Hurricanes complete two-game sweep of Kraken at Global Series Finland

Andrei Svechnikov and Mark Jankowski each scored twice, and the Carolina Hurricanes completed a two-game sweep of the Seattle Kraken in the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland with a 5-1 win at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki on Saturday.

Nikolaj Ehlers had three assists, and Jackson Blake extended his point streak to 11 games for the Hurricanes (16-3-2), who have won four in a row, including 4-1 in the Global Series opener on Thursday. Pyotr Kochetkov made 12 saves.

Carolina went 3-for-5 on the power play.

“It’s a good break in the ‘Groundhog Day’ of the NHL, just the grind,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “And then the guys have spent so much time together. Obviously to have a positive trip, I think that certainly brings positive feelings to the group, and you hope we can carry that through.”

Matty Beniers scored for the Kraken (9-8-1), who were limited to 13 shots on goal in their third straight loss. Joey Daccord allowed four goals on 14 shots before being relieved in the second period by Philipp Grubauer, who made 22 saves.

“We just weren’t nearly good enough tonight,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “When you look at the two games, there is a huge disparity. We just didn’t have our game. We weren’t at our best. At the end of the day, they’re a pressure team and we’ve got to do a better job being able to handle pressure. There are plays to be made, and if you make those plays, you can get opportunities.

“And the other thing is, I would say we probably lost, over the course of the weekend, 70 percent of the 50-50 battles. So, we’ve got to be stronger.”

Blake gave Carolina a 1-0 lead on a power play at 11:12 of the first period. Finland native Sebastian Aho made a no-look backhand pass between his legs to Blake, who one-timed a shot near the right hash marks. He has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) during his streak.

Aho, who scored twice on Thursday, has three goals and five assists during a four-game point streak.

“Hockey-wise, we played unbelievable,” Aho said of the trip. “You could feel the energy; the (teammates not from here) wanted to play well for us. I really appreciate how the guys showed up. You could feel there was a little extra.”

Jankowski made it 2-0 at 17:30 when his shot off a pass Finnish forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi went over Daccord’s glove.

Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead with his first of his two power-play goals at 2:03 of the second, a one-timer off a feed from Ehlers.

Beniers cut it to 3-1 at 6:06. Bobby McMann made a backhand pass from behind the net to Jordan Eberle, who set up Beniers for a shot over Kochetkov’s blocker.

Svechnikov made it 4-1 at 10:05, scoring again on a one-timer during a man-advantage, this one off a pass from Shayne Gostisbehere.

Daccord was pulled in favor of Grubauer after the goal.

Seattle was outshot 10-3 in the first and 15-5 in the second.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say we played our best,” said Eberle, the Kraken captain. “They kind of picked us apart in the D-zone in the way that they are connected and the way that they play as a team. It’s something that we strive to get to. I think that’s the bar for me, in my opinion.”

Jankowski scored again at 11:06 of the third period. Taylor Hall drove between the circles and passed to Jankowski for a tip-in at the left post for the 5-1 final.

It was Jankowski’s 10th goal in 17 games this season. He scored 11 in 68 games in 2025-26.

“For me, being able to come here, see all the Finnish customs, see (Aho, Kotkaniemi), Jusso (Valimaki) show us around their home country, it was just a super-cool experience,” Jankowski said. “ … Seeing those three guys come here and how excited they were to play in their home country, I mean, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to be able to play in the NHL in their home country.

“We all wanted to bring it for them, and I think they honestly led the way. All three of those guys played unbelievable for us these two games and led the way, so it was definitely a little more special, I think.”

NOTES: The Hurricanes are 5-0-0 in NHL tentpole events and the first to win each of their first four games played outside North America. … Carolina captain Jordan Staal returned after missing 14 games because of a torn calf muscle. He had one shot on goal and won nine of 12 face-offs (75 percent) in 13:55 of ice time. … Aho (eight points; three goals, five assists) and Svechnikov (seven points; five goals, two assists) each has a four-game point streak, and Ehlers has six points (one goal, five assists) during a three-game point streak. … Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren had one blocked shot in 16:31 after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury. … Jagger Firkus played 11:38 in his NHL debut. The 22-year-old forward was a second-round pick (No. 35) by Seattle at the 2022 NHL Draft.