Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and two assists to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Calgary Flames 7-2 on Sunday.
Aho and Svechnikov were two of seven different goal-scorers for the Hurricanes, who have won three straight since bolstering their lineup at the trade deadline for a playoff run.
Jalen Chatfield, Brent Burns, Seth Jarvis, Jordan Martinook and Teuvo Teravainen also scored for Carolina. Jordan Staal and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each added two assists for the Hurricanes, who had 11 players record at least a point.
Carolina Hurricanes’ Brent Burns (8) celebrates his goal with Carolina Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin, center, and Brendan Lemieux (28) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, March 10, 2024.
AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker
Chatfield said the players were energized by the new players, forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jake Guentzel, who were recently added to the team.
“The trade deadline is a big part of the year,” Chatfield said. “To pick up those two guys is huge for our team.”
Dryden Hunt and Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames, who have lost three of their past four games. Dan Vladar made 33 saves for Calgary.
The Hurricanes didn’t make a move for a goalie but got Frederik Andersen back last week after a long absence with a blood-clotting issue. Andersen, in his second start in four days, made 18 saves for the Hurricanes. Andersen, the team’s top goalie, had missed 49 games before his return in a 4-1 home win over Montreal on Thursday.
“We know that position, that’s it, you’ve got to have it,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Essentially, we’re adding three pieces at the same time. If it all comes together, that’s pretty good.”
Carolina added Kuznetsov and Guentzel before Friday’s deadline. Kuznetsov has played in two games, a pair of wins, since coming over from Washington. Guentzel has been held out with an upper-body injury since being acquired from Pittsburgh.
“It makes our team better, that’s for sure, when you add that kind of skill level,” Brind’Amour said. “Now it’s just a matter of the fit.”
The Flames played more like a team who traded away key players at the deadline and is looking to rebuild. They lost at Florida 5-1 on Saturday and got off to a slow start on Sunday.
Calgary had just two shots in the first period and trailed 4-0 after giving up two goals in the first two minutes of the second period.
“We just got out-played, out-competed, everything,” Calgary forward Blake Coleman said. “Just an awful effort all around. You just have to have an understanding of where you are and who you’re playing.”
Hunt was able to beat Andersen for a goal at 4:11 in the second period to temporarily slow Carolina’s attack.
The Hurricanes added two more goals in the second period with one from Burns at 13:55 and a late goal from Jarvis with 34 seconds left in the period.
Aho, the team’s leading scorer on the season, got Carolina going with an assist to Martinook at 6:30 in the first period. Aho followed that up with his 25th goal of the season, after a clever passing sequence with Teuvo Teravainen with 2:37 left in the first.
It was a busy scoring day for the Hurricanes. Five players had multipoint games and Jaccob Slavin became the franchise leader in career points by a defenseman (259 in 648 games) with his second-period assist on Burns’ goal.
Exploring the history of the Calgary Flames at the NHL Entry Draft
Up next
Flames: Host Colorado on Tuesday.
Hurricanes: Host the N.Y. Rangers on Tuesday.