Rookie Jackson Blake scored his first NHL goal, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves in his season debut as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Blake, 21, recorded two points (1g, 1a) in four preseason games for the Hurricanes. The 5’11”, 178-pound forward made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes on April 16 at Columbus after signing a three-year, entry-level contract following the conclusion of his collegiate season. Blake recorded 60 points (22g, 38a) in 40 NCAA games with North Dakota in 2023-24 and was a top-three finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top player in college hockey. Selected by the Hurricanes in the fourth round, 109th overall, at the 2021 NHL Draft, Blake posted 102 points (38g, 64a) in 79 career games with the Fighting Hawks.
Seth Jarvis, Shayne Gostisbehere and Sebastian Aho also scored for the Hurricanes, who played their second game of the season after an opening loss to Tampa Bay on Friday.
Jake Hughes and Nico Hischier scored for the Devils, who had a two-game winning streak halted. Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots.
Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi helped set up Gostisbehere’s go-ahead goal and earned an assist on the sequence for his 100th career point. It came in his 400th NHL game. There was also a milestone for Aho, who skated in his 600th game and scored into an empty net.
The Devils visit Ottawa on Thursday night (Oct 17), while the Hurricanes begin a six-game trip Friday night (Oct 18) at Pittsburgh.