Hurricanes top Blue Jackets, give Brind'Amour first win

COLUMBUS -- Rod Brind'Amour got his first win as Carolina Hurricanes coach, 3-1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Friday.

Brind'Amour was a Hurricanes assistant for seven seasons before being named May 8, 2018, to replace Bill Peters.
"It's a great win. The guys played hard," Brind'Amour said. "We made a lot of mistakes but we're covering up for them."
WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
Sebastian Aho and Micheal Ferland each had a goal and an assist, Jordan Martinook scored, and Curtis McElhinney made 31 saves for Carolina in his first game after being claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday to replace injured Scott Darling. McElhinney played for Columbus from 2013-17.
"I'm always grateful at any time to play in this league," McElhinney said. "For Carolina to give that is tremendous, but it's been tough. It's been a hard week for me and my family. I've got people in Toronto right now and I'm not sure when they're going to make it down."
Brandon Dubinsky scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for the Blue Jackets in their home opener.
"They're a fast team," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "They don't give you much space. You have to give them credit how they check. They check hard.
"When we had some really good chances in the second period, [McElhinney] made some key saves."
The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the first period on a shot from between the circles by Martinook. Andrei Svechnikov, the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, got the assist for his first NHL point.
Dubinsky made it 1-1 at 12:58, putting in a rebound over McElhinney's pad.
"They're good. They're fast. They jammed us up a bit along the walls," Dubinsky said.

Aho put Carolina ahead 2-1 at 6:33 of the second period with a redirect of a pass by Ferland.
"Our line was pretty bad in the first. Good bounce back for us," Aho said.

A minute later, McElhinney stopped an open Nick Foligno coming down the slot, and then made a save on Boone Jenner. The puck came loose but the play was whistled dead before Dubinsky put it in the net.
"We had some Grade A scoring chances, myself included," Foligno said. "We've got to find a way to bury them."
Ferland made it 3-1 at 5:30 of the third period from Aho's pass, 24 seconds after Carolina killed the third Columbus power play.

The victory was sweet for McElhinney, who lost three games to the Blue Jackets while playing for the Maple Leafs.
"Nice way to get a win," he said. "I think they got the best of me when I was playing in Toronto, so it was nice to come out here and make a good first impression with the club."

They said it

"He's a great kid. He's got a lot to learn but he wants to learn. He's going to be a great player in this league. You have to remember how young he is. That's something I have to keep reminding myself." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour on 18-year-old forward Andrei Svechnikov
"We were a little bit sloppy, we didn't execute, but give Carolina the credit for how they checked." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

Need to know

Svechnikov is the third youngest Carolina/Hartford Whalers player to get his first NHL point at 18 years, 193 days, behind Jeff Skinner (18, 145) and Paul Lawless (18, 172). … Other than McElhinney, the Hurricanes used the same lineup as in a 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday. … Besides Bobrovsky, the other change for Columbus was at defenseman, where Adam Clendening made his Blue Jackets debut for Gabriel Carlsson. … The Blue Jackets are 7-8-3 in home openers. … The game was delayed 12 minutes at the start until some lights over the ice came on. … Dubinsky did not score his first goal of the 2017-18 season until his 14th game. … Columbus had the youngest opening day roster in the NHL at 25 years, 24 days. The Winnipeg Jets (25, 90) are second, followed by Carolina (25, 243).

What's next

Hurricanes: Host the New York Rangers on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; FS-CR, MSG, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, ALT, NHL.TV)