Rookie Jackson Blake scored his first NHL goal, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves in his season debut, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
Seth Jarvis, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Sebastian Aho also found the net for the Hurricanes, who were playing their second game of the season after losing to Tampa Bay on Friday.
Jake Hughes and Nico Hischier scored for the Devils, ending their two-game winning streak. Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots in goal.
Blake, a 21-year-old from the University of North Dakota, was drafted 109th by Carolina in 2021. He redirected a shot from Dmitry Orlov at 10:16 of the third period, increasing the Hurricanes’ lead to 3-1.
Hughes opened the scoring for the Devils with a shot that went through Kochetkov’s legs just 1:16 into the second period, marking him as the 10th goal scorer for New Jersey this season.
New Jersey played its second back-to-back games of the season after a home win against Utah but lacked energy by the end. They had more than 30 shots in three of their first five games but managed only 24 against Carolina.
Carolina scored four times in the last 30 minutes of the game.
The Hurricanes successfully killed a penalty in the third period after Hischier scored during a 5-on-3 opportunity, helping them maintain their lead. Carolina had allowed two power-play goals in their opener against Tampa Bay.
Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi assisted on Gostisbehere’s go-ahead goal, earning his 100th career point in his 400th NHL game. Aho also reached a milestone by playing in his 600th game and scored into an empty net.
