Aho's second goal of game lifts Hurricanes past Flames in OT

CALGARY --Sebastian Aho scored his second of the game with 53 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

Aho drove to the net and jammed the puck in for his first game-winning goal of the season.
"I had some space and time to build up my speed and I decided early on to take (Matthew Tkachuk) 1-on-1 but they made a nice switch there, little bit of side pressure [from Elias Lindholm]," Aho said. "Kind of caught me already but I got a break there, so it felt good."
Frederik Andersen made 26 saves for the Hurricanes (18-6-1), who have won three straight after a season-long three-game losing streak.
"It was a good effort through the lineup," Aho said. "I think guys worked hard. It wasn't pretty. I know we can be a lot better than that, but at the same time, we killed a lot of penalties (5-for-5 on penalty kill), 'Freddie' was unbelievable at the net, and big plays defensively as a group. It was a nice win."

Noah Hanifin scored, and Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves for the Flames (15-6-6), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time this season.
"We didn't get two points, so it wasn't good," Markstrom said. "We didn't get two points, and now we haven't got two points three games in a row. That's not good for our group, not good for our team and not good enough for me."
Aho put Carolina ahead 1-0 at 4:14 of the first period when he redirected a pass from Jaccob Slavin past Markstrom. Aho has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a four-game multipoint streak.
"That's your best player," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We rely on him to do a lot of things. He came through for us tonight. I think a lot of guys were just having off nights. It was just hard to get anything generated. Sometimes that's what happens, sometimes the best players have to take over."
Andersen made a stick save on Hanifin's penalty shot at 5:33 after he was hooked on a breakaway by Ian Cole, and Tkachuk missed the net on a breakaway at 6:04.
Hanifin then tied it 1-1 at 7:23 of the second period with a wrist shot from the point that deflected off the stick of Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast before going in off the crossbar.
"I just tried getting it to the net," Hanifin said. "I just think there was a D-man screening or something. That's something for us, as D-men, we've got to do a better job of just getting pucks to the net. When we do that, it helps. ... Even if it's rebounds or a tip or something, it helps generate more offense for our guys, so we've just got to keep focusing on that."

Flames forward Dillon Dube's shot from the slot 1:47 into the third period trickled under the right arm of Andersen, but Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen pulled the puck off the goal line with one hand on his stick to prevent a goal.
"There was two or three that I looked down and you're not sure if they're in or not," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "The one that was close off the post ... really close."
Calgary came close again with 2:17 left when Rasmus Andersson's centering pass went off Slavin's skate before he knocked the puck away with his stick. Tkachuk then tried to stuff the puck in, but Aho cleared it before the Flames could get a third chance.
"The guys made some great plays on those going through or behind me," Andersen said. "That's awesome. I'll take the help, sometimes. Just great plays."
NOTES: Calgary has lost six of seven games decided in overtime. ... Carolina is 7-0-1 when outshot by its opponent. … Slavin played a regular season NHL career-high 32:28. ... The Flames were 0-for-5 on the power play. ... Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter has five points (one goal, four assists) during a three-game point streak. ... Hurricanes defenseman Ethan Bear did not play due to non-COVID illness.