Recap: Canes Cap Road Trip With Fourth Straight Win

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Sebastian Aho scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the second time in four games as the Carolina Hurricanes topped the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at Rogers Arena on Monday. The Canes have won four consecutive contests ahead of their return to home ice this Thursday against Boston.

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Aho deposited a rebound past Kevin Lankinen 46 seconds into overtime to seal two points for Carolina. Martin Necas and Shayne Gostisbehere - who also earned assists on his OT goal in Edmonton last Tuesday - picked up the helpers on the play.

With the OT tally, Aho scored his 57th career game-winning goal and moved into a tie with Ron Francis for the most game-winners in Carolina Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise history.

William Carrier opened the scoring with a bomb from the right circle at 5:40 of the first. Jack Drury and Jackson Blake picked up the assists as Carrier notched his first goal as a Hurricane.

Vancouver responded through Brock Boeser 1:37 later and then appeared to take the lead with another marker, but Martin Necas pushed the visitors ahead again before intermission.

The Canes' leading scorer converted a breakaway set up by Jesperi Kotkaniemi's touch pass in the neutral zone, tucking a wrist shot low to the stick side of Lankinen.

In the second period, Jack Roslovic made it 3-1 Canes on a 3-on-2 rush with Andrei Svechnikov and Brent Burns, collecting a cross-crease seam pass from the bearded blueliner and wiring it into the yawning cage from below the left circle.

Vancouver forced overtime with a pair of goals in the third period from Quinn Hughes and Pius Suter.

Pyotr Kochetkov finished with 25 saves on 28 shots to post his third win of the campaign.

Stats & Standouts

• There's so much more to Sebastian Aho's game than stats and scoring, but he continues to etch his name in the Hurricanes' - and NHL - history books thanks to his ability to deliver when needed most. Bagging his second OT winner of the trip and tying Ron Francis for the franchise record in game-winning goals (57) in the process? Tying Olli Jokinen for most OT winners by a Finnish-born player (13)? Just another day in the life of #20.
• Another Cane with the clutch gene? Martin Necas. The smooth-skating Czech tallied his fourth goal in six games to steady the ship late in the first, then showed off his 3-on-3 prowess once again with a helper on Aho's winner. He now leads the team in scoring with 11 points in eight games this season, including three multi-point performances in his last four outings.
• Much was made of the Canes' offseason departures, but the early returns on the "new guys" are thoroughly positive. Another goal for Jack Roslovic and William Carrier's first marker with the club tonight highlighted the key impact being made by players still relatively new to Raleigh.
• Speaking of new players, boy, is Jackson Blake feeling it. The rookie posted his fourth point of the season with a helper on Carrier's opening goal, but the second-period spin move to create what would have been an early "goal of the year" contender shows just how much his confidence and creativity have grown in just eight games.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour offering his thoughts on the win...

"I thought we came out really well. We maybe could've had a little bit more (in terms of scoring) out of the way that we played in the first half of the game. Then, I could see the fatigue start to set in. Mentally and everything. We were on our heels in the second half of the game and they got going on their game. We hung in there and obviously got the big play in overtime."

Martin Necas discussing how the team got it done in overtime again...

"It's always nice when Jordo wins the faceoff, then they go change and we start with the puck. It's lots of space out there, you can kind of just wait for the right moment and that's what we did."

Sebastian Aho following his overtime winner...

"We played some good hockey against good hockey teams. That was much needed. We can build on this road trip. We showed it to ourselves, how we need to play to win on the road."

Sebastian Aho on tying Ron Francis for the most game-winning goals in franchise history...

"When you hear your own name with Ron Francis, it means you've done something right. He's obviously a legend of the game and his impact on the game was huge. It's just an honor to be in the same sentence with him."

Rod Brind'Amour putting a bow on the team going 5-1 on their season-long six-game road trip...

"(We played) good teams. For me, it's a good measuring stick. When we played Calgary, they hadn't lost. (Vancouver) had only lost once. To play the way we are playing right now, I give the guys a lot of credit. It wasn't the best circumstances with the road trip being as long as it was, but I thought every game we played well and deserved what we got."

What's Next?

The Canes fly home to Raleigh immediately post-game and are scheduled to be off on Tuesday. They'll return to practice on Wednesday and then game action to start a four-game homestand on Thursday against the Boston Bruins.

Next Game: Thursday, October 31 vs. Boston | HALLOWEEN NIGHT | Tickets | Parking