Hurricanes 7, Canucks 2: Stankoven's First Hat Trick at Home

October 8, 2026 - Raleigh - Three goals in the first ten minutes, and Lenovo Center finally had the home lead it wanted. Andrei Svechnikov scored twice on the power play before the period was half over. Logan Stankoven spent the rest of the night making it a hat trick.

The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vancouver Canucks 7-2. Carolina is 3-1-1, three in a row, first regulation home win after two tries last week that never produced a lead, the Associated Press recap said. Vancouver is 2-3-0, first stop on a six-game trip. Shots were 34-20 Carolina. Attendance was 18,800.

Stankoven scored twice in the second and once in the third. Sean Walker had four assists, a career high, the NHL recap said. Jackson Blake, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Taylor Hall each had two. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 18 of 20. Kochetkov and Walker are not linked on AthX player pages from prior recaps, so those names stay unlinked here.

Jake DeBrusk scored both Vancouver goals. Elias Pettersson had two assists. Kevin Lankinen stopped 12 of 18 through two periods. Leevi Merilainen made 15 saves in the third. Merilainen is not seeded on AthX player pages.

Ten minutes, three goals, a building that had been waiting

K'Andre Miller opened it at 1:18. William Carrier redirected Walker's shot off the right post and crossbar, the NHL recap said, and Miller put in the rebound from the left circle. 1-0. Carrier is unlinked.

Carolina's power play took over. Gostisbehere's one-timer, Lankinen the save, Svechnikov the rebound, forehand-backhand over the glove at 7:11. 2-0. Svechnikov, per NHL.com: he wanted to shoot right away, saw Lankinen slide down, and went to the backhand.

Blake found him at the right post at 9:25. Svechnikov jammed it. 3-0. Two power-play goals, 2:14 apart. Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour told NHL.com the group needs Svechnikov on the scoresheet because scoring takes stress off everybody else.

Vancouver coach Manny Malhotra called those first ten minutes a huge momentum shift. Then, he said, Carolina showed why it is the reigning Stanley Cup champion: it punishes you if you leave the door open.

Jankowski to 4-0, DeBrusk's skate, then Stankoven from everywhere

Mark Jankowski made it 4-0 at 3:20 of the second. Jesperi Kotkaniemi held it in at the blue line and fed Jankowski at the bottom of the right circle for a short-side finish, the NHL recap said. Kotkaniemi is unlinked.

DeBrusk cut it to 4-1 at 4:03. He kicked a puck from his left skate to his stick and roofed it over a sprawling Kochetkov. Assists to Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Pettersson. Lekkerimaki is not seeded.

Stankoven's first of the night came short-handed at 13:13, per the NHL landing. Walker slipped a pass through Filip Hronek. Stankoven drove and scored top shelf. Helpers from Walker and Sebastian Aho. 5-1. Stankoven told NHL.com he wants to be more versatile and likes the penalty-kill work.

Hall's no-look backhand pass, Stankoven roofing it at 19:02 on the power play. 6-1. The hat trick came at 11:36 of the third, a wrist shot from between the circles, Hall and Walker again. 7-1. The Associated Press recap called it a natural hat trick and his 100th career point. He finished it with 8:24 left.

DeBrusk scored again at 13:04 from the bottom of the right circle, Pettersson and Zeev Buium. 7-2. Buium is unlinked. DeBrusk had missed two games with an illness, the NHL notes said. He told NHL.com it is hard to feel good in that type of game, even when the puck goes in.

Walker, on NHL.com: they got to their game early, special teams were good all night, and they did not stray. Carolina went 3-for-3 on the power play. Vancouver went 0-for-4.

The NHL recap listed Stankoven as the fourth Hurricane with an even-strength, power-play, and short-handed goal in one game, with Aho, Erik Cole, and Sandis Ozolinsh. The NHL box AthX Engine scored does not add a short-handed bonus on that row. The recap is the story. The box is the line.

Carolina visits Chicago on Saturday. Vancouver visits New Jersey that night.

AthX Engine on a 7-2 at Lenovo

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Stankoven at 16.00. Svechnikov is 11.40 with two power-play bonuses. Walker is 10.50. DeBrusk is 10.40. Blake is 8.00. Kochetkov's win, 18 saves, and two goals against land at 7.80. Lankinen is -2.40. Merilainen is 4.80.

Carolina's team line is 25.40, the night's high. Vancouver floors at 0.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Hurricanes club that finally led at home, and for a Canucks trip that opened 7-2 the other way. They are not the same number.

Track Stankoven, Svechnikov, Aho, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020061. Information only; not financial advice.*