Recap: Canes Overwhelmed By Avs' Late Surge

RALEIGH, N.C. - After building up a two-goal lead through two periods at Lenovo Center, the Carolina Hurricanes allowed four in the final frame en route to a 5-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

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Coming off his second career five-point night on Thursday, Sebastian Aho picked up right where he left off on Saturday with the game's first goal. Converting a shorthanded breakaway with a slick five-hole finish late in the first period, Aho put the Canes ahead just 1:51 before the buzzer.

On the other side of the break, Gabriel Landeskog evened the score for Colorado at 1:47, but the Hurricanes soon stormed back to retake and strengthen their lead. Nikolaj Ehlers wired home a power-play tally three minutes after Landeskog's leveler, before Andrei Svechnikov then made it 3-1 with a power move around Scott Wedgewood at 7:50.

When the puck dropped for the third period, though, the momentum quickly flipped as Colorado's power play went to work. Two Avalanche goals, one of which came on the man advantage, in the first two minutes of action knotted things up at three, and another power-play marker at 7:30 gave the visitors their first lead of the night. As the clock ticked down, an awarded goal sealed Colorado's comeback.

Frederik Andersen stopped 30 of 34 shots for the Canes as his winless skid hit nine games (0-7-2).

Stats & Standouts

• Forward Sebastian Aho potted the 300th goal of his career, becoming the fifth Finnish player in NHL history to reach that benchmark alongside Teemu Selanne, Jari Kurri, Olli Jokinen and Mikko Rantanen.
• Aho also notched his second straight multi-point performance (1G, 1A) and has tallied two or more points in three of his last four games.
• Forward Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the second consecutive game, becoming Carolina's sixth player with 10 or more goals this season, which is tied for the most among all NHL teams. Ehlers has now recorded six points (2G, 4A) in his last four outings.
• Forward Andrei Svechnikov also lit the lamp for the second time in as many games, and has found the back of the net in five of his last seven games.

They Said It...

Jordan Staal after the loss...

"We had two good periods. In the third, they started taking it to us a bit and kind of stressed us out. [We] took penalties, and they've got a good power play. You give that power play too many opportunities, and they're going to make you pay..."

Rod Brind'Amour giving his thoughts...

"We just keep beating ourselves. In essence, that's what's happening. Yeah, they made the plays, but we were giving them opportunities that you just can't do. We keep talking about it, but in the room, it has to come from there. Right now, it's not happening."

Nikolaj Ehlers touching on the team blowing a multi-goal lead again...

"We've done it, what, four times in the last six games? It's games where we've played really well up until the last period. The last game, it was me throwing a puck right to a guy in the slot. Today, we made a few mistakes, and it was in the back of our net. We've got stuff we need to clean up. Luckily, we've got 41 games to do that."

Rod Brind'Amour on needing more offense from the depth of the lineup...

"Other guys have to chip in. Jarvy's out, and that's a big part of it, but now, we obviously need contributions from everyone. That's the only way this team wins. Right now, we're not getting it done."

Jordan Staal on the team's recent "funk"...

"We're finding ways to lose to games... We've got to pull a 60-minute game in and just do it all the way through. You can give them credit, obviously they're the best team, but we're a good team too. We've got to get some confidence back in our game, how we do things and trust in our game. We've got to trust. There's no continuing what we're doing. The third [periods] just seem to be sitting back or not doing what we were doing in the first two periods. It's frustrating. It's on me and the leadership here. We've got to get better. We said our piece after the game. Tomorrow better be more like our game, and for 60 minutes."

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes are right back in action on Sunday in Newark, taking on the Devils at 7 p.m.
• Next Game: Sunday, Jan. 4 @ New Jersey | 7 p.m. ET | FDSNSO
• Next Home Game: Tuesday, Jan. 6 vs. Dallas | Star Wars Night | 7:00 p.m. ET | FDSNSO | Tickets | Parking