Recap: Blake, Ehlers Shine As Canes Power Past Preds

RALEIGH, N.C. - With Jackson Blake (2G, 1A) and Nikolaj Ehlers (1G, 2A) leading the way offensively, the Carolina Hurricanes flattened the Nashville Predators 6-3 at Lenovo Center on Saturday.

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Seeking a bright start after falling behind early in their last outing, the Canes got a boost from their power play with two tallies in the first 10 minutes.

The first of those came off the skate of Taylor Hall, who was credited with the goal after getting a piece of Blake's stuff attempt at the post at 8:01. The second arrived just under two minutes later, with Ehlers hammering home a one-timer from the right circle off a Seth Jarvis setup for Carolina's first 5-on-3 goal of the year.

After William Carrier's second of the season stretched the lead to three just before the break, Blake made it four with a highlight-reel effort late in the middle frame. Weaving through the Nashville defense on a rush chance, the 22-year-old tucked a slick backhand finish past Juuse Saros for his first of two credited goals on the night.

Once Sebastian Aho picked up Carolina's fifth of the night on a breakaway 4:45 into the third, things got a little loose for the home club, allowing Nashville to pick up three goals in the final 15 minutes. In the midst of that, though, the line of Blake, Ehlers and Logan Stankoven managed to tack on a sixth, with Blake potting a rebound at 8:12 after all three players had taken a whack at it.

Brandon Bussi turned in another stout showing for his sixth straight win between the pipes, turning aside 19 of 22 shots to move to 8-1-0 in his career.

Stats & Standouts

• Forward Jackson Blake's three-point effort was the second of his career. Blake entered the night without a point in his last six games, but has now totaled 18 (8G, 10A) in 27 games this season.
• Forward Nikolaj Ehlers' triple was his first with Carolina (34th career). Since being held off the scoresheet in the first five contests of the season, Ehlers has not gone more than one game without a point, and his 19 points in that 22-game span are tied with Sebastian Aho for the team lead.
• Forward Jordan Staal notched an assist to record his 473rd point with the club, tying Rod Brind'Amour for the fifth-most in franchise history.
• Goaltender Brandon Bussi became the eighth goaltender in NHL history to record eight wins in his first nine appearances, joining a list that includes teammate Frederik Andersen.
• Dating back to his start against Winnipeg on Nov. 28, Bussi went 135:45 of game time without allowing a goal, which is the franchise's second-longest shutout streak by a first-year goaltender behind Pyotr Kochetkov's 151:26 run in 2022-23.
• Forward Jordan Martinook picked up an assist as he skated in his 500th game as a Hurricane (747th career).
• Forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi returned from a nine-game absence (lower-body injury), skating 12:18 and firing two shots on goal.
• Saturday marked Carolina's seventh game this season in which it has scored at least five goals. Only Dallas and Winnipeg (eight each) have done so more times.
• The Hurricanes went 2-for-6 on the power play, recording their first outing this year with multiple markers on the man advantage.

They Said It...

Nikolaj Ehlers giving a period-by-period breakdown after the victory...

"The first and second were great. The third, the start was okay, and then the last 10-12 minutes, was not how we're looking to play. We've got a new game tomorrow, and we'll start the way we started today."

Brandon Bussi following his sixth consecutive win...

"My job is to stop the puck as much as I can. I made enough (saves) early to get us some momentum and put the puck in the net. In the third period, we probably need to clean it up a little bit, but we'd built a big enough lead that it didn't matter."

Jackson Blake after the power play's first multi-goal game of the season...

"It's always good when you score. I think we knew that they were going to be pretty aggressive on their kill. You've just got to find a way to break that and use the guy in the middle. I think we did a decent job of that tonight. Obviously, getting those goals was huge, and I think we could even generate more as a power play and be better. But, I mean, you can't complain when you're scoring, so I liked it tonight."

Rod Brind'Amour on Jackson Blake's night...

"When you're creating offense, it's going to come. Tonight, it kind of came all at once, but Blaker especially had a really solid game tonight. Obviously, it took a few really good individual efforts to put us on the board. It was a weird game. We got ahead, then you can throw the last half of the game out. But I thought we were pretty good in the first half of the game."

What's Next After This Game?

The Canes are right back in action to kick off their 20th Anniversary Championship Celebration presented by Pepsi on Sunday, taking on the San Jose Sharks at Lenovo Center.

Next Game: Sunday, Dec. 7 vs. San Jose | 5:00 p.m. ET | FDSNSO | Tickets | Parking