North Raleigh Today

The Carolina Hurricanes secured a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames at Lenovo Center on Sunday, thanks to Sebastian Aho's overtime goal. This marks the fifth time this season that Aho has scored the decisive goal in overtime, leading the league in this category.

Aho collaborated with teammates Jackson Blake and Jaccob Slavin during the 3-on-3 play. After maintaining possession in the Flames' zone, Aho passed to Slavin, who set up a perfect pass for Aho to score from the right circle at 3:16.

Despite dominating early by outshooting Calgary 12-1 in the first period, Carolina only opened scoring late in the second period. Taylor Hall forced a turnover, allowing Slavin to score after a give-and-go with Blake.

Calgary tied the game with a power-play goal at 7:06 of the third period but could not overcome Carolina's defense in overtime. Pyotr Kochetkov made 15 saves on 16 shots, earning his second win of the week.

"Stop us if you've heard this one: Sebastian Aho, overtime winner," noted an official statement from the Hurricanes. Aho is now among five NHL players with five or more overtime goals in a single season.

Carolina limited Calgary without a shot for over 17 minutes into the game—the longest any team has gone without recording its first shot on goal this season.

Jaccob Slavin's goal was his sixth of this season, matching last year's total and placing him second among Canes defensemen behind Shayne Gostisbehere. Meanwhile, Kochetkov reached his 60th career win faster than any goaltender except Frederik Andersen within franchise history.

Rod Brind'Amour praised his team's effort: "It was a hell of an effort all around... (Pyotr Kochetkov), give him a lot of credit." He also highlighted Aho's competitive nature as key to his success in overtime situations.

Sebastian Aho described it as "a test of our patience," acknowledging both teams faced challenges finding rhythm due to penalties and special teams play. On his winning goal, he credited Jaccob Slavin's assist and recognized open ice opportunities during three-on-three play.

The Hurricanes will travel to Detroit for their next game against the Red Wings on Tuesday night before returning home to face Boston on Thursday.