RALEIGH, N.C. — Sebastian Aho had three goals and an assist to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Justin Williams, Saku Maenalanen and Lucas Wallmark also scored for Carolina, which won for the seventh time in eight games and earned its fifth consecutive victory at home. Micheal Ferland had two assists and had a first-period fight that helped jump-start the Hurricanes.
Aho has five goals in the past two games, running his team-best total to 21 for the season.
Nashville, which had earned at least a point in seven straight games, got two goals from Filip Forsberg and another from Colton Sissons, but goaltender Pekka Rinne was chased in the second period.
Carolina had an advantage on special teams with two power-play goals. The Predators got a short-handed goal but went 0 for 5 on the power play.
Aho gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead with a breakaway goal 15:44 into the first period. Carolina got a break when the puck bounced off the skate off a Nashville player in the Hurricanes’ zone and defenceman Roman Josi fell down, leaving the ice open in front of Aho.
Maenalanen made it 2-0 with a one-timer from the slot at 18:15 off a nice feed from Justin Faulk.
The Predators cut Carolina’s lead to 2-1 with Sissons’ goal 2:48 into the second period, but the Hurricanes responded with three straight scores.
Aho got a beautiful backhanded pass by Ferland and scored a power-play goal at 3:08. Wallmark caught Nashville in a line change 8:35 into the second, and Williams chased Rinne with a power-play goal at 10:11.
Forsberg scored the next two goals. He had a short-handed tally in the second and then scored again 13:33 into the third to cut Carolina’s lead to 5-3.
NOTES: Williams, in his 18th NHL season, matched his career-best scoring streak with a goal in five straight games. … Left wing Phillip Di Giuseppe played 21 games with Carolina this season. He was claimed on waivers by the Predators on Jan. 1 and played his third game with Nashville on Sunday. … The Hurricanes improved to 7-0-2 in their black alternate jerseys this season.
UP NEXT
Predators: Host Washington on Tuesday night
Hurricanes: Visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
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The Associated Press
