The Carolina Hurricanes were 4-1 down but beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 after overtime in Raleigh on Tuesday.
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The fans gathered at the PNC Arena were treated to a three-part match. After a hotly contested opening 20, the Canes dominated the middle stages before turning their tide in the final engagement.
While Drew Doughty was in jail after a stumbled penalty, Sebastian Aho sealed the game in overtime.
The veterans were at the forefront of the comeback of the hosts. Paul Stastny got the ball rolling with a bounce and scored his fifth goal of the season. Jordan Staal then halved the gap by defeating Pheonix Copley with a skillful save, then Teuvo Teravainen equalized on the power play.
In his 1,301. Game in the National Hockey League, Brent Burns opened the top scorer with a quick wrist shot to the top.
The Kings had capitalized on Frederik Andersen’s generosity between the Hurricanes’ posts to secure a three-goal lead. It took them just eight shots to score four in the second period. Adrian Kempe scored two of those goals and has 22 goals this season. Anze Kopitar, himself the author of a goal in massive attack, was an accomplice in both of those victories.
Kevin Fiala also hit the mark in the defeat.
With that point in the standings, the Kings joined the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights at the top of the Pacific Division with 63 points. However, the California formation played more games than their competitors.
Kuznetsov, executioner of the Blue Jackets
At Nationwide Arena, Evgeny Kuznetsov taunted Columbus Blue Jackets fans after playing hero in overtime in a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals.
The Russian striker pierced Joonas Korpisalos’ armor just 26 seconds into overtime. In celebration, he waved to fans in the worst formation on the Bettman Circuit.
Trevor van Riemsdyk was the other protagonist of this Caps victory. The 31-year-old defenseman flashed twice the red light and helped him to a new career high with six goals in a season.
Garnet Hathaway was the first to blacken the scorer’s chart in the first half by deflecting a shot from former Montreal Canadiens Lars Eller. Hathaway is also the Blue Jackets’ all-time favorite, having scored six goals in his last seven games against the Ohio side.
Johnny Gaudreau, Eric Robinson and Andrew Peeke prevailed in the loss to Charlie Lindgren.