RALEIGH, N.C. - After his team saw its two-goal lead evaporate in the third, Sebastian Aho scored 1:25 into overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes top the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at Lenovo Center on Sunday.
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A physical first frame yielded one power play for each side, and after killing off LA's early look, Carolina needed just three seconds of its own 5-on-4 opportunity to take the lead. Jordan Staal continued his power-play renaissance, tipping home his third man-advantage marker of the year to finish off a slick set play with Andrei Svechnikov and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Carrying its slim lead through an eventful middle 20 minutes, Carolina couldn't pad its advantage despite a handful of near-misses. Just past the midway point of the third, ample offensive zone time finally produced a goal, with Alexander Nikishin firing a seeing-eye shot through traffic to make it 2-0.
From there, though, things took a turn in LA's favor. A quick response to Nikishin's marker halved the deficit just 24 seconds later, then Adrian Kempe connected with Quinton Byfield to knot things up with 3:11 to play, forcing overtime.
Fewer than 24 hours after a lost lead cost them a point in Washington, the Canes bounced back with the only three shots of the extra frame, turning to their franchise leader in post-regulation goals for the decider. After regrouping beyond the blue line, Aho skated through the high slot and sent a shot that skipped off a Kings stick before careening past Anton Forsberg to wrap up the win for the Hurricanes.
Brandon Bussi was credited with 11 saves on 13 shots as the team in front of him stifled LA's opportunities for much of the affair.
