yes, Sidney Crosby played for the Pens — with a goal and two assists, intense, hustling, staying on the move and finally scoring the overtime winner in being named the game’s first star.
Aho followed up the rebound of a Dmitry Orlov shot at 1:30 of the overtime, chipping the puck past goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and handing the Canes a win on a night where they trailed by two goals barely five minutes into the game at the Lenovo Center.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour left Aho on the ice for all of the overtime, saying, “He was having a great game and a lot of times you can just read the body language.
“He didn’t want to come out. You can tell when a guy wants to keep going. I thought he was one of the best players out there, maybe the best player.”
Aho’s game-winner had special meaning. It was his 600th career NHL point in 638 games, and made the Finnish forward the second-fastest player in franchise history to reach that mark behind former star Ron Francis (530 games).
Aho’s overtime goal was the 14th of his career, a franchise record, and his 59th game-winner overall.
Aho had a pair of assists for the Canes ( 24-14-2) and both were beauties. He backhanded a pass to Jarvis for the winger’s first goal of the game, then was a big part of what Brind’Amour called the biggest play of the game.
The Pens’ Bryan Rust appeared to have a partial breakaway, only to have defenseman Jalen Chatfield get his stick on the puck from behind. The Canes then were quickly in transition and Aho, from the left wing, made a spinning backhand pass to Chatfield at the top of the slot.
Chatfield unloaded, beating Nedeljkovic to the blocker side for a 2-2 tie.
“An unreal pass, unbelievable,” Chatfield said. “Not many guys can make that one, right on my tape.”
Jarvis’ second goal, off a nice setup pass from Andrei Svechnikov, pushed Carolina ahead. The building was really hopping then.
But the Pens (17-17-7) showed some resilience of their own. They tied it up early in the third on an Erik Karlsson goal, and the Canes had to kill off a Chatfield penalty – puck over the glass, delay of game – late in regulation to get to overtime.
For Jarvis, his goals were his first in eight games and gave him 11 for the season. The winger, like his teammates, was dejected after the Canes were shut out 4-0 Saturday by the Minnesota Wild, saying he had a hard time sleeping.
“Oh, my God, I should have had two or three,” Jarvis said. “I was so upset with myself.”
One solution: off with the mustache. Another: an even more determined mindset.
The results came. Jarvis had a three-point game. He also had a complete game, his hustle late in regulation helping the shorthanded Canes kill off the Chatfield penalty.
“It was good for my confidence, just being able to know I can score at some point,” he said.
Goalie Dustin Tokarski, playing his fourth game for the Canes, picked up his third win. While not facing a lot of shots (19), he made some timely stops, including smothering a shot by Rust through traffic with 15 seconds left in regulation.
The Pens picked up the two early goals as Kevin Hayes and then former Canes forward Michael Bunting scored. But the Canes regrouped, refusing to let the deficit grow.
“We moved forward, pushed through that and had a great comeback,” Aho said.
This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 8:50 PM.
