Recap: Canes Kick Off Road Trip With Win In Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Man. - The Carolina Hurricanes opened a five-game jaunt through the Western Conference with a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | BUY TICKETS

Twenty minutes came and went without either team finding twine, but the afternoon's action picked up in the second period. Capitalizing on an uncharacteristic defensive zone turnover by Carolina, Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele opened the scoring at 4:23. The Canes punched back soon after with a Mark Jankowski power-play conversion, but another giveaway gifted the Jets a second go-ahead goal as the contest rounded the midway mark.

Nearing the end of a middle frame largely controlled by Carolina, the visitors were rewarded for their dominance when Jesperi Kotkaniemi deflected Shayne Gostisbehere's wrister from range to level things up once more. That momentum rolled into an early third-period power play, during which Nikolaj Ehlers wound up and hammered home a slap shot from the high slot for the eventual game-winner.

Weathering a late push from the Jets, Pyotr Kochetkov wrapped up a fifth straight win between the pipes with 22 saves on 24 shots.

Stats & Standouts

• Mark Jankowski scored for the sixth straight game, matching the team record (since relocation) for the longest goal-scoring streak. In franchise history, only Ray Ferraro (7 gms, '88-'89) and Pierre Larouche (9 gms, '81-'82) have achieved longer runs.
• Shayne Gostisbehere recorded two assists for his second multi-point outing in his last five games. The Hurricanes have had 22 multi-point performances this season, the second-most in the NHL behind Colorado (29).
• Nikolaj Ehlers and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each lit the lamp for the first time this season.
• Pyotr Kochetkov became the second goaltender in franchise history to begin a campaign with a five-game winning streak. Frederik Andersen is the only one to achieve the feat (8 GP in 2021-22).
• Bradly Nadeau and Felix Unger Sörum made their season debuts on Saturday. Nadeau logged an assist in 15:17 TOI, while Unger Sörum skated 9:20 in his second NHL outing.
• The Hurricanes won their first five road games of a season for the first time in franchise history. Only two clubs have posted a run of that length in the past five years: Winnipeg (7 GP in 2024-25) and Los Angeles (11 GP in 2023-24).
• Carolina's seven-game winning streak is tied for the longest by a reigning Stanley Cup champion with Florida ('24-'25) and Vegas ('23-'24).

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour following the victory...

“I thought we were pretty sluggish to start the game and made some uncharacteristic mistakes, but I thought we got through it and looked a lot better. Obviously, [we] pulled it off… We buckled down and played a good second half of the game. Go up and down the lineup, everybody was contributing tonight, and that’s what you have to have, especially with the guys we have out. Give the guys a lot of credit for the way they stepped up.”

Mark Jankowski sharing his view on the win...

"I think we just stuck with it. It probably wasn't our best early on in the first. But then once we got to our game, we kind of got to it and rolled all four lines, had everyone chipping in, and it was a huge team victory."

Mark Jankowski after scoring for the sixth consecutive game...

"It just feels great to help the team win any way possible. That's always been my philosophy. [I'm] just trying to do all the little things right and then eventually, the goals and all that come afterwards..."

Nikolaj Ehlers talking about the team's desire to get better, even though they've won seven in a row...

"It's a long season, and we're only in the beginning of it. We know we've got a lot better than we did tonight. We're not exactly where we want to be, but, again, it's a long season, and we've got a lot of time to keep making the small details better, which is what we did last year. We have to continue doing that this year."

What's Next?

The Canes will fly to Calgary following the game. They're right back in action tomorrow night against the Flames.

Next Game: Sunday, Oct. 18 at Calgary | 8:00 p.m. ET | Hurricanes Hockey Network

Next Home Game: Tuesday, Oct. 28 vs. Boston | 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | Tickets | Parking