Coming off the mental exhaustion that comes with the two-month Stanley Cup Playoffs grind, it might be easy to forget the 82-game marathon that preceded it. For the Carolina Hurricanes, as it is with every team, there were some highs and lows, especially early on. However, on the other side of it, the Canes experienced one of the best regular seasons in franchise history.
The Canes finished the season with a 53-22-7 record, their second-most wins ever, and 113 points, tied for the second-most in a season. They won a division title for the fourth time in six years and the seventh time overall. They finished atop the conference for the first time in franchise history, beating out the Sabres by four points for home ice through the conference finals.
Below, I've compiled a list featuring ten of the best moments from the regular season. It took a lot of digging and montages to refresh my brain as to what happened from October to April. Then, it took a lot of sorting through to get the list down to ten. I'm almost certain to have forgotten something, so I apologize in advance. In the meantime, enjoy a trip back down memory lane.
10. Blake goes coast-to-coast (11/6)
The first of the two meetings between the Hurricanes and the Wild doesn't get talked about as much for being one of the wildest games of the season. It might just be because it was all the way back in November. Neither goalie seemed capable of stopping the puck. After the Wild scored on their first shot, the Canes needed to respond. That's where Jackson Blake comes in.
The teams were skating 4-on-4 after a dirty hit was delivered to Jalen Chatfield, leading to a fight from the captain. During the ensuing action, Blake went on a little skate. Carrying the puck from one end to the other, the Wild seemed content to give him space. He used that to his advantage, snapping a shot past Filip Gustavsson as he lost his edge, tying the game in an eventual 4-3 Hurricanes win.
9. The Canes carve up the Cats for a beautiful finish (1/16)
When the Canes beat the Panthers, 9-1, in January, it felt like the culmination of several years of frustration. Their nine-goal outburst tied the team record for the most goals in a game, and it was the second-largest margin of victory since moving to Raleigh. On this night, Nikolaj Ehlers recorded a hat trick, the first of two for him this season, but the second goal was particularly pretty.
The Canes were operating on a 5-on-3 after the Panthers' discipline left the arena. Ehlers began the play by getting the puck into the zone. Then, he got lost behind Florida's trio of penalty killers. Seth Jarvis put the puck right on Ehlers' stick for him to finish against Sergei Bobrovsky in front of the net. It was like poetry in motion.
8. Former Maple Leaf on former Maple Leaf crime (10/28)
While he might've gotten the better of him during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, Golden Knights star Mitch Marner fell victim to the paddle of Frederik Andersen when these two met in Raleigh before Halloween. The Canes might've dropped this game after losing a lead in the third period, but their netminder made sure the team didn't go into the final frame down a goal.
With Vegas on the power play, Marner was trying to get the puck through a mass of Hurricanes in front of the net. Instead, the puck popped back to him in a very favorable spot. Marner worked it to his backhand with Andersen slightly out of position, but he stuck his stick out there and robbed his former teammate. Andersen made a few beautiful stops this season, but this one tops the list.
7. Hall does his best Bobby Orr impression (11/17)
Before he was tearing through the league next to Blake and Logan Stankoven, the Canes were trying to find the perfect spot for Taylor Hall. Momentarily, that was on the fourth line, and it worked for a bit. When the team made its second trip to Boston early in the season, the fourth line was the team's best, scoring twice in a 3-1 win over the Bruins.
Up by two late in the third, Hall benefited from a bouncing puck, getting into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1. The Bruins defender took away the pass, leaving Hall just one option. To improve his angle, he made an aerial self-pass, getting the puck around Jeremy Swayman's pad to score before taking flight. Obviously, the stakes weren't nearly as big as when Orr did it, but it was still pretty cool.
6. Slavin saves his first goal for the right time (4/7)
No one will accuse Jaccob Slavin of being the most offensively gifted defenseman on the Hurricanes' roster. While he showed flashes of it every once in a while, this year was not that time. Fighting through a bevy of injuries, Slavin only had six assists in 37 games entering the team's home finale against the Bruins. Needing one point to clinch the division, the Canes knew what was at stake.
The Canes and the Bruins played a ridiculously entertaining game, combining for ten goals in 60 minutes. Without a resolution, the teams went to overtime, which was enough for the Canes to claim the Metro. However, you prefer to win during these moments. On this night, Aho put a perfect pass on Slavin's stick at the backdoor to score his first goal of the season at the perfect time.
