Through 40 minutes of play, the Dallas Stars looked like they were in full control of their game against the Hurricanes, ready to hand Carolina its third-straight loss. It would have been the first time since December of 2023 that the Hurricanes had lost three regular-season games in a row, but centers Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho combined for seven points, leading the team to victory.
“[Jarvis],” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour when asked about what got the team going in the third. “And [Aho], two [short-handed goals] essentially, that kind of dragged us in tonight.”
Whether it was shorthanded, on the power play or at even strength, the Canes (15-5-1) got it done against the Stars (13-7-0). Aho had points at all strength levels tonight and was instrumental in mounting a comeback that dug the Canes out of an early hole.
Taking advantage of a between-the-legs shot from Dallas left wing Mason Marchment that went awry, center Tyler Seguin slung the puck past goaltender Spencer Martin 18 seconds into the game.
It was all Dallas through the first few minutes — within the first six minutes of the puck drop, the Hurricanes were on the penalty kill twice and almost had to watch themselves go down 2-0 if it wasn’t for a shot by Marchment that went wide on an empty net.
It didn’t take long for Jarvis — an established penalty killer — to make an impact when the team was down a man. Seeing the ice for the first time in over two weeks, Jarvis batted the puck out of the air and got on his horse up ice where he took a needle-threading pass from Aho and tucked it behind Stars netminder Jake Oettinger.
“Sometimes I surprise myself,” Jarvis said on his stick work during the play. “I got a little bit of skill deep down.”
Through 40 minutes, Dallas was the only team capitalizing on its offensive chances. With each team playing tight defensively in the neutral zone, there weren’t many good opportunities going around. Despite being outshot in each of the first two periods, Dallas was lethally efficient.
Halfway through the first, Stars defenseman Thomas Harley trailed center Jamie Benn into the Hurricanes’ zone and was rewarded when the captain found Harley all by his lonesome and fired a perfect shot off the post past Martin. Then, just over seven minutes into the second, Marchment finally got his goal, tapping in a pass from Seguin.
The Canes’ first goal was shorthanded and effectively, so was the second. With time expiring on a power play that carried over from the second period, Jarvis took advantage of a misplay by Oettinger behind the net and returned the favor by finding Aho at the back post to cut the Stars’ lead to one.
“Huge plays there by [Jarvis],” Aho said. “He brought a lot of energy and made some really nice plays, happy to have him back.”
Suddenly, there was life inside Lenovo Center and the good things continued to snowball for the Canes.
“That shift [got us back in it],” Brind’Amour said. “Then the building got going, you could feel the bench getting juiced.”
Less than three minutes later, defenseman Brent Burns scored his long-awaited first goal of the season, firing a wrist shot past Oettinger who was screened from having any sight of the puck.
Carolina had to wait almost 50 minutes before getting its first crack at the power play after numerous missed penalty calls, but when it did come it didn’t go to waste. Using the empty space created by a hole in the defense, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere received a pass in the slot and rifled the puck above Oettinger’s glove. In eight minutes, the Canes went from another disappointing loss to leading the game.
At the other end — while the skaters were piling on goals — Martin was making crucial saves over and over. With injuries to Carolina’s two starters, Martin was called upon and answered the bell when his team needed him most.
“It’s always when you make your save, that’s critical,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s not a lot of shots again, but a lot of good ones. When they got there I thought that he was good.”
Eventually, the dam did burst. With just over five minutes left in the game, Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen tied the game at four with an outstanding individual play via a faceoff and on a shot that was perfectly placed.
A missed high-sticking penalty cost the Canes the first goal, and a high-sticking penalty late in the third won it. Taking control of the puck in the faceoff circle, center Martin Necas held, held and held just long enough before he fired a shot that took two deflections before bouncing in. Off a skate and then off Oettinger’s stick, Necas recorded his 35th point, which now ties him for the league lead.
An empty-netter from right wing Andrei Svechnikov iced the game and the Hurricanes had risen from the ashes against one of the best teams in the West.
The Canes have a quick turnaround to Wednesday when they take on the New York Rangers at 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve.
