In Raleigh, the Chicago Blackhawks’ self-inflicted nightmare of an early season continued with a 6-3 shelling at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
Carolina posted four goals in the opening frame, including three after the Hawks had taken a 2-1 lead.
The loss dropped Chicago to 0-6-2.
“Obviously eight games in and we don’t have a win, it’s terrible,” Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton said. “Early on, it’s like, ‘Let’s keep playing the same way. We’re going to get out of this, we’re going to get out of this.’ I think we’re still trying to do that, we’re still trying to stay positive, we’re still trying to say, ‘Let’s find a way out of this.’ But obviously the first win is in the back of everyone’s mind. For us, we just have to focus as much as we can on what we need to do to win.”
Brandon Hagel, Adam Gaudette scored in the first period for the Blackhawks.
Antti Raanta made 23 saves in his first start with Carolina.
“There were some moments where you start to feel really good, and a few times where you feel you didn’t get the right read on the plays,” Raanta said. “But it’s good to get back in there and play behind this team. Obviously you get a lot of goal support.”
Sebastian Aho had a goal and two points in the Carolina win.
“It wasn’t a very fun game to coach,” Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It didn’t have any flow. But we had done enough damage to get ahead and kind of just get through it.”
Carolina’s Jordan Staal and Derek Stepan scored 17 seconds apart in the opening frame for a 3-2 lead.
“We have the ability to counter quickly and some high-skill players. That’s kind of what can happen,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s a good sign to have that. We’ve just got to limit the other chances. We gave up a ton. That’s the work in progress for me.”
Jesperi Kotkaniemi closed out the scoring in the first period for the 4-2 advantage.
Aho and Andrei Svechnikov scored in the middle frame for a 6-2 lead.
Tony DeAngelo scored for the Canes.
Alex DeBrincat also scored for Chicago.
“If we can play like we did in the first 18 minutes or so, I think we’re going to come out of this,” the Blackhawks’Â Erik Gustafsson said. “I know everyone wants to win in there, and it’s tough right now, for sure. I think the team we have, we’re much better than this.”
Kevin Lankinen made 29 saves in the Chicago loss.
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