The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t exactly breeze through the finish line Thursday night, but they did what good teams do in October: they banked the points. After building a 3-0 cushion against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the game got a little twitchy late, yet Carolina still walked away with a 3-2 victory in the final game of the month.
The win was their 11th of the season, and once again the story started in goal with Pyotr Kochetkov. Fresh off his eighth win of the year Tuesday against the Boston Bruins, Kochetkov got the nod again and delivered another victory, his ninth of 2026-27.
That gives him the franchise record for most wins to begin a season, as he moved past Frederik Andersen’s eight. He also joined Felix Potvin (1993-94) in winning nine straight to open a season.
Only Carey Price (10 in 2016-17) and Jack Campbell (11 in 2020-21) have done better.
Kochetkov’s run has been building since his first win of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 3, and he’s kept stacking quality starts and timely saves across his first nine appearances. He was already sitting on 80 career wins in just 134 games, which makes him the fourth-fastest goalie to hit that mark. Igor Shesterkin got there in 129 games, Logan Thompson in 132, and Jeremy Swayman, Frederik Andersen, and Tristian Jarry in 133.
After the game, Rod Brind’Amour praised what he’s seeing from his goaltender: “I mean, we’ve seen that he’s capable of something like this. The talent is certainly there.
You’ve noticed it for many years. Just the health has always seemed to be the issue, and hopefully he can stay healthy… I think his game is maturing.”
Carolina’s offense did its part, too. Jackson Blake extended his point streak to five games with the secondary assist on Logan Stankoven’s second-period goal, giving Blake 12 assists on the season, which leads the Hurricanes.
Seth Jarvis added two assists for his second multi-point outing, while Stankoven’s ninth goal of the year moved him into sole possession of the team lead, one ahead of Sebastian Aho. Mark Jankowski then added his seventh goal in the third period to make it 3-0 at the time, giving him seven goals in his last eight games.
That depth scoring has helped fuel a strong stretch for Carolina, which is now on a five-game point streak. The Hurricanes improved to 11-2-2 through 15 games, and after opening 0-1-1, they’ve gone 11-1-1 in their last 13. That surge has pushed them to the top of the NHL standings with 24 points.
Even without captain Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall, the Hurricanes keep finding ways to win, and Brind’Amour’s group has made the first month look easy. As he put it, “the machine” keeps on rolling. Next up is a Sunday, Nov. 1 meeting with the Winnipeg Jets, the second and final matchup between the teams in the 2026-27 regular season.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Showed Something In Carolina That Fans Will Want Repeated
The Blue Jackets did not leave Carolina with points, but they did leave with something to build on after an early-season road test that got away from them. Columbus fell behind as the Hurricanes controlled the opening and closing stretches, yet the Blue Jackets found a better rhythm as the game went on and started to look more like the team they want to be.
Charlie Coyle pointed to the improved energy in the later periods, which is the kind of detail coaches and teammates can circle after a loss. The challenge now is turning that late push into something more consistent when the schedule moves on, because a good burst in one game only matters if it carries into the next one. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Showed Late Fight After Another Costly Start
Another rough start left the Blue Jackets chasing the game again, and this time the margin proved just a little too steep. Columbus fell 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes, with Jet Greaves stopping 24 of 27 shots as the club tried to steady itself after a slow opening and keep its road trip from slipping further off track.
The push came late, with Denton Mateychuk and Kent Johnson providing the offense as Columbus made things interesting in the third period. Even so, the Blue Jackets could not fully erase the early damage, and the result left them at 5-6-0 heading into the next stop in Dallas. [Read more 🡒]