Aho gets 2nd goal in OT, Hurricanes beat Wild 5-4

by AP
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Sebastian Aho scored his second goal of the game in overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes over the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Saturday night.

Justin Williams tied it for Carolina with 1:09 left in the third period, and the Hurricanes matched the best five-game start in franchise history by tying the 4-0-1 Hartford Whalers in 1995-96.

Aho added an assist while running his point streak to five games. Jordan Staal and Brett Pesce also scored for the Hurricanes. Curtis McElhinney made 19 saves as Carolina outshot Minnesota 57-23 and survived a third-period frenzy in which the Wild rallied to twice take a one-goal lead.

Devan Dubnyk stopped 52 shots for Minnesota and Jason Zucker scored his 100th career goal and third in the past two games. Charlie Coyle, Jared Spurgeon and Mikael Granlund also scored for the Wild, who played their third consecutive overtime game.

Dubnyk’s work allowed Minnesota the chance to recover in the third. It’s the second game this season and 14th time in his career he’s made at least 40 saves in game. He’s 10-1-3 in those contests.

Staal opened the scoring midway through the first with his fourth goal. The Hurricanes outshot the Wild 20-5 in the first, continuing a fast-paced offensive style under new coach Rod Brind’Amour.

Pesce redirected Aho’s shot for the only goal in the second as Carolina entered the third leading 2-1.

Spurgeon tied it with his first goal of the season just 1:20 into the third period, Zucker scored just over four minutes later and Granlund added his first of the season with 4:13 left in the game.

NOTES: Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said F Joel Eriksson Ek has a lower-body injury and will miss a week. … Matt Hendricks was back in the lineup for the Wild after being scratched for one game. … Minnesota is 10-3-4 in its last 17 games against Carolina. … Aho has four goals and five assists during his point streak. Hurricanes F Teuvo Teravainen has points in four straight games. … McIlhenny became the first Carolina goaltender to win his first three starts with the team since Justin Peters in 2010.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Finish a back-to-back set at Winnipeg on Sunday.

Wild: Travel to Nashville on Monday.

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