"Finding Aho": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 33: Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators

Before they can worry about getting revenge on the Florida Panthers or establishing themselves as the real beasts of the East against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Carolina Hurricanes have to turn their attention to the Nashville Predators. They dominated the Preds in Raleigh 10 days ago, but this Nashville team is moving in the right direction, winning three of their last four. Beginning a trip of three games in four nights, this might be the "easiest" game on paper, though it's far from it on the ice. This is destined to be an upset team looking to get some revenge of their own. If the Canes aren't careful, the Predators could do the same thing to them.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (13:00)- Jackson Blake (9) (Logan Stankoven (9) & Alexander Nikishin (9))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

CAR (2:43-PP)- Sebastian Aho (10) (Jackson Blake (12) & Andrei Svechnikov (12))

CAR (4:33)- Seth Jarvis (19) (Sebastian Aho (18) & Nikolaj Ehlers (15))

NSH (8:06)- Filip Forsberg (15) (Ryan O'Reilly (17) & Steven Stamkos (5))

CAR (19:15-EN)- Sebastian Aho (11) (Andrei Svechnikov (13))

My Thoughts

Early in this game, the Carolina Hurricanes probably deserved better than what they got. They were being forced to earn every opportunity, even with the shot chart lopsidedly favoring the Canes. Just look at Jackson Blake's goal. He had to outwork a defender to get his stick free to simply tap home a puck as he was falling down. He's certainly growing to like facing the Predators. After two goals and an assist in the first meeting, Blake was on the scoreboard again. Otherwise, the opening 40 minutes were about Juuse Saros giving the Canes fits. It was a far cry from his night in Raleigh, and it was frustrating to watch. The saves he made at the end of the second period made it feel like he wasn't about to let in a goal, while the Hurricanes appeared content to play with fire as much as they could to keep it a 1-0 game.

The dam cracked early in the third period, and it's because the Canes' stars remembered how to turn a game on its head. It has been a tough few games for Sebastian Aho, but this is a classic example of how he can go from ice-cold to red-hot in one period. It started by scoring on the power play in the slot, reaching double digits with his first point in five games, which also came against Nashville. Then, the Canes made it look a little too easy in transition, with Nikolaj Ehlers carrying the puck most of the way down the ice before Aho found Seth Jarvis for a one-timer through Saros's five-hole. To close it, Andrei Svechnikov, who helped Blake set up the goal on the power play, hounded Filip Forsberg to strip him and get Aho the empty-net goal to close the scoring. Just like that, Aho had a three-point night, doing all of his damage over the final 20 minutes.

While Saros was on the verge of stealing the game for the Predators after 40 minutes, Pyotr Kochetkov only faced 11 shots. He stopped all 11 of them, but it wasn't anything overly taxing. The Predators seemed to flip a switch when they fell behind 3-0. All of a sudden, they were threatening on every shift. It earned them a goal to cut the deficit to two goals. However, it also woke up Kochetkov. He was sensational down the stretch, keeping the game at 3-1 before Aho's finisher. Kochetkov finished the night with 25 saves, outdueling Saros with his closing period to secure two more points as he tries to keep up with Brandon Bussi.

As I said this morning, this is the "easiest" of the three games on this trip. The Predators kept it close for most of the night, largely because of their goalie, but the Hurricanes were clearly the better team, and they earned every second of this victory. This was the win they had to get on the trip. Now, they can turn their attention to a very tough weekend in Florida. Everything appears to be moving the way they want it to. Jaccob Slavin is playing with a time cap, yet his impact can be felt every time he's on the ice. It has also helped the penalty kill get back on track a little. The power play is still imperfect, but the results are trending positively. So long as Jordan Martinook's injury isn't serious, the Canes are in good shape ahead of a big revenge game.

First Star of the Game: Sebastian Aho

While not necessarily the biggest threat the entire night, Sebastian Aho needed this game as badly as anyone else on the roster. Stretches like this are incredibly rare for him. I'm optimistic this is a case where he sees a few go in and it catapults his season back on the right track. His goal was probably the most important moment of the night. Saros has been nearly impervious to the Canes' attack. This marker changed that, sending the team toward a fifth straight victory.

Next Up: The game many had circled on their calendars is finally here. For the first time since losing in Game 5 in May, the Hurricanes will face the Panthers on Friday night in Sunrise. While they'll be without two of their biggest weapons, the Cats are no pushovers. I'm expecting emotions to be high. Not to be outdone, the Canes head to Tampa Bay on Saturday to close a brutal back-to-back. The Canes and the Cats will meet again before Christmas, clashing in Raleigh next Tuesday.