*Photo from Canes Country*
Right in the middle of a tie game late, it was an unlikely source that brought the goods. Sebastian Aho scored, Brendan Smith scored, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the St.Louis Blues by a 3-2 score on Saturday night in Raleigh, NC.
It was Aho who paced the Carolina offense, scoring a goal in the second period and assisting on defenseman Brady Skjei's goal in the first period, all while spending almost 22 minutes on the ice, with a final TOI of 21:45. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo also had a two point night, assisting on two goals, and Andrei Svechnikov picked up two assists as well.
Smith said of his game winner that "DeAngelo's passes are so perfect. They're right on your tape, but they're putting you in a position to make a play. I was able to walk into a slap shot. We had a good screen in front. I'm obviously very excited. It's a moment I'm never going to forget."
Skjei got the Hurricanes on the board first, scoring his first goal of the season just 1:15 into the game, giving Carolina a 1-0 lead to get things going. In the second period, while on the power play, Aho made it a 2-0 Hurricanes lead, scoring his 6th goal of the season 3:44 into the period. When the Blues got a chance on the power play, Pavel Buchnevich scored 12:30 into the second, with his 4th goal of the season making it a 2-1 game after two periods.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored quickly to begin the 3rd period, tying the game 2-2 just 48 seconds into the 3rd, scoring his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Ivan Barbashev and Robert Thomas. With 2:57 remaining in the period and the game still tied, Smith scored his first goal with the Hurricanes, putting them ahead 3-2 on assists by DeAngelo and Jordan Martinook.
Alex Lyon, called up from AHL Chicago, made his Hurricanes debut with Antti Raanta dealing with a concussion. Lyon performed admirably, saving 27 of the 29 shots the Blues sent his way, posting a .931 save percentage, improving to 1-0-0 this season. Lyon is now the 3rd goalie used by the Hurricanes this season, all 3 of them being in their first season with Carolina, the other two being Raanta and Frederik Andersen.
Lyon talked about making his NHL season debut, saying that "I feel good. I feel normal. I feel like every time I play up here it gets a little easier. Feeling like normal on the back end is a positive thing for me. Coming up to the NHL is something I've battled for a long time, just trying to find my way. Hopefully I'm good enough to be up here. I feel like every time I play up here, it gets a little easier."
Joel Hofer made his second career NHL start and second of the season for the Blues, his record dropping to 1-1-0 with the defeat. Hofer saved 21 of 24 shots he faced from the Hurricanes, putting up a .875 save percentage in his second game.
Blues head coach Craig Berube talked about the loss, saying that "It was a good game, a tight game, but you hate giving up that goal late in the third period like that. I thought the second half of the game, we looked really good. In the end, you've got to find a way to get three goals."
The Hurricanes have two days off before getting back into action on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, with Andersen back in goal to get the start. The Blues face the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night to complete a back to back, with Jordan Binnington starting.
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