One of the more wild games of the NHL season so far took place in Raleigh on Thursday night, with the Carolina Hurricanes earning a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
A first-period natural hat trick by Carolina forward Martin Necas proved to ultimately be all the scoring the Hurricanes would need despite a roller coaster game.
After giving up a goal to let Colorado get back within 3-1, Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov didn't see a dump-in attempt from the blue line by Samuel Girard, allowing an embarrassing goal to erase some hard-fought momentum.
Backup Antti Raanta steadied the ship in the second period, but had to leave with an injury after the second. Kochetkov had to come back in, but he was able to slam the door shut.
Teuvo Teravainen finished with a career-high four assists, and an empty netter by Seth Jarvis put the game on ice as two Stanley Cup contenders finished off an enticing matchup.
The Hurricanes Rise Up the Standings
After making last year's Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes got off to a slower than expected start to this season. A nightmarish road trip to Western Canada sent the team to a low point.
But in mid-December, the Hurricanes caught fire, and they were able to build separation from the mediocre middle of the Metropolitan Division and put up a legitimate challenge to the New York Rangers for first place.
The Hurricanes' trade mark defensive excellence has been part of the team's run, but a dominant stretch of play from first-line center Sebastian Aho in the sporadic absence of star winger Andrei Svechnikov has helped the team outscore some goaltending issues.
In December and January, Aho had 34 points in 26 games, rocketing up the league leaderboards and putting his team on his back.
The Hurricanes are going to be in an interesting spot at this year's trade deadline. The team normally shies away from huge, all-in moves for rentals, but the need for a goalie is glaring, and their contention window won't be open forever.
Bad Trip for the Avalanche
The Avalanche have gotten a rude awakening coming out of the all-star break. The Avs embarked on a long road trip in their first game back with a loss to the Rangers in New York, and followed that up with a loss in New Jersey.
The Hurricanes were their third game in four nights, and a demoralizing loss made for three in a row.
Things don't get any easier for Colorado either, as the Avs have just Friday off before having to meet up with defending Eastern conference champion Florida.
They then have to go back north to take on Washington before going back to Florida to face Tampa Bay. It's a ton of travel, and there's potential this losing streak could spiral further.
Colorado is locked in a tight battle with Winnipeg and Dallas for first place in the Central Division, so every point matters right now for securing home-ice advantage in the playoffs.
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