The Carolina Hurricanes controlled the entirety of their game against the New York Islanders, winning 5-2 on Saturday, Jan. 21 thanks to center Sebastian Aho’s natural hat trick.
The Canes (29-9-8) got off to a hot start in the first period, scoring two goals in the first four minutes of the game. The Martinook-Staal-Fast line was able to tilt the ice early on in the game, leading to some early goals for Carolina that sent the Islanders (23-20-5) spiraling.
Center Jordan Staal opened the scoring 44 seconds into the game off a tipped shot from defenseman Jalen Chatfield. Staal also got the primary assist on right wing Jesper Fast’s goal, which put the Canes up 2-0 early.
The Canes’ early momentum forced New York to burn its only timeout early in the first and it paid off as the Islanders evened the score with two goals of their own in the waning minutes of the period. Right wing Simon Holmstrom scored an impressive toe drag and center Brock Nelson scored a wrap-around goal to tie it up 2-2.
After a rough finish to the first period, the Canes were able to turn the game around and lean on star goaltender Frederik Andersen and Aho to lead the team to victory. After the first frame, Andersen remained steadfast, shutting out the Islanders in the second and third periods.
After what was a close second period, it was the Aho show that spoiled the party for the Islanders. The performance started when he tipped in a beautiful pass from left wing Teuvo Teravainen to get his first of three goals on the night with 3:20 left in the second period. Aho then scored his second goal after intercepting a pass in the offensive third, firing one past Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin on the blocker side. In the final seconds of the game, Aho earned his third and final goal on an empty-net, sealing the Canes victory and his sixth career NHL hat trick.
The Canes were notably without left wing Max Pacioretty and defenseman Jaccob Slavin. Pacioretty missed the game after he tore his right achilles tendon, the same injury that forced him to miss many games early on in the season. Slavin missed the game due to a lower-body injury, putting defenseman Dylan Coghlan into the lineup and bumping Chatfield up to the first defensive pairing alongside defenseman Brent Burns.
The Hurricanes will look to extend their win streak against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 8:30 p.m. in Dallas.
