"What More Can Fishy Do?": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 40: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens

It's a new year, but the Carolina Hurricanes hoped it meant that things would remain good for them as they begin 2026 in a very good spot. While their last outing against Pittsburgh might not have indicated such, the Canes are atop the division and sit tied for the most points in the conference. Still, they would need a big rebound game after being grossly outclassed on Tuesday. To do so, Rod Brind'Amour put his prized offseason addition back on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. Aho and Ehlers were together to begin the season. With Ehlers now producing more consistently, now is the perfect time to reunite them.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

MTL (3:12)- Nick Suzuki (14) (Alexandre Texier (5) & Sammy Blais (4))

MTL (4:06)- Oliver Kapanen (12) (Ivan Demidov (24) & Juraj Slafkovsky (16))

CAR (10:47-PP)- Nikolaj Ehlers (9) (Alexander Nikishin (11) & Sebastian Aho (22))

CAR (12:19)- Sebastian Aho (15) (Joel Nystrom (8) & Andrei Svechnikov (18))

CAR (14:51)- Andrei Svechnikov (11) (Sebastian Aho (23) & Nikolaj Ehlers (19))

2nd Period

CAR (0:54-PP)- Alexander Nikishin (5) (Sebastian Aho (24) & Andrei Svechnikov (19))

MTL (5:01)- Sammy Blais (3) (Lane Hutson (34) & Brendan Gallagher (11))

MTL (16:23)- Cole Caufield (20) (Alexandre Texier (6))

MTL (16:46)- Josh Anderson (9) (unassisted)

3rd Period

MTL (11:20)- Juraj Slafkovsky (14) (Jayden Struble (6) & Ivan Demidov (25))

CAR (16:58)- Sebastian Aho (16) (Nikolaj Ehlers (20) & K'Andre Miller (13))

MTL (18:00-EN)- Lane Huston (6) (unassisted)

My Thoughts

It's rare that you see one line play this well and the team still loses. Tonight, the trio of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Nikolaj Ehlers was brought together, and they did something magical. They combined for 11 points, accounting for all of the forwards' points and all but four of the team's total. Aho led the charge, recording the second five-point game of his career. Svechnikov and Ehlers added a goal and two assists each. It's as if they sensed the game getting out of hand in the first period, and they felt the need to put the team on their backs. For heaven's sake, Ehlers took a stick in the nuts to draw a penalty and scored the subsequent goal. Now, he made a very ill-advised pass to the middle of the ice that ended up in the back of his net, but he made up for it by setting up Aho's second goal late with the goalie pulled. Aho was the best player on the ice for either team, and it wasn't close. 

It's a shame that the other three lines didn't share the same sense of urgency. The Staal line had eight hits, but only two total shots, and all were -2. The fourth line had just one shot and all finished -2. The second line wasn't on the ice for as many goals against, but they only had three shots as a collective. The defensive group was present in the offensive zone, combining for four points behind Alexander Nikishin's first multi-point game. However, their play in the defensive zone was downright ugly at times. The Canes have allowed 12 goals in their last two games, which is very uncharacteristic for them. I'm not sure what is going on, but it has gotten very ugly. There have been far too many self-inflicted turnovers that have led to goals. It's not the Hurricanes hockey that I know and love.

For as many times as Brandon Bussi has bailed this team out, we knew there would come a point in time when he just wouldn't be able to. Tonight was that night. For the first time since facing the Maple Leafs in Toronto, Bussi had a bad start. While he won that night because his team bailed him out, there was no helping it tonight. He didn't get a ton of help on a few of the goals, but the one he really needed to stop was the dagger. Juraj Slafkovsky beat him from a sharp angle in the third period to give Montreal a two-goal lead again. He found the slightest bit of room between Bussi and the post, and Slafkovsky didn't miss. For all of the big stops Bussi has made, that's a seemingly harmless one that he needs to stop. I'm not going to get too mad about it, especially since he's now 13-2-1. If it snowballs into something bigger AND Frederik Andersen can't figure it out, the Canes might be in trouble.

First Star of the Game: Sebastian Aho

It says a lot how good a game he had when you're the first player in almost a decade to record five points in a regulation loss. Sebastian Aho couldn't do it all to get his team two points tonight, be he certainly tried. He hit 40 points with his five-point effort tonight, returning him to his point-per-game pace after a slow patch in December.

Next Up: The Canes are turning back the clock on Saturday night, kicking off another back-to-back by celebrating Whalers Night against the Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques. Their first meeting this season was epic, but I don't like the Canes' chances if they play the same way they did tonight. They'll immediately turn around and fly to New Jersey for a Sunday night meeting with the Devils. Next week, it'll be three more home games, with the Canes hosting Dallas, Anaheim, and Seattle.