Coming into the new year, there was plenty for the Carolina Hurricanes to look forward to. They had a 15-game gauntlet to get through, especially during the early part of the month, and they handled it, for the most part, very well. It has them at the top of the division and challenging for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
The Canes went 9-3-3 in January, ending the month on a seven-game point streak. They dropped their first two games of the month in regulation before proceeding to lose just once more in 60 minutes the rest of the way. Most importantly, they played their 11 games in 19 days masterfully, going 7-3-1 to put themselves in a spot to ease into February with some momentum.
Stories of the Month
More blown leads: It was a rocky start to the month. Fortunately, it only lasted two games, but it was a similar issue that plagued the Canes late in December. On New Year's Day, the Canes opened the month against the Montreal Canadiens. Despite owning a sizable advantage in the second period, the Canes saw it disappear in an eventual 7-5 loss to the Habs.
Just two days later, they held another lead against the Colorado Avalanche through two periods. They were frustrating the league's top team the entire time. However, a switch flipped in the third period, and the Canes' lead evaporated. Their 3-1 lead turned into a 5-3 loss. It was their fifth blown lead in eight games, all coming in just over two weeks.
It felt as if those blown leads were behind them. However, they ended the month the same way they started it. They opened up a 3-0 lead against the Washington Capitals in the first 24 minutes and some change. This lead wouldn't hold. The Capitals scored three times in regulation and once more in overtime to complete a 4-3 comeback win.
Olympic stars and subs: With a little over a week until the Olympics begin, there was a ton of anticipation about the rosters being announced for each country. The Canes already knew they had three players participating, with Sebastian Aho, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Frederik Andersen all being announced over the summer as part of their respective countries' first six picks.
This left a few roster players waiting and anticipating whether they would get the invite to join the fun in Italy. Canada's roster reveal, while technically coming in December on New Year's Eve, left Seth Jarvis without a spot on the team, while Finland didn't take Jesperi Kotkaniemi. However, Jaccob Slavin was selected by the United States, adding a fourth Hurricane into the mix in Milan next month.
Here comes the hats: January 2026 set the NHL record for the most hat tricks in a month. Buffalo's Alex Tuch did the honors by scoring the 30th of what ended up being 31 hat tricks. The Carolina Hurricanes did their part, getting hat tricks in back-to-back games from Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov, marking the fifth time in organizational history that has happened.
Ehlers did it first, scoring three times in what turned out to be an incredible rout of the Florida Panthers, striking twice in the third period in a nine-goal outburst in Raleigh. The following night, Svechnikov did the same thing to the Devils, scoring a goal in each period to record his sixth overall hat trick (including the postseason), and his second in New Jersey since May.
Bussi continues to make history and memories: I'll go ahead and spoil that my three stars for January don't include Brandon Bussi. It's not that he wasn't good. It's that his numbers don't leap out in the same way as the three I've listed. Bussi went 7-2-0 in nine starts this month, posting a 2.42 GAA and a .901 save percentage.
Bussi put together a few excellent starts throughout the month. His best stretch was a pair of starts against Buffalo and Ottawa. He made some truly incredible stops against the Sabres to steal the game, and he was one of the few bright spots in the win over the Senators. Bussi became the quickest goalie in NHL history to 20 wins, doing so in his 24th start against Utah on Thursday.
Best Game: The Hurricanes let out a little frustration
In terms of competitiveness, this game wasn't really the "best" of the month. That honor goes to the game shortly after this one against Buffalo. In terms of feeling really good after it, this one probably takes the cake. This felt like a long-time coming for the Hurricanes. They did to the Panthers what they've done to them emotionally several times over the last few years.
This was an onslaught of near-historic proportions for the Canes. Sure, the Panthers were without a few important players, but there was still more than enough firepower in the lineup for this to be inexcusable for the defending champs. After blowing two leads to the Panthers this season, the Canes weren't about to let it happen a third time.
Nikolaj Ehlers was the star of the night, recording his first hat trick with the Hurricanes and adding an assist. All 12 forwards on the roster had at least one point, and nine players had multiple points. The power play scored four times. The penalty kill was perfect. It was as good a night as the Hurricanes could've asked for to close out the season series.
Best Moment: A comeback for the ages
Up until Thursday night, my pick was Bussi's insane glove stop on Tage Thompson during the MLK Day matinee. It has a legitimate claim to be the Save of the Year when it's all said and done. That changed when the Hurricanes completed one of the most improbable comebacks in NHL history, erasing a two-goal deficit with under two minutes left in regulation.
Down 4-2 and with Bussi on the bench, the Canes struck twice in 32 seconds to tie the game. Securing one point would've been good. Instead, Jordan Staal was in the right place to tap home Jordan Martinook's tip, giving the Canes the lead with less than 30 seconds left. They became the third team in NHL history to pull off a comeback of this magnitude.
Three Stars of the Month
Third Star: To begin the month, the Canes' top line was the hottest group going in the NHL, but they were eventually split. Nikolaj Ehlers made up 1/3 of the group, scoring goals in the first three games in January and recording ten points through four contests. If he didn't score another point this month, he would've finished tied for fifth on the team.
After four scoreless contests, Ehlers provided his best performance as a Hurricane, recording a hat trick and an assist against the Cats. He was a little quieter to finish the month, but he still put up some excellent numbers. Ehlers finished with 15 points, putting him third on the team, and six goals, which was second. The Danish Olympian is third on the team with 41 points this season.
Second Star: When Sebastian Aho started 2026 with his second-career five-point game against the Canadiens, it certainly felt like he was about to go on a run. He added his 300th goal and an assist in the next game against the Avalanche, but Aho wouldn't find the back of the net again until the month-closing loss to the Capitals.
What did Aho do during the 12 games in between? He was a little streaky, yet he managed to be almost a point-per-game player, recording ten assists between goals. His 14 assists led the team in January, and he was just one point off the lead with 18, with 12 points coming at even strength. Aho's +8 rating was tied with Jalen Chatfield for the team lead, too.
First Star: Statistically speaking, January was the best month Andrei Svechnikov has produced in the NHL. Svechnikov paced the team in both goals (10) and points (19), both his highest marks for a month in his career, including six multi-point efforts. He picked up his 400th point in the win over Florida. Right from the jump, he was feeling it this month, and he brought his team along for the ride.
Svechnikov recorded his second-career four-point game against Dallas, providing a personal-best four assists in the win. He was also a major part of the comeback against the Mammoth, scoring twice and adding an assist. However, his biggest night came in New Jersey, the second time around, scoring his fourth regular-season hat trick by torching the Devils three times.