{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Carolina 5, Philadelphia 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Devin Berg, Tim Nowak
Attendance: 13577

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sebastian Aho went without a goal over his first 13 NHL games, and some began to wonder if and when the slender 19-year-old would find his scoring touch after tremendous success in Finland's top league last season.

Don't look now, but Aho is rolling, scoring twice in the first period and then adding a third goal late in the second Tuesday night. The rookie's first hat trick helped the Carolina Hurricanes snap a five-game losing skid with a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Aho, on a new line this game with Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm after a major offensive shakeup by coach Bill Peters, added a third-period assist. He has nine goals in his past 14 games and five points against the Flyers in three games this season.

"Credit to him at a young age to be able to get acclimated to the NHL game and get acclimated to North America," Peters said. "He's a smart player, a competitive kid with a real good skill set, and he can play multiple positions and up and down the lineup. He's coming on for sure."

The Hurricanes (22-20-7) had allowed 23 goals during their pre-All-Star break losing streak, but they totally dominated a team they are chasing in the Eastern Conference for the final wild-card spot.

Aho recorded the team's first hat trick of the season and first for a Carolina rookie since Erik Cole had one on Dec. 21, 2001.

"It was fun tonight with a great atmosphere out there," Aho said. "Every two points is important now, and we needed that one."

Carolina held the Flyers, who had won three straight, without a shot for the first 12:45 of the second period and the opening 10:27 of the third. The Hurricanes put the game away on goals by Jeff Skinner and Aho within a span of 1:37 late in the second period.

Philadelphia matched its season-low shot total, 16.

"You can't throw games out at this point in time," said Flyers goalie Steve Mason, who made 23 saves. "There's no excuse. They were ready, we weren't. We did not deserve to win that hockey game. If we play like that, we're not getting into the playoffs."

Brayden Schenn scored his NHL-leading 12th power-play goal with 9:33 left -- Philadelphia's first shot of the third period. The Flyers (25-20-6) had just six shots after 50 minutes.

"I thought our good defense and our ability to defend and not spend much time in our zone, led to our offense," Peters said. "And the power play kicked in and got us two."

Skinner, without a point in six straight games, recorded his team-leading 18th goal to give Carolina a three-goal lead, and Aho added a power-play goal for his 15th -- third best among NHL rookies. He notched his first hat trick in his 49th career game.

"It's nice to contribute to a win," said Skinner, who had a long talk with Peters about the recent power-play woes at the morning skate. "When you go that long without producing, it can get a little frustrating, especially when the team isn't winning. Part of my role is to produce, and I wasn't doing that. It was good to get one in."

Peters said getting away from the game over the All-Star weekend did wonders for his club, considering the Hurricanes are the third-youngest team in the league.

"The break for us was probably better mentally than physically," Peters said. "It's hard, it's very hard and you can see it in the dressing room, they've come back and they're got some energy, they are talking about fly-fishing, talking about all kinds of stuff that kids should be doing."

Meanwhile, Philadelphia continued to struggle in the first period, managing just four shots on Cam Ward while allowing two goals to Aho after a pair of costly defensive zone turnovers.

Aho, Carolina's second-round pick in the 2015 draft, scored 7:11 into the game when Staal stole the puck from Travis Konecny and passed to Aho, who made a move on Mason and slid the puck into the open net.

Aho's second goal late in the period came off a cross-ice pass from Lindholm as Carolina was able to hold the zone after an attempted clearing pass was intercepted by Aho, who immediately raced toward the front of the net for the give-and-go goal.

Justin Faulk, Carolina's All-Star representative, scored his 10th of the season on the power play from Aho 5:10 into the third. The defenseman recorded his third straight season of double-digit goals.

Ward finished with 15 saves.

NOTES: C Jordan Staal played in his 300th game with the Hurricanes. ... Carolina backup G Eddie Lack has returned from a conditioning stint with Charlotte of the American Hockey League after missing 26 of the last 30 games with a concussion. ... G Cam Ward's 42nd start this season for the Hurricanes is good for third most in the NHL. ... Philadelphia has scored just 28 first-period goals in 51 games, 30 fewer than the team has notched in the second. ... Carolina is one of two teams (New Jersey) that the Flyers will play five times this season. Philadelphia won the first two meetings 4-3 and 6-3 within an eight-day span in October.
Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Carolina
Brayden Schenn 1 Points Sebastian Aho 4
Brayden Schenn 1 Goals Sebastian Aho 3
Shayne Gostisbehere 1 Assists Elias Lindholm 2
Brayden Schenn 1 Power Play Goals Sebastian Aho 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Steve Mason .821 Save Percentage Cam Ward .938
Steve Mason 23 Saves Cam Ward 15
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 16 1 1-5 5-7 14 25
Carolina 28 5 2-7 4-5 10 34
Upcoming Games
  • Carolina will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .381 after a win and .481 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Flyers have a W/L % of .520 after a win and .462 after a loss.