About Last Night: Star Power Shines Bright in Raleigh

The Carolina Hurricanes got back into the win column as they thwarted the Pacific Division leading Vegas Golden Knights’ comeback in overtime.

Despite a late third period collapse that saw a two-goal lead dissolve within five minutes, the Hurricanes’ star power helped push them ahead.

Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov each recorded two-point nights with the pair coming together for the game winner and Frederik Andersen had a solid outing stopping 26 of 29 shots.

Lets take a deeper look at some of the key points from last night:

Svechnikov Continues to Dominate

Andrei Svechnikov recorded his fifth multi-point game in a row as he picked up two more primary assists — moving back to a point-per-game pace.

He’s been unreal these last few games, being by far one of the Canes’ most impactful players. In his last 10 games, Svechnikov has 5 goals and 15 points with 39 shots and 29 hits.

He plays such a unique game, blending elements of a power forward, with elite playmaking ability and a sniper’s shot. It makes him one of the hardest players to defend against because he has so many options in his toolkit.

What’s key to remember about Svechnikov though is that he is only 21 years old. He already leads all players in his age bracket in scoring, but he will just continue to get better and stronger as he gets older.

Watching him last night, it’s hard to think of a player getting even better.

Aho Sets Franchise Record

Sebastian Aho is one of the most important players for the Carolina Hurricanes today, but he is also on pace to solidify himself as one of the best Hurricanes of all time at the rate he is going.

Scoring the game-winner, Aho is now the sole holder of the franchise record for overtime winners with seven, passing Jeff O’Neill.

The overtime winner also moved Aho into sixth place for most game-winning goals (30) in franchise history, passing current head coach Rod Brind’Amour.

Aho is also just four shorthanded goals away from the franchise record held by former captain — and current Team Canada Olympian — Eric Staal (16).

He probably won’t be able to catch franchise legend, Ron Francis, for any of the big records like goals and points, but Aho is certainly poised to cement himself in a solid place on those lists and still grab a few records of his own.

Metro Race Tightening

After last night’s NHL slate, the Hurricanes actually find themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division — yet still first in terms of point percentage.

It’s been known that the Metro is year in and year out one of the most competitive divisions with first through fourth place always being a toss up and it seems that this year it is going to be no different.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have launched themselves into second place in both points and points percentage after a slow start and it’s actually the Washington Capitals that have slid to fourth place (and actually the second wild card based on point percentage) due a 3-5-2 record over their last 10 games.

The playoff teams are all but assured at this point for the Eastern Conference barring any major collapses, but the truth is that some elite teams are going to lose in the first round. No matter where the Canes end up slating, it seems that the competition is going to be stiff this year.

But that just means it’s going to be an exciting postseason for sure and if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.