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ELMONT, N.Y. - The Carolina Hurricanes started hot and held on to earn a point, but ultimately fell short in the extra frame, dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Carolina opened up a quick 2-0 lead early in the first period, striking twice in a span of 1:12 as Jack Roslovic converted a breakaway and Sebastian Aho had his pass bank in off an Islanders defenseman. But just before the end of the frame, the Islanders halved the Canes' lead with a goal shortly following a power play.

The Hurricanes carried a slim lead through a scoreless second stanza, but New York knotted the score 6:26 into the third. Then, 2:03 into overtime, Brock Nelson wired a wrist shot into the top corner on a 2-on-1 to seal the win for the Islanders.

Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside 23 of 26 shots in his 100th appearance with the club.

CAR at NYI | Recap

Stats & Standouts

  • With his goal in the first period, Sebastian Aho reached 50 points in 50 games to start a season for the sixth time in his career. Only Ron Francis (8x) has done so more times in franchise history.
  • Aho also became the fifth Finnish player in NHL history with eight consecutive 50-point seasons, joining Jari Kurri, Aleksander Barkov, Olli Jokinen and Teemu Selanne.
  • Sporting a new number (#98) after conceding #96 to Mikko Rantanen, Jack Roslovic scored the Canes' first goal and snapped a 12-game goal drought. His first tally of 2025 was his 18th of the campaign, bringing him into a tie with Seth Jarvis for the lead in goals scored with the Canes this season.
  • Making their Hurricanes debuts, Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall both showed flashes of what they're expected to contribute to this team. Rantanen skated 18:54, almost entirely with Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake at 5-on-5, and took over Martin Necas' spot on the team's first power play unit. He led the Hurricanes with five shots. Hall worked 11:36, including some third-period shifts with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Andrei Svechnikov.
  • As two Canes skated in their first games with the club, Pyotr Kochetkov appeared in his 100th. While he couldn't pick up the win between the pipes this time, he already owns the franchise record for goaltender victories through 100 games with the team, having won 56 appearances ahead of the century mark - five ahead of Hurricanes Hall of Famer Cam Ward (51).
  • Despite the result, the Canes extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1) and have recorded at least a point in eight of their last nine outings (6-1-2).

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour on the contest...

"Hockey's weird. Our first two periods were terrible and then our third period was actually really good, we had tons of chances. They kind of got a weird one on a high stick... a faceoff, all of a sudden it's in your net and then we're in overtime. It was kind of a weird game. I liked our third. I certainly didn't enjoy the first two periods... We got ahead and we kind of didn't stay on it as well as we should have. Then in overtime, anything can happen. We made a poor decision with the puck and there you go."

Rod Brind'Amour when asked about the newcomers...

"I thought Rants (Rantanen) had a few chances all night. He actually had four or five shots and they were all within good range. Hallsy in the third, when we gave him a little more opportunity, all of a sudden he was very noticeable. It's going to take some time. They really don't have any idea how we play and where we need to be, but they're good hockey players, as we know. We need to be better though around them. The other group, we need to be better."

Mikko Rantanen touching on his last 24 hours...

"Finding out last night, not a lot of sleep, a lot of emotions going through because it was 10 years in Colorado. It was a long time. That's the hardest. But I felt pretty good, obviously, I've kind of been better for sure, but there's a lot of good players around here and this team is good, so it should be good."

Taylor Hall discussing his third-period shifts with Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi...

"Those are two really good players, just big guys, strong guys, strong on pucks. Svech, I've played against him for a long time, and the same with KK. They see the game well and they're big. I just wanted to get in and have a couple of good shifts where we could kind of feel each other out and get the puck. That's when you start getting momentum as a line, after a couple of good shifts. It doesn't just happen like that. That was fun. The third period was a lot of fun."

Mikko Rantanen speaks on tonights 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

What's Next?

Sunday is a scheduled off day for the Canes, and they will remain in New York until Tuesday's tilt against the Rangers.

Next Game: Tuesday, Jan. 28 at NY Rangers | 7:00 p.m.

Next Game: Thursday, Jan. 30 vs. Chicago | 7:00 p.m. | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights