RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Sebastian Aho seems to be coming along nicely in his rookie season with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The 19-year-old Finnish winger scored his second goal of the game 1:34 into overtime to lift Carolina to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
It was the second two-goal game of the season for the slender second-round pick from the 2015 draft, who has been a key reason Carolina has been so dominant (12-4-1) at home this season.
“He’s a good player and a smart player,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. “He’s had a steady progression in his development. Hanging onto pucks, making plays. It would be nice if he became a little more selfish, took it to the net more and looked to be a shooter. But he’s a 19-year-old kid and his progression is right where you expect it. And he’s responsible defensively. He doesn’t have to cheat to generate offense, and he’s got pride away from the puck.”
Derek Ryan and Jay McClement also scored for the Hurricanes, and Cam Ward finished with 32 saves. Carolina won two of the three meetings between the teams, with all three going beyond regulation.
Tim Schallar, David Backes and Brad Marchand scored for Boston and Zane McIntyre stopped 26 shots in his first career appearance against Carolina.
Each team was whistled for just one minor penalty.
Carolina, 11-1-1 in its last 13 home games, improved to 4-0-0 in its black third jerseys this season.
The Bruins, who had won 4-0 on Saturday at Florida, fell to 1-6-1 in the second games of back-to-backs this season.
“It was one of those momentum-shift games, and in the third period I thought we came hard and played really well,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “You could tell we wanted to win the game. But when you play back-to-backs you need everybody going, and tonight we didn’t have everybody going.”
Marchand tied the score at 7:43 of the third period as he beat Ward through traffic on an assist from Patrice Bergeron. That came just 23 seconds after McClement had given the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead, taking a pass from Viktor Stalberg from behind the goal line and flicking it around McIntyre.
Boston led 1-0 after the first despite being outshot 13-8. Schaller put the Bruins ahead on a spin move from the right of the crease with 6:50 left.
Aho tied it from the doorstep at 2:57 of the second, redirecting a blast from Jaccob Slavin up and over McIntyre as Aho and defenseman Brandon Carlo tangled in the crease. The Bruins challenged for goaltender interference on the play, but the goal stood.
“I just tried to be patient with the puck and get it to go in,” said Aho, who has 10 goals and 13 assists and is a plus-6 on the season. “Sometimes you need to score dirty ones in the NHL. But it’s always fun to score.”
Ryan then put the Hurricanes ahead with 5:32 left in the second, beating McIntyre glove side on a rush with Jordan Staal on the helper.
Backes tied it 2-2 at 5:49 of the third, following a shot from Kevan Miller into an open glove side of the net.
Fellow Finn Teuvo Teravainen had his 12th assist of the season on Aho’s game-winner, which lifted Ward to 15-12-6.
“We just have to stay comfortable in those situations,” Ward said. “I don’t think we showed any panic there, and we were able to capitalize on our opportunities.”
NOTES: Hurricanes C Victor Rask played in his 200th NHL game, all with Carolina. … RW Ty Rattie was playing in his first home contest for Carolina after appearing in two road games since they claimed him on waivers from St. Louis. … Carolina C Andrej Nestrasil, D Klas Dahlbeck and D Ryan Murphy were healthy scratches. … Boston LW Anton Blidh, D Colin Miller and D Joe Morrow were healthy scratches.
UP NEXT
Bruins: At St. Louis on Tuesday night in the third game of a four-game trip.
Hurricanes: Host Columbus on Tuesday night in the second game of a four-game homestand.
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