The Carolina Hurricanes got their long-awaited reinforcement on Friday night against the San Jose Sharks, but Teuvo Teräväinen quickly made people forget that Andrei Svechnikov had returned to the game.
The Finn scored all the goals for the Canes in the 3-0 win. The Sharks weren’t very threatening and only found the net 20 times as they are still looking for their first win of the season.
• Also read: Bedard and the Hawks take over the reigning champions
• Also read: For Andrei Svechnikov, the wait is almost over
Svechnikov has been out since last spring. On March 11, the Russian suffered a severe ligament tear in his right knee, ending his 2022-2023 season early.
The 23-year-old underwent anterior cruciate ligament surgery in July. Many expected him to be ready for training camp in time, but it wasn’t until this Monday that he finally took part in his first contact training in seven months.
Svechnikov did not add his name to the scoresheet, but instead went to the penalty area for a rude gesture. He also aimed four shots at the cage that Kaapo Kähkönen was defending in 13:40 on the ice.
Antti Raanta got the shutout, his first of the season and his 20th of his career. It is Teräväinen’s third hat trick. His last was last March.
See Teravainen’s hat trick above.