Svechnikov scores in shootout as Hurricanes edge Blackhawks 4-3
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 3, 2021
By JAY COHEN
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) — Andrei Svechnikov scored in regulation and again in the shootout, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Warren Foegele had a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup, helping Carolina win for the sixth time in its first seven games. Vincent Trocheck also scored, and captain Jordan Staal had two assists.
Svechnikov had the only successful attempt in the shootout, closing out the victory after James Reimer turned away Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome for Chicago.
Kane, Strome and Phillipp Kurashev scored in regulation for the Blackhawks, and Kevin Lankinen made 38 saves. DeBrincat and Dominik Kubalik each had two assists.
Reimer made 30 stops for Carolina in his second straight start in place of Petr Mrazek, who left Saturday’s 4-1 win over Dallas with an upper-body injury. Mrazek is weighing his options for treatment and could be sidelined for an extended period.
Carolina improved to 4-0 since returning Jan. 28 after its season was paused because of COVID-19 issues, leading to the postponement of four games.
Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen were back in the lineup after they each missed three games while spending time on the COVID-19 protocol list.
Jesper Fast also was available after he was removed from the NHL’s COVID-19 list before the matchup with the Blackhawks, but he was scratched.
Chicago welcomed back DeBrincat and Nicolas Beaudin after they were removed from the list, but the team is still missing Adam Boqvist, Ryan Carpenter and Lucas Wallmark because of COVID-19-related issues.
DeBrincat came up with a big play in the third, finding Strome in front for the tying goal with 6:39 left in regulation. The Hurricanes had taken a 3-2 lead on Trocheck’s fifth goal 6:50 into the period.
Carolina put together a strong start, using its speed to create several high-quality chances. Staal set up two goals in the first, making a one-handed pass to the middle that a streaking Svechnikov finished at 3:51 and finding Foegele for his first goal of the season with 5:14 left in the period.
With Carolina looking to build on its lead, Chicago got back in the game after Hurricanes defenseman Haydn Fleury was sent off for holding Matthew Highmore. Kurashev tapped in a perfect pass from Pius Suter for a power-play goal with 2:02 left.
Slavin then turned the puck over in the final seconds of the first and Kane beat Reimer from the slot, tying it at 2 with his fifth goal. It was career point No. 1,033 for Kane, tying Doug Weight for sixth in scoring among U.S.-born players in NHL history.
UP NEXT
The teams play again Thursday night. Carolina then continues its road trip at Columbus on Sunday. Chicago travels to Dallas to face the Stars on Sunday.
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Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap
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