Ehlers scores first of season as Hurricanes edge Jets for seventh straight win
Nikolaj Ehlers scored a third-period power-play goal to lift Carolina to a 3-2 win over Winnipeg on Saturday.
WINNIPEG — Nikolaj Ehlers scored his first goal of the NHL season to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The former Jet broke a 2-2 tie at 6:43 of the third period, firing a wrister past the glove of Clay Stevenson for a power-play goal.
Mark Jankowski and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored for Carolina (7-1-1), which extended its winning streak to seven games.
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Defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere recorded two assists.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 22 saves in the win, posting victories in all five starts this season.
Mark Scheifele and Alex Iafallo scored for Winnipeg (4-2-2), which lost its first game this season on home ice in regulation time.
Clay Stevenson stopped 34 shots.
Carolina went 2-for-2 on the power play, while Winnipeg went 0-for-1.
"Carolina made the Jets pay on special-teams, scoring both goals on the power play and killing off Winnipeg's lone opportunity with the man-advantage," the team said in its game notes.
Winnipeg held 1-0 and 2-1 leads, before trailing in the third period.
With fewer than 40 seconds remaining, Kochetkov made a pad save on Cole Perfetti, following that up with a save on 18-year-old Viggo Bjorck off the helmet to preserve Carolina's lead.
Jankowski's second-period goal extended his NHL-leading active goal streak to seven consecutive games.
After a three-game point drought to start the year, Scheifele is now riding a five-game point streak with two goals and six assists.
The Jets are 1-1 in matinee games this season, with nine more to play.
The Hurricanes have won seven straight games, pacing the NHL with a 7-1-1 record.
Up next: Carolina visits the Calgary Flames on Sunday, while Winnipeg visits the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
With files from The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail and Sportsnet