Carolina Hurricanes at Utah Mammoth

· National Hockey League

Carolina Hurricanes

52-22-6

Final
4 - 1

Utah Mammoth

42-31-6

Metropolitan champion Hurricanes beat Mammoth 4-1 for 6th win in 7 games

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Utah Mammoth: Game Highlights

Andrei Svechnikov, Sean Walker and Sebastian Aho also scored for Metropolitan Division champion Carolina. Frederik Andersen made 26 saves. Shayne Gostisbehere and Nikolaj Ehlers had two assists apiece.

Aho returned to the lineup after sitting against Chicago on Thursday.

The Hurricanes are within one point of securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Any loss by Buffalo or any point earned by Carolina will clinch it.

Dylan Guenther scored his 40th goal of the season and Karel Vejmelka stopped 26 shots for Utah, which had won five straight and scored at least four goals in six consecutive games.

After the Hurricanes killed the first three penalties, Guenther scored from a tough angle at 2:42 in the third period.

The Hurricanes scored first, 4:25 into the game, when Svechnikov scored on a power play. It was Svechnikov's 31st of the season, a career high, and also gives him a new high in points with 70.

Staal, Carolina's captain, scored his 20th goal on a wrist shot from the slot with 6:37 left in the first period. Now, seven Hurricanes have 20 goals this season. Staal hasn't found the net this often since the 2015-16 season. Staal also tallied 23 faceoff wins — the most for a player in the NHL this season.

The Mammoth clinched their first ‘official’ playoff berth with a 4-1 win over Nashville on Thursday night. In their second season in Utah, they did it with a foundation of players who moved with the team from Arizona.

Carolina is 37-2-2 when it has the lead after two periods.

Up next Hurricanes: Visit Philadelphia on Sunday for the third of a four-game trip to end the season.

Mammoth: Visit Calgary on Sunday for their final road game.

Regular Season Series

CAR wins series 2-0

Scoring Summary

Goal	1st Period 4:25	Andrei Svechnikov Goal (31) Backhand, assists: Nikolaj Ehlers (43), Shayne Gostisbehere (36)
Goal	1st Period 13:23	Jordan Staal Goal (20) Wrist Shot, assists: Nikolaj Ehlers (44), Jordan Martinook (16)
Goal	3rd Period 2:42	Dylan Guenther Goal (40) Slap Shot, assists: Clayton Keller (58), Mikhail Sergachev (48)
Goal	3rd Period 15:31	Sebastian Aho Goal (27) Tip-In, assists: Shayne Gostisbehere (37), Jaccob Slavin (7)
Goal	3rd Period 19:37	Sean Walker Goal (9) Wrist Shot, assists: Jordan Martinook (17), Jordan Staal (16)

Statistics

CAR		UTA
18	Blocked Shots	16
17	Hits	24
4	Takeaways	5
29	Shots	27
1	Power Play Goals	1
3	Power Play Opportunities	5
33.3	Power Play Percentage	20.0
0	Short Handed Goals	0
0	Shootout Goals	0
41	Faceoffs Won	29
58.6	Faceoff Win Percent	41.4
10	Giveaways	18
6	Total Penalties	4
15	Penalty Minutes	11