Sebastian Aho scored both goals, including the overtime winner, to lead the visiting Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen made 26 saves for the Hurricanes, who are riding a three-game winning streak.
During the 3-on-3 overtime, Aho zipped down the ice and used his speed to get a step on the defender before crashing to the net. Aho lost possession of the puck, but it bounced off the goaltender and himself before bounding across the line with 52.4 seconds remaining in overtime of the tight-checking, close-to-the-vest, playoff-style clash.
Aho is now riding a four-game point streak in which he’s collected three goals and nine points.
Noah Hanifin replied for the Flames, who have lost three straight games — the first two in regulation time — but likely deserved a better fate on this night. Goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 24 shots.
Aho gave the Hurricanes the early lead they wanted. Aho zipped to the front of the net and redirected Jaccob Slavin’s shot-pass from the top of the circle for his 12th goal of the season at the 4:14 mark.
Hanifin failed to convert on a penalty shot attempt just over a minute after Aho opened the scoring but evened the count before the midway point of the second period.
After Elias Lindholm won a face-off in Carolina territory, Hanifin took a cross-ice pass from Rasmus Andersson and sent a long wrist shot from the point that made it through the screen and then rang in off the crossbar for his second goal of the season.
Even among the tight checking, the Flames had by far the best couple of chances in the final period but poor puck luck cost them.
In the early going, Dillon Dube’s shot was about to trickle over the line but Teuvo Teravainen pulled the puck off the line in time to make the save. Late in regulation time, Slavin pulled the puck back just as it was about to cross the line after hitting him, and then Ian Cole reached out with his stick and stopped Matthew Tkachuk’s shot from finding the twine.
That said, the Flames failed to take advantage of five power plays, the last coming with just over a minute remaining in regulation.
–Field Level Media
