WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Prior to this season, no NHL player had executed the YouTube-worthy, lacrosse-style goal during a game.
Andrei Svechnikov has now done it twice.
Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal each scored twice, Svechnikov added his second lacrosse-style goal of the season, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 Tuesday night.
Svechnikov went around the back of the net, kept the puck on his blade and tossed it over goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s right shoulder to give Carolina a 3-2 lead in the second period.
He first pulled the move on Oct. 29 against Calgary.
“This one, everyone was happy but it wasn’t like the first one, because the first one, it kind of like shocked everyone,” Svechnikov said.
He says he’s been practicing the play for five years.
“I feel like when I stop behind the net, if I got room I’m always going to try that,” he said. “You’ll see, maybe I’m going to score next game.”
Lucas Wallmark also scored for Carolina, which has a six-game point streak (5-0-1). Dougie Hamilton contributed three assists, and Nino Niederreiter added two.
Jack Roslovic, Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, who had won five straight at home.
“Good for him. He made a great play. That’s it,” Laine said of Svechnikov’s goal. “There was only one defender in front of the net. If you want to go after him then he’s probably going to pass it in front of the net.”
Petr Mrazek made 30 saves for the Hurricanes, who are 3-0-1 during a five-game trip that ends Thursday in Colorado.
Hellebuyck stopped 18 shots for Winnipeg before Laurent Brossoit replaced him to start the third period with Carolina ahead 5-2. Brossoit made four saves.
Winnipeg had the game’s first power play late in the opening period, but Mrazek stopped all three shots he faced.
Then Wallmark got a loose puck in the slot and scored on a power play at 18:23.
Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers helped ensure the visitors wouldn’t take the lead to the dressing. He spun around inside the blue line and fired the puck straight at the net, where Roslovic was in front to deflect it in with 7.4 seconds remaining in the period.
Aho scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season and picked up his one assist in the middle period. He has 11 points in his last five games off seven goals and four assists.
Aho’s first goal gave Carolina a 2-1 lead, but Laine deflected in Nathan Beaulieu’s shot to tie it at 12:18.
Svechnikov regained the lead 52 seconds later with his viral-worthy finish.
“It’s not lucky when you practice something over and over. That’s not luck,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Aho made it 4-2 at 16:46, and Staal added a power-play goal at 18:43.
Staal added his second goal of the game, and fifth of the season, at 3:16 of the third period.
Scheifele scored on the power play at 12:02 with Aho in the penalty box for slashing. Scheifele is on a seven-game point streak, with seven goals and five assists in that span.
NOTES: Jets F Andrew Copp suffered an upper-body injury in the second period and didn’t return.
Up Next
Hurricanes: Play Thursday night at Colorado.
Winnipeg wraps up a three-game homestand Thursday against Chicago.
