Desperately seeking both a win and some offensive production, the Carolina Hurricanes found both against the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night. Led by rookie Sebastian Aho’s first career hat trick, the Canes defeated the Flyers 5-1 to snap a five-game losing streak.
In addition to his hat trick, Aho tallied a four-point night, adding an assist. Forwards Elias Lindholm and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists as well for the Canes (22-20-7).
For Aho, his first career NHL hat trick is a moment he will never forget.
“It was a great night for us,” Aho said. “I really enjoyed it.”
The Canes got off to a strong start to this game, and cashed in less than eight minutes into the first. Forward Jordan Staal forced a turnover along the wall and fed Aho in front; the Finnish rookie made a nifty move to beat the Flyers’ (25-20-6) Steve Mason and put the Canes up 1-0.
Aho put the Canes up by a pair with 3:23 to go in the first, one-timing a beautiful cross-ice feed from forward Lindholm past Mason.
“When you score, it’s easier to score the next one,” Aho said. “You get some confidence there and it’s always easier when you get the first one.”
Late in the second period, Carolina increased its lead once again. Forward Lee Stempniak fed leading goal-scorer Jeff Skinner from behind the net, and his snap-shot beat Mason for a 3-0 lead. The goal was Skinner’s first point in six games.
“It’s nice to contribute to the win,” Skinner said. “When you go that long without producing, it can get a little frustrating, especially when your team’s not winning. Part of my role is to produce and help the team win, and we weren’t doing that the last little while. It’s good to get one in.”
Aho finished his hat trick shortly after Skinner’s goal. He took a behind-the-net feed from Lindholm and snapped it over Mason’s glove with the Canes on the power play, putting the home team up 4-0 and bringing some life to the struggling man advantage.
“The power play has got to be a weapon for us,” head coach Bill Peters said. “If we could get our power play going at a consistent level, at a high level, and I think we can; I know we can. I know we will. We have too much skill in that room not to have a good power play. We’re going to have a real big focus on it the rest of the year. We’re going to give it a lot of time.”
Aho’s hat trick was the first by a Canes rookie since Erik Cole had one on Dec. 21, 2001. PNC Arena was called the Entertainment and Sports Arena then, and Canes general manager Ron Francis played in that game.
After some poor defensive performances during the losing streak, the Canes had perhaps its best of the year tonight, holding the Flyers to 16 shots on goal, a season low in shots against for the team. Carolina only allowed six shots through the first two periods.
“I thought our good defense, the ability to defend and not spend much time in our own zone, led to the offense,” Peters said. “Probably [most impressed with] the defense. Defensively, I thought we were solid.”
Defenseman Justin Faulk added some insurance for the Canes early in the third, firing one home from the point on a five-on-three power play to make it 5-0.
Flyers forward Brayden Schenn broke the shutout a little over halfway through the third with a power-play goal for Philadelphia, the lone blemish on a quiet night for Canes goalie Cam Ward.
The win gives the Canes a much needed victory to snap their five-game losing skid going into the All-Star break. It was also key in terms of the playoff race, as the Canes pulled within five points of the Flyers for the Eastern Conference’s final wild card spot with two games in hand.
“It’s a big win, for those multiple reasons,” Skinner said. “I think it’s a big game, because obviously we’re chasing that team. We’re going to have to pick up as many points as we can in our division coming down the stretch. It’s nice to have a response after the last few games that haven’t really gone our way. Hopefully it’s something we can build on.”
The Canes will get a couple days off after this one, and return to action Friday night at PNC Arena against the Edmonton Oilers.
