After The Storm: Inside Carolina's Win Over Utah

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes' win over the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday had it all - 10 combined goals, starring performances in all three zones and, most importantly, a trip back to the win column for the Canes before heading into a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

As the Canes put forth their third seven-goal performance this season - second-most in the NHL, for those keeping track - in front of their 96th consecutive sell-out crowd, a few items stood out along the way.

Jarvy Hits 4 Nations On A Heater...

Some eyebrows may have been raised when Seth Jarvis was named to Team Canada for the upcoming tournament, but all he's done since then is show exactly why he belongs.

Leading all skaters with a pair of goals and a pair of assists on Saturday, Jarvis became the only NHLer to record four or more points in multiple games in 2025. His first such showing, another 2G, 2A effort in a 7-4 win over Columbus, came just 16 days ago as he sparked another thrilling victory in Raleigh.

Even more fascinating is the fact that his four points against Utah each came in different man-advantage scenarios, scoring both at 5v5 and on a Carolina power play and chipping in a pair of shorthanded assists at 4v5 and 5v6. A true two-way forward, his five shorthanded points rank among the NHL's elite, just one shy of the league lead.

Saturday's heroics were just the latest in a long line of standout showings from the Winnipeg, Man. native, who shines even brighter when compared to his countrymen.

Since the turn of the calendar, Jarvis leads all Canadian skaters with 13 goals (T-2nd among all NHLers). His 20 points in that span are tied with Mitch Marner for second among his soon-to-be teammates - outpacing standouts like Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Brad Marchand, Brayden Point and Cale Makar, who were each among the first six players named to Canada's roster way back in June.

So while pundits and fans can debate his role on such a star-studded team, a performance like the one he put forth on Saturday shows why Jarvis will represent his country as one of the best Canada has to offer.

"If you're watching [that tape], you'd be on any team. The type of plays that were made, they weren't like it banked in off of something, they were high-end plays," said Canes Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour following Saturday's win at Lenovo Center. "That's what he can do, but he can also do the other kind of things. It's kind of a no-brainer for him to be on that team."

Franchise Fishy...

While Jarvis was among the main group named to Team Canada in December, Sebastian Aho was a slam dunk for Finland from the jump as one of their first six skaters selected last summer and was recently named an assistant captain for the tournament.

Teaming up with his Canadian counterpart to pace the Canes' victory on Sunday, Aho enjoyed his fourth performance of three or more points and notched his 43rd career multi-goal game.

Aho's play in 2024-25 has not only fortified his stature as one of the premier Finnish players in the NHL, it continues to etch his name in the Hurricanes' history books as a franchise legend in the making.

Netting his 19th and 20th goals of the season against Utah, Aho became just the fifth active NHLer to reach the 20-goal plateau in each of his first nine seasons and tied Eric Staal for the second-most 20-goal campaigns in franchise history, trailing only Ron Francis (14). With both of his goals arriving in the second period of Saturday's win, Aho also joined Staal and Francis as the only three Hurricanes/Whalers players with at least 20 multi-goal periods in their careers - Staal recorded 25 such frames, while Francis put up 20.

The Finn's flirtation with franchise history is not new - from becoming the third player to reach 600 points with the club just over a month ago (again alongside Staal and Francis) to breaking Francis' record for game-winning goals (57) earlier in the campaign, Aho is reaching new heights on almost a nightly basis.

"He's going to be the franchise leader in everything when it's all said and done," said Rod Brind'Amour when Aho notched his record-breaking 58th GWG in November. "He's going to be the best player that's played here."

Kochetkov's Big Day...

Not to be lost in the offensive spectacle is that Utah executed much of what they wanted to do in the contest as well.

Carolina entered Saturday's play allowing a league-low average of just 25 shots on goal per game and the NHL's newest franchise was able to smash that number, led by a 20-shot third period. Pumping 39 shots on net in total, it was the most that the Canes had allowed in a single game all season.

“If you told me we’re going to Carolina, we’ll have 40 shots, we’ll have more possession than them and we’ll score three goals – I would have thought we got two points," Utah Head Coach Andre Tourigny told reporters after the game, seemingly pleased with what his group was able to generate.

Thanks to Pyotr Kochetkov though, the only club leaving yesterday afternoon with points was Rod Brind'Amour's.

Recording a season-best 36 saves, it was an adventure-filled afternoon for the one-of-a-kind netminder, including a jaunt out to center ice that almost resulted in a scrap with opposing backstop Karel Vejmelka.

When all was said and done, Kochetkov earned his 20th victory of the season, landing himself in good company as he etched his name into the Canes' record books. With the win, he joined Cam Ward as just the second goaltender age 25 or younger in franchise history to record multiple 20-win seasons.

Kochetkov will be 26 this time next season, so he won't have the opportunity to match Ward's three consecutive seasons of 20 wins before 26, but Carolina's 2019 second-round pick is already knocking on the door of another personal milestone. Last season he produced a career-best 23 wins and with 26 games remaining on his team's regular season schedule, there's plenty of reason to believe he'll be setting a new career-best in either March or April.