Aho scores lone goal in OT, Hurricanes shut out Devils

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sebastian Aho scored at 3:40 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 1-0 win against the New Jersey Devils at PNC Arena on Saturday.

After Martin Necas cut to slot for a wrist shot, Aho batted in the rebound from the top of the crease past Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek.

“Good play by [Necas] to cut through the middle and get a shot off,” Aho said. “The rebound came right into me, and although it was midair, still it was in the wheelhouse, and I tapped it in.”

Pyotr Kochetkov made 34 saves for his second shutout of the season for the Hurricanes (30-16-5), who have won five of their past six games.

“He couldn’t be much better,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Kochetkov. “He was sharp and (made) countless saves, and at big times, too. He was the difference for sure.”

Vanecek made 31 saves for the Devils (25-21-4), who are 1-3-1 in their past five.

“I thought we played one heck of a hockey game,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought our detail was real good. We took away time and space, kept our feet moving in the (offensive) zone. We just didn’t finish.”

Kochetkov was pulled in the first period of a 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday after defenseman Samuel Girard scored with a shot that floated into the net from just over the red line.

“I had no confidence after the red-line goal,” Kochetkov said. “(Tonight), I just focused on my position. I just wanted to do my work. Today felt a little bit better. The defense helped me. I don’t want to think a lot about how I play. I just want to play.”

The 24-year-old goalie made two saves in overtime, both on Tyler Toffoli just 10 seconds apart.

“He gave us every chance to win this hockey game,” Aho said. “He was unreal tonight, and he’s been really good all year.”

The shutout was Kochetkov’s sixth in 53 NHL games.

“That’s the hardest position in sports,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a young kid, he’s still learning. We’re just in the beginning stages, I think, of what we’re going to see out of him.”

New Jersey was shut out for the third time this season.

“I thought we had a lot of chances over the game, so did they,” Devils forward Timo Meier said. “It was a very tight game. There wasn’t a lot of room out there. It was playoff-type hockey. We would have loved to have the second point, but we can definitely build on this game.”

NOTES: Devils center Nico Hischier was 15-for-23 on face-offs. … Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov had two shots in 19:16 of ice time in his return after missing five games with an upper-body injury . … Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce missed his second game with an illness. ... Devils forward Jesper Bratt’s six-game point streak ended. … Carolina forward Seth Jarvis’ six-game point streak ended.