In a contest destined for the record books, the Carolina Hurricanes engineered a scarcely believable comeback Thursday night, overturning a two-goal deficit inside the final two minutes to defeat the Utah Mammoth 5-4 in regulation at Lenovo Center. The comeback was fueled by a dominant performance from Andrei Svechnikov, whose two-goal, three-point night drew high praise from head coach Rod Brind’Amour while also setting a clear standard for what the Hurricanes expect moving forward.
Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov opened the scoring at 3:04 of the first period, finishing a rebound after Karel Vejmelka stopped Jalen Chatfield's backhand. Carolina carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but Utah swung momentum in the second period. Kailer Yamamoto scored twice in a span of 4:14 to give the Mammoth a 2-1 advantage. Shayne Gostisbehere tied the game with a power-play one-timer at 17:36, only for JJ Peterka to restore the Mammoth lead just 19 seconds later, making it 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Utah extended the advantage to 4-2 at 7:11 of the third period when Michael Carcone converted off a setup from Jack McBain after another Hurricanes turnover. The Mammoth protected that lead until a four-minute high-sticking penalty on Barrett Hayton with 5:18 remaining changed the game. With Brandon Bussi pulled for the extra attacker, Svechnikov scored his second of the night on the power play at 18:01, cutting the deficit to one.
Gostisbehere then tied the game 22 seconds later with his second goal, a long-range shot through traffic. Jordan Staal completed the comeback with 30 seconds remaining, redirecting a Chatfield pass at the top of the crease for his 30th career game-winning goal as a Hurricane.
Svechnikov finished with two goals and an assist, recording his fourth multi-point outing in his last six games and hitting the 20-goal threshold in just 53 games this season after scoring 20 times in 73 games last year. He now leads Carolina with 19 points in January, a single-month career high, and has eight goals since Jan. 16, the most he has scored in any six-game span.
Following the game, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour singled out Svechnikov's impact.
“He had a great game,” said Brind’Amour. “I mean, I thought he was our best forward and maybe the best on the ice. He was impactful the whole night and was really driving play. That's the kind of player he can be, and if he continues to do that, it bodes well for us.”
Gostisbehere returned from a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury and posted two goals and an assist, giving him three-point games for the fourth time this season. He now leads Carolina's defensemen with 35 points in 36 games, a .97 points-per-game pace that ranked seventh among NHL defensemen at the time.
In net, Bussi made 21 saves on 25 shots to earn his 20th win in just 24 career games, breaking the NHL record previously shared by Andrew Hammond and Bill Durnan, who each reached the total in 25 games. The Hurricanes improved to 33-15-5, extended their point streak to six games (5-0-1), and became only the third team in NHL history to win in regulation after trailing by two goals in the final two minutes.
Carolina will practice Friday before traveling to Washington, D.C., for Saturday's matchup with the Capitals, followed by a home game against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.
