Recap: Canes Outlast Canadiens In Back-And-Forth Battle

MONTREAL - Led by three points from Sebastian Aho and two goals from Taylor Hall, the Carolina Hurricanes knocked off the Montreal Canadiens 6-4 at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

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As was the case three nights earlier in Philadelphia, a quick strike gave the Canes an early lead, this time thanks to Hall's deflection of a spinning Jackson Blake shot at 2:25. But that advantage didn't last long, as a pair of Canadiens goals in the ensuing 2:02 nudged the hosts into the driver's seat.

Another friendly bounce went Carolina's way midway through the first as Jalen Chatfield's long-range wrister hit the hip of Eric Robinson and found twine, tying the game at two, but Zachary Bolduc's second of the frame shortly afterward ensured Montreal hit the intermission with a one-goal lead.

Steadying the ship amid a stop-and-start second stanza, the Canes potted a pair of goals to take their second lead of the night. Aho struck first, capitalizing on a power-play rush just before the four-minute mark. Then, it was Mark Jankowski's turn after some strong forechecking from Robinson left No. 77 alone in front for a top-shelf backhander at 13:24.

Carolina's slim advantage gained a bit of breathing room as the game went down the stretch in the third, with Hall shoveling home his second of the night off a Jaccob Slavin rebound. The Habs returned fire with the goaltender pulled in favor of an extra attacker, but Andrei Svechnikov snuffed out their late comeback bid with an empty-netter soon thereafter.

Brandon Bussi turned in his first victorious performance of the season, stopping 16 of 20 shots between the pipes.

Stats & Standouts

• Sebastian Aho tallied his 78th career power-play goal, surpassing Jere Lehtinen for the eighth-most by a Finnish player in NHL history.
• Having tallied in three straight, Aho is up to four goals in four games this season. The only players in franchise history with more through the team’s first four games in a campaign are Andrei Svechnikov (6 in 2022-23), Seth Jarvis (5 in 2025-26), Eric Staal (5 in 2005-06), Geoff Sanderson (5 in 1993-94) and Ron Francis (5 in 1989-90).
• Taylor Hall struck twice for his first points of the season. His 12 multi-point efforts were tied for the fifth-most among Hurricanes skaters during the 2025-26 campaign.
• Mark Jankowski (1G, 1A), Eric Robinson (1G, 1A) and Jaccob Slavin (2A) also posted multiple points in Tuesday's effort.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour giving his assessment of the win...

“I really liked the first two periods. I thought we were really good. We didn’t give up much and killed a couple of five-on-threes. We were doing the hard work there. I really thought we were in control of the game for the most part. The third period was the one I didn’t like the most. We started turning pucks over and weren’t super sharp, but we had a big enough lead that we were able to get it done.”

Taylor Hall sharing his view of the victory...

“It was a weird game. A lot of power plays, a lot of four-on-fours, or five-on-threes, stuff like that. I thought the penalty kill was really good, obviously. The power play got us one. It was a game that you want to come out with a win. I don’t think either side feels tremendous about their game. It’s a fun building for us to play in, and we seem to do well here, so we’ll take the two points and get home.”

Sebastian Aho after a game heavily impacted by special teams...

“The penalty kill was unreal. Slavo, Chatty, Jordo, Marty, those guys, especially on the five-on-three, it’s just so huge and gives us so much momentum. Obviously, we got the goal on the power play. It wasn’t the prettiest, and I wasn’t too happy about it today, but when you score a goal, it’s big, right? So, we’ll take that.”

Taylor Hall continuing to talk special teams...

“I think our penalty kill is kind of picking up where they left off in the playoffs. We were talking about it this morning; it was such an incredible run, what they did in the playoffs. That’s a really good power play over there that has skill, and they play well together. To keep them in check is awesome, and we’re going to need that. Our power play.. I don’t know if we’re ever going to be a 35% power play, but for us, it’s just keep getting on the board and keep doing our thing. It’s fun to watch.”

What's Next?

The Canes will fly back to Raleigh immediately after the game. They're scheduled to practice on Wednesday and take on the Vancouver Canucks at Lenovo Center on Thursday.

Next Game: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Vancouver | 7:00 p.m. ET | $2 Hot Dogs | Hurricanes Hockey Network | How To Watch