"Reaching #600 in Style": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 40: Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

After an embarrassing start to the weekend in Raleigh, the Hurricanes aimed for a rebound against the Pittsburgh Penguins less than 24 hours later. The Minnesota Wild took something from the Canes by beating them 4-0 on Saturday night, holding them to 21 shots in an effort that is very uncharacteristic of this Carolina team. With a division opponent set to come into the Lenovo Center and Dustin Tokarski in the net, this better be a wake-up call for the Canes as they try to get back into the thick of the Metropolitan Division battle.

Scoring Summary
1st Period
PIT (3:47)- Kevin Hayes (5) (Drew O'Connor (8))
PIT (5:08)- Michael Bunting (12) (Erik Karlsson (24) & Bryan Rust (12))
2nd Period
CAR (4:15)- Seth Jarvis (10) (Sebastian Aho (29))
CAR (12:45)- Jalen Chatfield (4) (Sebastian Aho (30) & Seth Jarvis (18))
CAR (16:18)- Seth Jarvis (11) (Andrei Svechnikov (16) & Jordan Staal (12))
3rd Period
PIT (1:51)- Erik Karlsson (4) (Matt Grzelcyk (20) & Rikard Rakell (15)
Overtime
CAR (1:30)- Sebastian Aho (13) (Dmitry Orlov (14) & Martin Necas (32))

My Thoughts
I'll be completely honest, I was ready to talk about how disappointing a weekend this was for the Hurricanes after how tonight began. Pittsburgh scored twice in the first 5:08 to go up 2-0 and I was starting to feel the avalanche of online negativity coming. In all fairness, it was a rough opening few shifts for the Canes. They were running into each other and leaving all of the Penguins with way too much space. There was only so much that Dustin Tokarski could do. For the fourth straight period, the Canes were being completely outworked.

That's what made the second period so special. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis drug their team into the fight by scoring early in the middle frame, opening the door for the rest of their teammates to join the fight. Jarvis contributed to all three goals in the second, scoring two of them, while Aho assisted on the first two for the team. The Canes outshot the Pens 14-5, finding the magic that was sorely missing in last night's loss to the Wild. The playmaking was infectious. The fourth line had plenty of chances. Andrei Svechnikov set up a pair of scoring opportunities, picking up an assist on Jarvis' second goal. It was a perfect storm that, while halted with Pittsburgh's tying goal in the third, allowed the Canes to pick up the second point in overtime. 

The common thread in most of the positive things for the Hurricanes lately has been Sebastian Aho. He continued his scorching stretch by recording three points, including the overtime winner, to reach 600 points for his career. He's the third player in the organization's history to reach the milestone, and only the second since relocation to do it all with the Hurricanes, joining Eric Staal. Aho has three multi-point games in the last five and has closed in on Martin Necas for the team lead in points, trailing him by just four. 

In his career, Sidney Crosby has feasted on the Carolina Hurricanes. With tonight's battle, the season series between the Canes and the Penguins has ended with a Canes' sweep. In those three games, Crosby combined for seven shots, zero points, a 46% face-off win percentage, and a -2. He was matched up with Sebastian Aho several times, being bested by the Canes' superstar 75% of the time. I can't recall a time when the Canes were consistently this good against Crosby. It has helped ensure the season sweep, outscoring the Penguins 13-5 in the process. 

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Sebastian Aho
I've already gushed over Sebastian Aho's game a lot tonight. He had two big assists to kickstart the comeback before finishing the job himself in overtime for his 14th overtime goal. Not only did he reach 600 points, but Aho also became the most prolific Finn in OTGs, passing Olli Jokinen. While his fellow countrymen couldn't find the same magic in Ottawa at the World Juniors in overtime, Aho made his country proud and allowed the Caniacs to drive home happily.

The Road Ahead- After concluding three games in four days, the makeup game on Tuesday in Tampa Bay will begin a stretch of four in six days. They'll face the Lightning on the road before three straight at home against Toronto (Thursday), Vancouver (Friday), and Anaheim (Sunday) for Eric Staal's jersey retirement. 

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