The Carolina Hurricanes keep finding ways to pile up points, and Tuesday night’s 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals gave them their sixth straight victory. Just 11 days after Washington handed them a 5-2 loss on Oct. 2, Carolina answered back on home ice and kept several impressive runs alive in the process.
Andrei Svechnikov was the loudest difference-maker on the night. He finished with two goals and an assist, giving him three points and pushing his season total to 11.
It was his fourth multi-point game in the last six, and he’s making a striking turnaround after being blanked over the first eight games of the 2025-26 season. Through eight games in 2026-27, he already has six goals and 11 points.
With Seth Jarvis out, the Hurricanes needed someone to pick up the scoring load early, and Svechnikov has done exactly that.
Sebastian Aho kept right pace alongside him. He also posted a multi-point night for the fourth time in six games, collecting two assists against the Capitals.
That bumped him to seven assists and 13 points on the season, while extending his point streak to seven games. Aho had four goals through the first eight games last season; this time around, he already has six goals and 13 points through eight games.
Between him and Svechnikov, Carolina’s top-end offense has been carrying the team through the opening stretch.
Pyotr Kochetkov added another sharp outing in goal and kept his perfect start intact. He’s now 4-0-0 through four starts with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
Those four wins tie him for second in the NHL, his goals-against average ranks seventh, and his save percentage sits 18th. After missing most of the 2025-26 season because of hip surgery, this has been a major bounce-back.
In his four wins, he has posted save percentages of .889, .900, .947, and .909, and he’s allowed just seven goals in those starts. With Frederik Andersen out, Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi have given Carolina strong work in net across the first eight games.
Mark Jankowski kept his own heater rolling too. He scored for the fifth time in five games, extending his goal streak and bringing his season total to five goals and six points.
His latest came after Svechnikov kept the puck alive on an icing call and fed him with a one-handed pass, and Jankowski finished into the empty net to seal the 4-2 result. He’s now producing the best scoring run of his career while holding down the third-line center role with Jordan Staal out for the next month or two.
Carolina is now 6-1-1, sitting atop the Metropolitan Division as it heads into a Western Canada road trip. The Hurricanes’ last loss came against the Capitals, and since then the wins have kept stacking up. Right now, they look like a team that’s very hard to slow down.
In Other News...
Capitals Let A Winnable Road Game Slip Away For One Frustrating Reason
The Capitals had a road game in Carolina that was there to be taken, and for a while it looked like they might drag it into a tighter finish. Justin Holl gave them a lift in his Washington debut, finishing off a play from Dylan Strome, while Logan Thompson turned aside 31 shots to keep the margin manageable. Boone Jenner also kept rolling with his third goal in as many games, but the Capitals still had enough chances to stay right there.
Instead, the game kept tilting away from them in the kind of sequence that leaves a bench irritated for the rest of the night. Washington had one goal wiped out on a goaltender interference call, then lost a similar challenge on a Carolina score a few minutes later, and the penalties and momentum swings kept piling up from there. By the end, the 4-2 loss felt less like a runaway and more like one that slipped through their hands for a very specific reason. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Blue Line Suddenly Has A New Name Fans Need To Watch
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Holl wasted little time making an impression in his first game as a Capital, jumping into the offense in the 4-2 loss to Carolina and showing why the staff wanted to see what he could bring. With the defense still adjusting around him, his early impact is giving Washington at least one new name to watch as the group settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Rookie Cole Hutson Gets A Rare Chance To Make His Mark
Cole Hutson is still early in his NHL career, but Wednesdays visit from Montreal gives the Washington rookie something a little different from the usual tune-up feel of a regular-season home game. The Capitals are hosting the Canadiens in a matchup that comes with a built-in family storyline, as Cole and Lane Hutson are set to be on opposite sides of the ice for the first time at this level.
For Washington, it is a chance to watch a young defenseman handle a night with some extra attention, while for Montreal it means Lane comes in as the more established pro after earning a long-term extension in 2025. Both brothers spoke about the moment ahead of puck drop, and even without the need to oversell it, there is plenty of curiosity around how Cole responds when a personal milestone gets folded into a bigger NHL setting. [Read more 🡒]