Aho's assist streak ends for Hurricanes in loss to Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sebastian Aho fell one short of the NHL record for consecutive assists to start the season for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Friday.

Michael Grabner scored at 1:17 of overtime off a pass from Clayton Keller after the Coyotes couldn't hold a three-goal lead.
Aho was held without a point for the first time this season. He was trying to become the first player in NHL history with a 13-game assist streak to open a season. Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers in 1982-83, and Ken Linseman of the Boston Bruins in 1985-86 each had 12.
WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Coyotes highlights]
Brad Richardson, Brendan Perlini and Nick Cousins scored in a span of 3:45 in the first period to make it 3-0 for the Coyotes (7-5-0), who won their fifth in a row and sixth in seven games following a 1-4-0 start. Arizona was 1-10-1 after 12 games last season.
"They're not all Oscar winners, it was ugly but we pulled it off," said Richardson, who scored his third shorthanded goal of the season. "We definitely held on for dear life, got it to overtime and won it -- and we'll take it."

Antti Raanta made an NHL career-high 48 saves as Carolina outshot Arizona 41-12 while outscoring them 3-0 during the second and third periods.
Richardson called Raanta "the only reason we won the game."
"Their goalie made some incredible saves, but even then we kept going," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, who altered his lines after the first period.

The Hurricanes (6-5-2) lost their third straight and are 2-5-1 since starting the season 4-0-1.
"The shorthanded goal was unacceptable, it put us on our heels and we didn't recover [in the first]," Brind'Amour said. "But we decided to play after that."
Jordan Martinook, who played for Arizona the past four seasons, ended a lengthy Carolina sequence in the offensive zone by deflecting a Justin Faulk shot from the goal line at 10:34 of the second, cutting the lead to 3-1.
Raanta made a succession of difficult saves before Andrei Svechnikov cut it to 3-2 at 13:42 of the third period. Jordan Staal tied it 3-3 40 seconds later with his fifth of the season.

The Coyotes have scored 24 goals to their opponents' seven during their longest winning streak since a five-game run from Oct. 26-Nov. 5, 2013. They last won five in a row in regulation during the final five games of the 2011-12 season.
"The veteran guys really showed up tonight and ground one out," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said.
Richardson scored his fourth goal with a backhand shot from the slot at 13:07 of the first for a 1-0 lead after Alex Goligoski kept the puck in the offensive zone. Goligoski had three assists.
The Coyotes have six shorthanded goals during a club-record streak of four consecutive games with at least one shorthanded goal. They lead the NHL with seven.

Perlini scored on the power play at 15:57, shifting constantly from his forehand to his backhand before putting a backhand shot past Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek from the edge of the right circle for a 2-0 lead.
Cousins scored on a wrist shot from the right circle at 16:52 for his first of the season and a 3-0 lead.

They said it

"You can roll down the excuses [for the bad start], a long trip yesterday, it was tough getting our legs going but, beyond that, we weren't ready to go. To a man, everyone knew they had better. We started skating, moving the puck more north and south and started taking over the game." -- Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal
"It seems every bounce is going our way and the puck is going in, and the big thing is we aren't giving up anything the other way." -- forward Michael Grabner on the Coyotes' seven shorthanded goals

Need to know

The Coyotes are the first team to score a shorthanded goal in four consecutive games since the New Jersey Devils from Jan. 6-11, 2012. … Arizona's seven shorthanded goals are tied for the second most through the first 12 games of a season. The Philadelphia Flyers in 1973-74 and the St. Louis Blues in 1975-76 each had eight. … Keller has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past seven games. … Arizona is 4-0-0 on a homestand that ends against the Flyers on Monday. … Mrazek made 21 saves.

What's next

Hurricanes:At the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Coyotes:Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, NBCSP, NHL.TV)