RALEIGH — The Hurricanes dominated the first 38 minutes against the visiting Red Wings, but two quick end-of-period goals by Detroit had the visitors right back in the game and down one entering the third.
Carolina made sure there was no squandered effort.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Jackson Blake scored in the first 5½ minutes of the third period, and Taylor Hall joined Gostisbehere in having a goal and two assists in Carolina’s 5-2 win over Detroit on Saturday at Lenovo Center.
“I think it was just getting back to our game and realiz(ing) what got us our success in the first,” Gostisbehere said.
For the second straight game since the Olympic break, the Hurricanes jumped to a three-goal lead only to see their opponent chip away at it.
With the game at 4-on-4 after matching roughing penalties were called on Andrei Svechnikov and Ben Chiarot with just under three minutes left in the second period, the Red Wings took advantage of the open ice that hadn’t been available to them in much of the opening two periods.
Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson received a seam pass and picked the glove-side corner on Frederik Andersen (27 saves) at 18:26 to cut Carolina’s lead to 3-1.
Forty-seven seconds later, just as the game returned to 5-on-5, Patrick Kane took advantage of Blake screening Andersen, scoring short side to turn the Hurricanes’ three-goal lead into a one-goal advantage during the second intermission.
Blake, Hall and center Logan Stankoven — “clearly the best line that we’ve got going right now,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the game — struck twice early in the third period to restore order.
At 2:18 of the period, Blake and Gostisbehere worked a give-and-go that Gostisbehere finished for his 10th goal of the season — and third of the year against his former team.
“Yeah, I don’t mind it,” Gostisbehere said of playing against the team with which he played the 2023-24 season.
Then Blake matched last year’s goal total with his 17th of the season at 5:30, calling his own number on a 3-on-1 and shooting past Detroit goalie Cam Talbot (31 saves) to put Carolina firmly back in control.
“My whole life, I’ve just wanted to be like a playmaker and set up guys and do that stuff,” Blake said. “But at the end of the day, when you get opportunities like that, you’ve got to shoot them.”
It marked the second straight game his line totaled a pair of goals and five points.
“For much of the time that we’ve been together, we’ve had nights where we’re like, ‘How do we come out of that game without any goals?’” Hall said. “So it’s just a credit to us for sticking with it.”
Hall, who assisted on both third period goals, got his 14th of the year to open the scoring in the first period.
The Carolina winger blocked a shot by Edvinsson and raced for a breakaway. Hall froze Talbot and pushed the puck past the Red Wings goalie at 14:05 of the first period.
“I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do, honestly, and I tried to sell the forehand. Didn’t really work,” said Hall, who admitted the slower late-period ice allowed him to catch up to the puck. “So (I) went to option two, which is, I’m not much of a backhand on a breakaway guy. I like to put it to my forehand, and it managed to work out.”
Carolina doubled its lead in the final minute of the first on the power play when Sebastian Aho sent the puck to the front of the net and it deflected in off Edvinsson’s stick, giving Aho his 22nd goal with eight seconds left in the opening frame.
The lead grew to 3-0 at 2:52 of the second period when some tic-tac-toe passing gave Eric Robinson a chance in close on Talbot. The Detroit goalie made the initial save, but the rebound bounced off Robinson’s skate and in for his 11th goal of the year at 2:52.
Andersen made several key stops to keep the Red Wings off the board.
“They got behind us a couple times, and Freddie kept us in there,” Brind’Amour said. “They had a couple moments, but (Andersen) allowed us to settle down and get to our game with crucial saves at pivotal times.”
Detroit’s flurry late in the second cut the lead to one, but the Hurricanes’ line of two second-year players and a former MVP made sure it stood up.
“I think we’re going to be really good down the stretch,” Blake said of his line. “I think we could even have more goals than we have right now, but that’s the game of hockey, right? So I’ve been having a lot of fun these last two games.”
Notes: Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Mike Reilly were healthy scratches for Carolina. … Hall — who had a veneer knocked out near the end of the game on an Edvinsson high stick — posted his second straight multipoint game, the first time he’s done that since Dec. 21-23, 2024, with Chicago. … Alexander Nikishin was plus 3 and is second in the league among rookies at plus 12. Boston’s Fraser Minten is plus 16. … The Hurricanes have won five straight and are on a 12-game point streak (10-0-2). … The win and Tampa Bay’s loss moved Carolina into first in the Eastern Conference standings.
