Canadiens rally past Canes, spoil Sebastian Aho's big game

Field Level Media|published: Thu 1st January, 22:16 2026

Jan 1, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Montréal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) checks Carolina Hurricanes left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) during the first period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson scored 23 seconds apart in the second period as the Montreal Canadiens came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 7-5 on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Lane Hutson, Sammy Blais and Juraj Slafkovsky each had a goal and an assist, while Nick Suzuki and Oliver Kapanen also scored for the Canadiens, who've won three of their last four games. Alexander Texier and Ivan Demidov added two assists each, while Jakub Dobes made 20 saves.

Sebastian Aho was involved in all five Hurricanes' goals with two tallies and three assists. Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov both added a goal and two assists and Alexander Nikishin chipped in a goal and an assist.

Carolina goalie Brandon Bussi lost in regulation for the second time in 16 outings, stopping 16 shots.

Suzuki and Kapanen scored 56 seconds apart early in the first period, giving the Canadiens a 2-0 lead before four straight Carolina goals.

The Hurricanes countered with Ehlers' power-play goal with 9:13 to play in the first. They pulled even 92 seconds later when Sebastian Aho redirected Joel Nystrom's blue-line blast.

Carolina went ahead following Montreal's horrid clearing attempt, with Svechnikov converting on a scramble in front of the net with five minutes left in the period.

In the opening period, Aho had three points and Ehlers and Svechnikov each had one goal and one assist. It marked Aho's 10th multi-point game of the season.

The three first-period goals matched the Hurricanes' total goals in regulation from their past two games combined.

Nikishin's power-play goal 54 seconds into the second period stretched the lead to 4-2.

The Canadiens got the following three goals, including Caufield's tying tally and Anderson's unassisted go-ahead snipe just 23 seconds apart. Caufield leads Montreal with 20 goals.

Aho's second goal came with an extra attacker to bring the Hurricanes within one. Huston's empty-net goal followed at the two-minute mark.

--Field Level Media

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