Aho scores in OT, Hurricanes defeat Penguins

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sebastian Aho scored at 1:30 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Lenovo Center on Sunday.

Aho, who also had two assists, won it when he chipped in the rebound of Dmitry Orlov's shot in the low slot.

Aho came on the ice seven seconds into overtime and remained on it up until the goal.

“It’s a lot easier when you have the puck. You feel like you’re not tired when you have the puck,” Aho said. “When you’re chasing it it’s a lot harder. I don’t think how long I’m (out) there. Every situation is different. When it’s time to change, it’s time to change. Luckily, it ended our way.”

Aho's overtime goal was his 600th NHL point (267 goals, 333 assists in 638 games). He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past five games.

“This last little while here he’s been very noticeable,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Even when he’s not on the score sheet he’s been around it. That’s the guy we need and you generally see.”

Seth Jarvis had two goals and an assist, and Dustin Tokarski made 16 saves for the Hurricanes (24-14-2), who were coming off a 4-0 loss at home to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

“Give the guys a ton of credit because of the way things went the other night,” Brind’Amour said. “I just thought we stuck with it and we got what we deserved tonight.”

Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (17-17-7), who went 0-1-2 on a three-game road trip. Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves.

“We just got outcompeted (in the second period). They raised their level and we didn’t push back,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We didn’t win a puck battle. Our 'D' would pinch on the walls, we’d lose that battle on the walls. Their 'D' would pinch on the walls and keep pucks alive. You’ve got to win the walls.”

Kevin Hayes gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 3:47 of the first period. He elected to hold onto the puck on a 2-on-1 and scored five-hole from the right circle.

The Penguins extended the lead to 2-0 at 5:08. Karlsson put the puck between his legs to get around Jordan Martinook at the point before sending a backhand pass to Michael Bunting, who scored glove side from above the left hash marks.

“I thought we had a great start, a great first period,” Sullivan said. “After that, I thought we were ordinary.”

Jarvis cut it to 2-1 at 4:15 of the second period, scoring blocker side from the high slot off a backhand pass from Aho, who intercepted Matt Grzelcyk's lofted clear in the neutral zone.

Aho then set up another goal off the rush that tied the game 2-2 at 12:45. Skating in on a 3-on-2, he sent a spinning backhand pass to Jalen Chatfield, who scored blocker side under the crossbar from the high slot.

Chatfield started the play by poking the puck away from Bryan Rust on a partial breakaway.

“Many guys can’t really make that pass, right on the money, too,” Chatfield said. “All I had to do was get it on net. I don’t know how he saw me. It was a great play.”

Jarvis gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead at 16:18. He received a centering pass from Andrei Svechnikov on his backhand, quickly moved the puck to his forehand, and chipped a shot over Nedeljkovic’s glove from in tight.

“Last night I should have had two or three,” said Jarvis, who had gone seven games without a goal. “I didn’t even really sleep last night (because) I was so upset with myself. Just to get one felt really nice, then to be able to capitalize again, it just felt good for me. It was good for my confidence.”

The Penguins tied it 3-3 at 1:51 of the third period when Karlsson one-timed a cross-ice pass from Grzelcyk in the left circle.

NOTES: Karlsson has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past nine games. ... The Penguins were 0-for-3 on the power play. They had scored at least one goal on the man-advantage in each of their previous five games (9-for-19). ... The Hurricanes recalled forward Juha Jaaska from Chicago of the American Hockey League prior to the game on Sunday. He played 9:16 in place of William Carrier, who missed the game with an undisclosed injury.