Hurricanes extend point streak to 9 with win against Kraken

RALEIGH, N.C --The Carolina Hurricanes extended their point streak to nine games with a 3-2 win against the Seattle Kraken at PNC Arena on Thursday.

Andrei Svechnikov, Derek Stepan and Stefan Noesen scored for the Hurricanes (17-6-6), who are 7-0-2 during the streak. Pyotr Kochetkov made 15 saves.
"I thought we were pretty good the whole game," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We were sharp all over all night. Overall, I thought it was a solid game."
Ryan Donato and Daniel Sprong scored for the Kraken (16-10-3), who have lost two straight and five of six. Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves.
"We're coming through a tough road trip (1-3-0). We knew what this stretch looked like," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "We're disappointed. We're going home with two out of the eight points, so that says that we all have to get back to Seattle and have a good day of practice and get ready to turn that around as we go into the Christmas break."

Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 10:10 of the first period. He skated in all alone and scored blocker side after the Kraken turned the puck over while attempting to break out of their zone.
"Their sustained five-man pressure in the first period was relentless," Hakstol said. "We got caught with a couple of soft plays, a little bit slow in a couple of decisions, and that's what that pressure can do to you."
Stepan scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0 at 17:16. He fed Jack Drury in the neutral zone before receiving a return pass in the high slot and beating Grubauer with wrist shot glove side.
"It's a confidence thing. It's always nice to score," Stepan said. "It definitely builds that momentum a little bit. I liked the way our line played tonight, that's for sure."

Noesen extended the lead to 3-0 on a penalty shot at 2:08 of the second period. After he was slashed on a breakaway by Adam Larsson, Noesen scored just under the crossbar with a slap shot from the slot.
"If he dropped his glove, I was going there," Noesen said. "If he didn't, maybe five-hole or make a move. But he dropped his glove. I don't think anyone is going to stop that one."
Donato made it 3-1 at 11:26 of the second when he deflected Carson Soucy's shot from the blue line. The goal ended Kochetkov's shutout streak at 151:26, the longest by a rookie in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history.
"We found our game eventually, but you can't start that late against a good team like that," Donato said. "I say it all the time, but if we get pucks low, we have a lot of guys who can forecheck real hard and get turnovers."

Sprong cut it to 3-2 at 9:14 of the third period with a wrist shot that trickled under Kochetkov's right arm.
"I knew if I put it far side, even if it doesn't go in, [Brandon Tanev's] going to beat his guy to the net," Sprong said. "I think as a line we deserved that one. We had some really good looks in the second and third.
"I think we didn't get to the O-zone much in the first 10 (minutes), but we started playing with more speed and we started playing our game, and I think as the game went on we took more control. We just have to get rid of those grade-A chances that we gave up."
NOTES:Seattle had a season-low 17 shots. … Hurricanes forward Paul Stastny played his 1,100th NHL game. … Noesen's penalty shot was his first in the NHL.