Recap: Canes Bounce Back Against Blue Jackets

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook each posted two points apiece and Dustin Tokarski stopped 27 of 28 shots in his first NHL game in over 21 months, as the Carolina Hurricanes thumped the Columbus Blue Jackets by a 4-1 final at Lenovo Center on Sunday.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Carolina controlled play for much of the first period and was rewarded with a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes. Some penalties on both clubs led to a stop-and-start feel to the first few minutes, but Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis teamed up for a shorthanded strike at 8:28 to get the scoring started, as the latter fed the former with a perfect pass on a 2-on-1. In the final minute of the frame, William Carrier then doubled the lead with a tap-in from the crease on a Staal wraparound setup.

A back-and-forth second stanza saw Columbus cut the Canes' lead to one late in the frame, but Martinook restored the hosts' two-goal lead with a deflection of Staal's wrister from range with 2:44 to go. Carrying that momentum into the third, Jesperi Kotkaniemi unleashed a laser from the left circle on a rush chance at 6:19 of the final frame to make it 4-1 and seal Carolina's 19th win of the campaign.

Stats & Standouts

• Welcome (back) to the NHL, Dustin Tokarski! The veteran netminder made his first NHL appearance since Feb. 18 2023, stopping 27 shots for the win in his 81st career game on Sunday. He's the fifth goaltender to suit up for the Canes in 2024-25, and at the age of 35 and three months, he's the seventh-oldest to appear in an NHL contest this season.
• Another game, another perfect penalty-killing performance. Carolina went 5-for-5 while shorthanded, marking its sixth consecutive contest without allowing a power-play goal.
• As for tonight's offensive leaders, Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook each recorded their third multi-point performance of the campaign in the win.
• Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho continue to etch their names in Hurricanes history. Slavin skated in his 695th game with the team on Sunday, surpassing Rod Brind'Amour for sixth-most all-time, while Aho hit game #628, climbing above Brett Pesce for 10th on the list of games played leaders.
• Speaking of Aho, his shorthanded goal in the first period was the 18th of his career. Already the franchise leader in shorthanded strikes, #20 also owns the league lead in that category since his debut in 2016-17.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour dissecting the win...

"I thought we were just solid, right? It wasn't spectacular. When you get ahead, I thought we played it right. Our goalie was great tonight. I thought he subtly made a few really good saves, especially early when we had six minutes of penalties to kill in the first period. There were a couple really, really quality chances and he allowed us just to keep playing and not get off our game. Then we got up by a couple and were in pretty good shape. I have to give credit to the Jordan Staal line. Just every shift, they were on it, and they obviously scored a big goal. That's what kind of drove us tonight."

Dustin Tokarski on how he went into today's team debut, his first game of any kind in over two weeks...

"Honestly, just like any other game. That's the way you have to treat it, at least for myself, anyway. Just do the work that got me to this point and try and translate it onto the ice tonight. Fortunately, it did. The guys played awesome and it was fun."

Jordan Martinook on how important it was for the team to have a performance like this one, after the way Friday night went...

"Obviously we've been trying to figure it out here a little bit. We'll have a good game, then have an off game. That (game) was more of how it looks and how we play. It was everybody pulling on the same rope. It's good to have those games and hopefully, we can build off of it, because we did a lot of good things..."

What's Next?

The Canes will return to action on Tuesday with a divisional clash at home against the Islanders.

Next Game: Tuesday, Dec. 17 vs. NY Islanders | 7:30 pm | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights