newstimes
In the Finnish capital, Sebastian Aho netted two goals to delight the home fans, and the Carolina Hurricanes kicked off the NHL Global Series with a 4-1 triumph over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday at Helsinki's Veikkaus Arena.
Left winger Taylor Hall marked his 1,000th NHL appearance as the reigning Stanley Cup champions returned to Helsinki after a 16-year absence.
Carolina goaltender Brandon Bussi made 12 saves in the win.
Nikolaj Ehlers contributed a goal and an assist, while defenseman Juuso Valimaki, another Finn, also found the net for the Hurricanes (15-3-2), who have now won seven of their last eight contests.
Logan Stankoven added two assists to extend his point streak to six games, and Jackson Blake chipped in one assist to push his career-best point streak to 10 games.
The dominant Hurricanes raced to a 2-0 lead with goals just 1:06 apart in the opening period.
Ehlers opened the scoring with 8:16 remaining in the first, firing a wrist shot from the blue line.
Local favorite Aho doubled the advantage on a power play shortly after, converting a feed from Blake at the side of the net.
He then made it 4-0 with a one-timer from the slot in the final period.
The Finnish scoring leader for Carolina now has three goals and seven points in his last three games.
With his 321st career goal, Aho tied Olli Jokinen for fourth place among Finnish players in NHL history.
Frederick Gaudreau scored the lone goal for Seattle (9-7-1), and Philipp Grubauer finished with 26 saves.
Key Analysis
Aho's performance in front of his home crowd not only powered the Hurricanes to victory but also etched his name alongside Finnish hockey royalty. The team's offensive depth was on full display, with contributions from multiple lines. The win solidifies Carolina's strong start to the season and sets a positive tone for the Global Series.
Originally reported by newstimes.