Sebastian Aho scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:58 remaining in regulation and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied for a 2-1 win over the host San Jose Sharks on Friday night.
Positioned perfectly in front of the net, Aho redirected Brett Pesce’s puck toward the goal and past Sharks netminder James Reimer, who delivered a strong performance with 33 saves.
Martin Necas scored in his second straight game and Antti Raanta stopped 18 shots as the Hurricanes, who won 4-1 over Columbus on Wednesday to open the season, snapped an 0-4-2 slide at San Jose.
Evgeny Svechnikov scored for San Jose, which has totaled just four goals while losing its first three games of the season. The Sharks, who went 0-for-5 on the power play, were swept by Nashville in the two-game NHL Global Series in Prague last week.
In his first season with San Jose and coming off a career-high seven-goal run with Winnipeg a season ago, Svechnikov opened the scoring with just 2:12 remaining in the opening period. Crossing the top circle, he threw the puck toward the net, where it deflected off the stick of Carolina defenseman Calvin de Haan, then seemed to handcuff Raanta and slide over the goal line.
Carolina, though, recorded the first 11 shots on goal of the second period and finished the middle frame with a 17-4 advantage. Key saves by Reimer on Aho off a three-on-two and Pesce’s breakaway kept San Jose ahead in the second.
However, the Hurricanes finally leveled the contest with 23 seconds remaining in the second. Svechnikov’s brother, Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov, took the puck from San Jose’s Kevin Labanc. He then found Necas, who broke in and slid the puck through Reimer’s legs.
Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Brent Burns, who played the previous 11 seasons with the Sharks before approving a trade to Carolina during the summer, was honored with a video tribute prior to the start of Friday night’s contest. Burns recorded two shots on goal in 23:19 of ice time.
–Field Level Media
