RECAP

PHILADELPHIA - Shayne Gostisbehere lit the lamp 2:51 into overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday.

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Coming off a pair of "lethargic" performances on home ice, the Canes wasted little time taking their first lead of the season on a Sebastian Aho shot from the slot just 10 seconds in. That goal marked the return of a far more familiar brand of hockey from the Hurricanes than what was displayed in the first two outings, but the advantage lasted just until the middle section of the frame when the Flyers found an equalizer.

Philadelphia then jumped in front during the second period, converting on a scramble sequence in front of Carolina's cage.

Despite the score, Rod Brind'Amour's group continued to dictate play and more than doubled the Flyers' chances. In the third period, the levee finally broke once again, as Aho doubled his output for the evening, this time converting on the power play.

In the closing minutes of regulation, a penalty to Gostisbehere could have proved costly as the shorthanded stint bled into overtime. But shortly after the Canes' kill came through, the special teams pendulum swung the other way as Owen Tippett sat for slashing Aho. That opened the window for Gostisbehere to hammer home a one-timer and cement Carolina's first victory of the young season.

In net for Carolina, Pyotr Kochetkov made his first regular-season appearance since Dec. 20, 2025. Earning the win, he turned aside 16 of 18 shots between the pipes.

CAR at PHI | Recap

Stats & Standouts

  • Sebastian Aho's game-starting goal tied Kevin Dineen (0:10 on Dec. 3, 1990 @ MTL) for the second-fastest goal to start a game in franchise history. Of note, it also tied Dineen for the fastest goal to start a road game.
  • With the strike, Aho passed Eric Staal (49) for the most game-opening goals in franchise history. Aho also became the sixth Finnish player to score 50 game openers.
  • Aho recorded his 47th career multi-goal game and matched Ron Francis for the second-most in Hurricanes franchise history. Eric Staal (49) tops the list.
  • Andrei Svechnikov has assisted all three of Aho's goals this season.
  • Shayne Gostisbehere scored the eighth overtime goal of his career, tying Dustin Byfuglien and Charlie McAvoy for the second-most all-time by a U.S.-born defenseman. Only Seth Jones (12) has more. 
  • Carolina went 2-for-4 on the power play; three of its five goals on the year have come via the man advantage.

They Said It...

Rod Brind’Amour giving his evaluation of the game…

“From start to finish, I thought we were good. Especially (given) that we played last night and that didn’t go the way that we wanted it to. But I thought we got to our game right away. First shift, which was nice. Then, we had the bulk of the play. I just like that we had the (ability) to stick with it. Our power play came up big. Our penalty kill was great. That’s what it needed to do tonight, but I liked the whole process.”

Shayne Gostisbehere discussing his team finally getting in the win column…

“The first two games weren’t what we do. It wasn’t the way we play. We just got back to that a little bit tonight. Obviously, there are some smaller things to clean up, but obviously (it was), a good outcome.”

Sebastian Aho on the team's power play sparking its offense...

“Obviously there’s a pre-scout; you try and look a little bit at what they’re going to do, what their tendencies are, but I’ve always said it comes down to execution, the passes and the shots. There’s always plays that you think you’re going to run, but it’s hockey, you know? You’ve got to play hockey, and there’s a reason why you’re on the power play. Fly, for example, on that pass in the slot for me- it was elite. Happy to be good in that department too.”

Pyotr Kochetkov describing how he felt after playing his first regular season game in over nine months…

“Not bad. It was a good start for us. The second period was not so good for me. I’m very happy the guys just continued to play well. Give credit to the Flyers goalie, (Joseph) Woll. He did unbelievable today. I’m very happy we won today.”

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What's Next?

The Canes will fly back to Raleigh immediately post-game. They'll be off on Sunday and return to practice on Monday, before flying to Montreal to face the Canadiens in a Tuesday night matchup.

Next Game: Tuesday, Oct. 6 @ Montreal | 7:00 p.m. ET | Hurricanes Hockey Network | How To Watch

Next Home Game: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Vancouver | 7:00 p.m. ET | Hurricanes Hockey Network | How To Watch