Recap: Canes' Fight Falls Short In Dallas

DALLAS - A hot start wasn't enough for the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, as they ultimately lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.

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As was the case in Colorado on Thursday, it didn't take long for Carolina to open up a multi-goal lead. Jackson Blake struck first for the visitors, capitalizing on a turnover and showcasing some slick hands around the net to open the scoring at 4:14. Then, it was Sebastian Aho's turn, as the Finn beat the buzzer with a laser from the right circle in the final minute of the first frame.

Unfortunately, it also didn't take long for that lead to vanish in the second period. A bad-luck bounce off a Carolina stick put Dallas on the board at 1:04, while a game-tying power-play tally followed just four minutes later.

Themes from Dallas' two second-period strikes combined for its game-winner in the third, as another Stars pass found a Canes defenseman and ricocheted in, this time on the power play, to give the hosts the narrow lead they'd need in Saturday's back-and-forth battle.

Goaltender Brandon Bussi recorded a career-best 31 saves on 34 shots in his first defeat as an NHL netminder.

Stats & Standouts

• Forward Sebastian Aho scored to extend his point streak to eight games. It's just the second time in his career that he has recorded a point in at least eight consecutive contests to start a season, following a 12-game run he enjoyed to open 2018-19.
• Aho's goal was the 287th of his career, surpassing Florida's Aleksander Barkov for the fifth-most scored by a Finnish player in NHL history. Only Teemu Selanne (684), Jari Kurri (601), Olli Jokinen (321) and Mikko Rantanen (297) have more.
• Forward Bradly Nadeau made his season debut for Carolina, logging 12:39 TOI and recording one shot, two blocks and a hit in his fourth career game. Nadeau is the fifth rookie to appear in a regular-season game for Carolina this season.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour after the loss...

"It's tough when you lose a game that was there for us. We probably shouldn't have won the other night (in Colorado), so I guess, you could say it worked out, but it's a huge concern with the injuries we have. It's not sustainable to think that we're going to go out there and win every night with what we have back there. Those guys dug in and did the best they could."

Sebastian Aho sharing a similar message...

"It was right there for us. (It was a) tight game; they got a couple of bounces. Obviously, they earned them. We pushed at the end, but didn't get the result. It is what it is. It wasn't that bad of a game; we were right there, and that's a good team, too. We'll take the positives and learnings from this, and we'll move forward."

Sebastian Aho on how Dallas changed the momentum in the second period...

"Their (first) goal goes off of our guy, and it's a nothing play, right? Goals dictate the momentum in this league, and they did a good job using their momentum. It was a tight game from start to finish, and there was not much there."

Rod Brind'Amour touching on the shift in momentum too...

"I actually thought we had a good second period. They had their chances, we had ours. We hit a couple of posts in the first. This game could have easily gone either way. We obviously have to score on the power play at some point because it's putting too much stress on the penalty kill."

Sebastian Aho on finally reaching the end of the six-game road trip...

"It wasn't the easiest trip. It's early in the year, with a lot of travel. Every team goes through that, so there's obviously no excuses at all. We played good teams, and I thought most of it was good hockey. We showed to ourselves the style of play and how we want to play, especially on the road. It's not always pretty, but I like a lot of what I saw. It leaves kind of a bad taste at the end, you hoped to finish off on the right note."

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes are scheduled to return to Raleigh immediately following tonight's game. They're scheduled to practice on Monday before returning to game action at Lenovo Center on Tuesday.
• Next Game: Tuesday, Oct. 28 vs. Vegas | 6:30 p.m. ET | Hispanic Heritage Night | Tickets | Parking