There are some moments in a professional athlete’s career that they never forget. That will certainly be true for Carolina Hurricanes rookie forward Sebastian Aho, as he scored the first and second goals of his NHL career in the Canes’ 5-1 win over the visiting Washington Capitals Saturday night.
It was the newly minted line of Aho and forwards Jordan Staal and Teuvo Teravainen who led the way for the Canes (4-6-4), as the trio combined for 11 points against Washington (9-4-1), including Staal’s third career four point game with a goal and three assists.
“It’s always nice to contribute that way,” Staal said. “I try to contribute in all different parts of the game. I’m going to play the way I want to play for this team, and hopefully I can contribute [on the scoresheet] as much as I can.”
This victory snapped a three game winless streak for the Canes, and was one they needed badly. The team will now hope to build on its performance tonight.
“I think it’s big on multiple levels,” head coach Bill Peters said. “We’re a good team; we’ve got a good group of guys. I believe in our group in the locker room. We’ve just got to continue to get better and figure things out as we go; it’s taken longer than we would have liked. Our bugaboo’s been playing sixty minutes, and getting everyone to contribute on a given night; tonight we were very close to that.
In a first period the Canes dominated early with several grade-A scoring chances, it was the Capitals who struck first. With about eight minutes left in the opening period, Washington forward Evgeny Kuznetsov beat goaltender Cam Ward with a snap shot from the right circle.
The Canes kept at it and evened the game less than a minute later on Aho’s first NHL goal, as the rookie from Finland swept the rebound of a Staal shot past Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer to tie the game at one and send the PNC crowd into a frenzy.
“It was a pretty big goal for me; it feels so good [to get the first one],” Aho said.
Aho’s strong first period continued with about three minutes left in the opening frame, as he fed fellow Finnish forward Teuvo Teravainen, who also had three assists, for a beautiful one-timer to make it 2-1 Hurricanes.
“It felt great, it was really fun to play with them,” Teravainen said. “Everything went right from the start, we were shooting the puck and got a couple rebounds. We’ll just try and stay with it.”
Carolina picked up where it left off early in the second period, as Staal tapped in the rebound of a Teravainen slap shot for a power-play goal to put the Canes up 3-1.
The Canes pushed their lead to three a little more than halfway through the second, as forward Victor Rask grabbed a loose puck off the end boards and flicked it over Grubauer’s pad from a tough angle.
The Canes managed to survive a crazy sequence late in the second in which three Carolina defenders had broken sticks and the team was hemmed in as a result, but Washington could not capitalize and the Canes took a 4-1 lead to the locker room.
The Canes put it on ice with 3:50 left, as with Grubauer off for an extra skater, Teravainen sent a cross ice pass to Aho that he batted in for his second of the game.
The team had another driving force behind it tonight, as it was the first game after Hurricanes forward Bryan Bickell, a popular figure in the dressing room, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
“It’s hard to take,” Staal said. “For myself, we’re close to the same age. We’re in the same spot with two girls at home. It could very easily be me; it’s very hard to swallow. Bicks is a guy who’s strong willed and he’s gonna keep fighting. Hopefully he can get better and start playing for us again.”
The Canes continue their five-game homestand against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
Forwards Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho celebrate Aho's empty net goal late in the third period during the Hurricanes game against the Washington Capitals. The Hurricanes defeated the Capitals 5-1 in PNC Arena. Aho recorded two goals, one of which was his first in the NHL, as well as an assist. Staal finished the night with one goal and two assists in the Canes' victory on Saturday.
