Hurricanes 2, Bruins 1: Aho's third-period goal ends Boston's points streak
Sebastian Aho scored the winner and Pyotr Kochetkov improved to 8-0-0 as Carolina beat Boston in Raleigh on Tuesday night.
Carolina beat Boston 2-1 at Lenovo Center on Tuesday night, with Sebastian Aho's third-period goal deciding a low-scoring game between two of the league's best early-season teams.
How it unfolded
Boston scored first. Pavel Zacha put the Bruins ahead 1:31 into the game on a power play, according to the NHL.com account, which describes Elias Lindholm sending a no-look pass to Zacha for a tap-in after David Pastrnak had popped the puck to Lindholm. Carolina answered late in the first period: Jackson Blake tied it with 52 seconds left.
Aho then scored the winner in the third period with 9:41 remaining, his eighth goal of the season. NHL.com describes it as a backhander. The AP report, as carried by CBS Boston, and ESPN's recap both give the same time and score.
Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for Boston. Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 for Carolina, which went 0-for-4 on the power play but killed two Boston power plays in the final five minutes, per the AP. NHL.com adds that Boston killed a 5-on-3 penalty to open the third period and also had two power plays late in regulation without scoring.
What it means
Kochetkov is 8-0-0, which matches Frederik Andersen's franchise record for the longest season-opening winning streak by a goalie, according to the AP. ESPN lists Carolina at 10-2-2, and the AP notes the Hurricanes became the first NHL team to reach 20 points, a first for the franchise. Aho leads the team with 19 points.
For Boston, the loss ended an eight-game points streak and snapped a two-game winning streak. ESPN has the Bruins at 9-3-1. Coach Marco Sturm said afterwards, as quoted by NHL.com: "We're just not there yet, and hopefully we learn and got something out of it today."
What's next
Both teams play Thursday. Boston visits St. Louis, and Carolina hosts Columbus.
Shot totals were not published in the sources Torch reviewed, so none are given here.