Andrei Svechnikov scored the lone goal in the shootout as the visiting Carolina Hurricanes extended their franchise-record winning streak with a 5-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in Newark, N.J.
Derek Stepan scored twice while Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas also tallied for the Hurricanes, who have won 11 straight and recorded a point in 17 straight games (15-0-2) — also a franchise record. Antti Raanta made 24 saves before stopping all three Devils attempts in the shootout.
Jesper Bratt scored twice and Jack Hughes and captain Nico Hischier added a goal apiece for the Devils, who are 2-7-2 in their last 11 games overall. Mackenzie Blackwood recorded 43 saves.
Stepan scored his first goal off an assist from Stefan Noesen to cap a 2-on-1 rush exactly eight minutes into the second period.
Hughes tied the score at 1-1 just 8:18 later after backhanding a shot past Raanta.
Aho put the visitors ahead by scoring a quirky unassisted short-handed goal with 1:46 left in the second period. Aho picked off Hughes in the neutral zone and couldn’t catch up to the skittering puck as Blackwood wound up for a clearing pass. But Blackwood only got a piece of the puck and Aho pounced and fired into a wide-open net.
The teams combined for three goals in a span of just 2:23 early in the third. Bratt tied the game at the 6:15 mark by firing a shot under Raanta’s arm.
Stepan gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead just 1:49 later after he cleaned up the rebound of a shot by Noesen, who’d redirected a shot from just inside the blue line by Calvin de Haan. Hischier tied the score again 34 seconds later with a wraparound shot that trickled under Raanta.
Bratt gave the Devils their first lead at 4-3 with 6:12 left, when his shot sailed over the glove of Raanta as he was screened by Brent Burns. The Hurricanes took advantage of a 4-on-3 opportunity to tie the game on Necas’ goal 1:44 later.
Both teams had multiple chances to win during a frantic overtime in which they combined for six shots. Raanta turned away a Hughes backhand at the doorstep to create a breakaway opportunity for Jaccob Slavin, who was stopped by Blackwood. Carolina’s Seth Jarvis and New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton each had point-blank shots denied in the final 30 seconds.
–Field Level Media