Ranking within the ranking: 2025-26 Overtime Goals
Date & Opponent | Goal Scorer |
|---|---|
9. 10/18 at Los Angeles | Jarvis benefits from a broken stick and a broken play to slide it home |
8. 2/1 vs. Los Angeles | Aho shakes the defense and snaps it off the post from the slot |
7. 3/18 vs. Pittsburgh | Walker ends a big divisional battle with a one-timer from the dot |
6. 10/11 vs. Philadelphia | Jarvis sends the team off for their State Fair trip with a one-time blast |
5. 12/29 vs. New York | Blake gets one on the power play in the final seconds with a pretty redirection |
4. 3/20 at Toronto | Nikishin comes off the bench and snaps a shot from the dot for his 10th goal |
3. 11/30 vs. Calgary | Ehlers wins a race to the net to finish a pass and a 1-0 shutout win |
2. 11/14 vs. Vancouver | Aho spins away from Pettersson before sniping one |
1. 4/7 vs. Boston | Slavin wins the division at the backdoor in the home finale |
5. A batted-down backhanded beauty (3/4)
The second of Ehlers' two hat tricks came when the team visited Vancouver in early March. However, we're not here to talk about him. This is about Sebastian Aho getting a little bunting practice in and scoring a beautiful goal against the Canucks. This was another weird game, with the Canes not playing to their top potential against a struggling team, but they found a way to get it done.
Up by one and looking for more, Jarvis looked like he was trying to get a puck deep. Instead, Aho stuck his stick out and legally played it to himself, catching the defense off guard. With no other option than to shoot on his backhand, Aho roofed his chance against Kevin Lankinen, doubling the team's lead. It was one of the prettier individual efforts of the season.
4. Walker's game-saving leg stop (3/14)
The goalies always get the love for making stops, but what about when defensemen decide they want to win the Vezina? That's what Sean Walker did in Tampa Bay in mid-March. The Canes started their night on fire, but Tampa Bay fought back to tie the game, and they appeared to be on the verge of taking their first lead. Andersen made a big stop on Nikita Kucherov, but Walker saved the game.
With Andersen out of position and the net empty, the puck came to Brandon Hagel. Walker was the last line of defense. Like anyone in his position, he stuck his skate out there and hoped for the best. This time, it worked, making up for the fact that he'd failed to get the puck out of the zone. Jordan Martinook scored the winning goal a few minutes later, getting a big win during the Moms' Trip.
3. An all-time comeback completed by the captain (1/29)
The Hurricanes were no strangers to making history this season, both during the regular season and the postseason. On this night in late January, the team did something that the league hadn't seen in over three decades. Down by two goals to the Utah Mammoth with 2:00 left on Whalers Night, the Canes escaped with two points without needing overtime.
It began on the power play. Andrei Svechnikov collected a shot off the boards to cut the deficit to one with 1:59 left. 32 seconds later, they tied it. Shayne Gostisbehere ripped a cross-seam pass from Blake off the iron and in, sending the arena into a frenzy. To cap it, Jordan Staal redirected a pass with less than 30 seconds left, doing the improbable to finish the game in regulation.
2. Stankoven walks Rantanen (1/6)
Though they'd already played once during the season, bu all eyes were on Mikko Rantanen when the Stars visited Raleigh in January. Really, they should've been on Logan Stankoven, who was the real star of the trade. He does have a Stanley Cup, after all. While Rantanen had two points in his first game back at the Lenovo Center, he also ended up on Stankoven's highlight reel.
Late in the first period and up by a goal, the Canes kept pushing. Stankoven received a pass at the point. Rantanen came skating right at him, but Stankoven dragged the puck around his stick and made him look silly. Now, his shot got a fortunate bounce off a defender in front, though I'm not holding that against him. It was a beautiful play that had every Caniac smiling from ear to ear.
1. Even the broadcasters thought they'd scored (1/19)
Without a doubt in my mind, the best game of the regular season featured the Hurricanes and the Sabres duking it out on MLK Day. The holiday matinee was tight, physical, and spirited for 60 minutes. Brandon Bussi only faced 18 shots in the game, and most of them were incredibly dangerous. It led to the save of the year for the Hurricanes, and a serious contender for the league-wide crown.
The Sabres thought they'd scored on the power play. TNT's Alex Faust and TNT's graphics department did, too. On a 2-on-0 after the Canes turned it over, Bussi stretched to rob Tage Thompson with his glove. The best part was how cavalier Bussi was about it. He acted like he does this all the time. It kept things tied after two periods before the Canes scored in the third to win, 2-1.
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