The Carolina Hurricanes secured a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild in a closely contested game at Lenovo Center on Thursday. Both teams exchanged leads twice, but Carolina managed to score the final two goals and hold off Minnesota’s late efforts.
The game began with Matt Boldy scoring for Minnesota at 5:34 of the first period. Shortly after, an illegal check to Jalen Chatfield by Tyler Pitlick led to a fight involving Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal, marking just his sixth fighting major in 20 seasons. The first period saw a rapid exchange of three goals in just 52 seconds, with Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov scoring for Carolina and Brock Faber responding for Minnesota.
Sean Walker added another goal for the Hurricanes before the end of the first period, giving them their first lead of the night. In the second period, Boldy scored again to tie the game, but Nikolaj Ehlers responded only nine seconds later to restore Carolina’s lead.
Both teams tightened their defense for the remainder of the game. Goaltender Frederik Andersen made 20 saves on 23 shots, earning his first win in three starts as Carolina’s defense held off Minnesota’s push in the third period.
Jordan Staal played his 910th game with Carolina, setting a new club record since relocation. Only Ron Francis and Glen Wesley have played more games in franchise history.
Jackson Blake recorded his first multi-point performance of this season with one goal and one assist. Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the second consecutive game and has six points in his last eight games. K’Andre Miller returned from injury, logging over 23 minutes on ice and recording an assist in his seventh appearance with Carolina this season. Sean Walker posted multiple points (one goal and one assist) for a second straight contest—a career first—and extended a streak where Hurricanes defensemen have scored in four consecutive games.
Jackson Blake commented on how the team maintained its approach throughout: “We didn’t change what we were doing when we were scoring, right? Obviously, there weren’t a lot of shots in the first couple of periods, and then in the third, I thought we were just kind of shoving it down their throat a little bit. Every time we got it, we were putting it toward the net. It causes chaos, right? I loved the way we played tonight. Obviously, there’s some things to clean up a little bit on the goals [against], but overall, I thought we were really good tonight.”
Sean Walker spoke about his recent offensive success: “We’ve definitely talked about getting more pucks to the net. I knew the power play was kind of winding down and Jarv made a great pass to me. I saw that I could definitely get it by the first guy, and luckily, it was a good screen by their guy.”
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour praised K’Andre Miller’s return: “His reach is incredible, and because he’s so fast, he can close [in on guys] quick. He broke up many, many opportunities for the other team and then created a bunch for us. For a guy who missed a couple of weeks, that was pretty impressive.”
Jordan Staal reflected on reaching his milestone during this win: “I appreciate the boys battling it out for me there and getting a good memory out of a milestone game. I’m glad we got the two points. It’s been a fun ride and a lot of fun with these guys here and all of the other teammates I’ve played with. It’s been such a joy and a blessing. I’m just happy to keep going.”
Carolina will practice Friday before facing Buffalo Sabres at home Saturday night.
