Facts and Figures: Aho hat trick sparks Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes are rapidly ascending the Eastern Conference standings. Sebastian Aho helped them take the next big step with his second NHL hat trick in a 6-3 win against the Nashville Predators at PNC Arena on Sunday.

The Hurricanes (22-18-5, 49 points) are 7-1-0 in their past eight games and have won five in a row at home to move within four points of the Montreal Canadiens (24-17-5, 53 points) for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Aho, a 21-year-old forward who has 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 45 games, is the fourth player to debut with the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers and score 20 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons. Ron Francis (1981-82 to 1983-84), Sylvain Turgeon (1983-84 to 1985-86) and Kevin Dineen (1984-85 to 1986-87) are the other three.
He is also the sixth Finland-born NHL player to reach the 20-goal milestone in his first three NHL seasons, joining Jari Kurri (1980-81 to 1982-83), Tomas Sandstrom (1984-85 to 1986-87), Petri Skriko (1984-85 to 1986-87), Teemu Selanne (1992-93 to 1994-95) and Patrik Laine (2016-17 to 2018-19).
Justin Williams, Carolina's 37-year-old captain, extended his goal streak to five games, the longest active run in the NHL. His is the sixth NHL player with a streak of at least five games at age 37 or older.

Flames scorch Coyotes for 30th win

The Calgary Flames received multipoint games from Mark Giordano (three points; two goals, one assist), Matthew Tkachuk (two goals), Johnny Gaudreau (two points; one goal, one assist) and Sean Monahan (two points; one goal, one assist) in a 7-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames (30-13-4, 64 points) matched their record for fewest games needed to win 30 games (47) set in 1988-89 (30-10-7, 67 points) en route to winning the Stanley Cup. They did it by scoring at least seven goals in a game for an NHL high sixth time this season to give them 173 goals for, second to the Tampa Bay Lightning (189).
Calgary leads the Western Conference, has won five in a row and is 8-1-1 in its past 10 games, and Gaudreau is a big reason why. The forward has points in eight straight games (18 points; eight goals, 10 assists) and is second in the NHL with 69 points (27 goals, 42 assists) behind Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (75 points; 22 goals, 53 assists).

Jets hand Ducks 11th straight loss

The Winnipeg Jets rallied from down 2-0 and 3-2 before Bryan Little scored with 10.1 seconds left in overtime for a 4-3 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at Bell MTS Place. The Jets (29-14-2, 60 points) lead the Central Division and are 8-2-0 in their past 10 games. They have also won four straight on home ice.
The Ducks (19-18-9, 47 points) have lost 11 in a row (0-7-4) since Dec. 17 but are tied with the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The losing streak is longest in Ducks history.