Stankoven scores first hat trick, Hurricanes cruise past Canucks
Svechnikov gets two goals, Walker has four assists for Carolina; DeBrusk scores twice for Vancouver
By Kurt Dusterberg
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Logan Stankoven scored the first hat trick of his NHL career, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vancouver Canucks 7-2 at Lenovo Center on Thursday.
Stankoven became the fourth player in franchise history with an even-strength, power-play and short-handed goal in a game. He joined Sebastian Aho (Dec. 7 and Jan. 13, 2019), Erik Cole (Nov. 23, 2002) and Sandis Ozolinsh (March 4, 2001).
“I think a lot of it is confidence and preparation as well. It’s a hard league, and you’re not going to be able to score every night,” Stankoven said. “Some great plays from my linemates as well, so a fun night.”
Since March 31 of last season, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Stankoven has 22 goals in 32 games.
“That’s impressive,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We know he’s a very talented kid; we talk about him a lot. “(It’s) his willingness to keep getting better, his work ethic. I can’t say enough good things about him. This is not surprising.”
Andrei Svechnikov scored back-to-back power-play goals in the first period, and Sean Walker had four assists for the Hurricanes (3-1-1), who have won three in a row. Jackson Blake, Shayne Gostisbehere and Taylor Hall each had two assists. Pyotr Kochetkov made 18 saves.
Jake DeBrusk scored twice for the Canucks (2-3-0), who began a six-game road trip.
Kevin Lankinen stopped 12 of 18 shots in two periods before being replaced to start the third period by Leevi Merilainen, who made 15 saves.
“Obviously, it’s a huge momentum shift giving up three goals in the first 10 minutes,” Vancouver coach Manny Malhotra said. “But they showed exactly why they are the reigning (Stanley Cup) champs. They punish you at every turn if you leave the door open a little.”
K'Andre Miller gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 1:18 of the first period. After William Carrier redirected Walker’s shot off the right post and crossbar, Miller scored on the rebound from the left face-off circle.
Carolina made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 7:11. Lankinen stopped Gostisbehere’s one-timer, but Svechnikov grabbed the rebound below the left circle and went forehand-backhand over Lankinen’s glove.
“As soon as I got that puck, I kind of wanted to shoot it right away,” Svechnikov said. “But I see (Lankinen) slides down so much and I just tried the backhander. It gives you lots of confidence right away from the start, trying to play hard and play my game."
Svechnikov scored again on the power play at 9:25 for a 3-0 lead when he jammed puck in at the right post off a cross-ice pass from Blake.
“We say it a lot every year, we need him on the score sheet,” Brind’Amour said. “He impacts the game in a lot of different ways, but obviously when you score, it takes a lot of stress off the whole group. That’s what kind of happened tonight.”
After Jesperi Kotkaniemi held the puck in at the blue line, he fed the puck to Mark Jankowski at the bottom of the right circle, where he lifted a shot to the short side to make it 4-0 at 3:20 of the second period.
DeBrusk cut the deficit to 4-1 at 4:03, kicking the puck from his left skate to his stick before roofing the puck over a sprawling Kochetkov.
Stankoven made it 5-1 while short-handed at 13:13. Walker slipped a pass through Vancouver defenseman Filip Hronek to Stankoven, who drove the net and scored top shelf.
“I want to be a more versatile player, and I think getting the opportunity to penalty kill now is awesome,” Stankoven said. “I’m still learning and trying to grow and just try to be a sponge. It’s nice to be out there in different situations and cash in.”
Stankoven increased the lead to 6-1 with a power-play goal when he roofed a shot off a no-look backhand pass from Hall at 19:02. Stankoven then completed the natural hat trick on a wrist shot from between the circles to give Carolina a 7-1 lead at 11:36 of the third period.
“We got to our game early and got some goals, and that helps a lot,” Walker said. “But I think the most important thing is we stuck to our game the whole night. We didn’t really stray away from it. Special teams were great all night.”
DeBrusk scored his second goal from the bottom of the right circle for the 7-2 final at 13:04.
“It’s kind of hard to feel good during that type of game,” DeBrusk said. “But it’s nice to see it go in. I’ve had tough starts my entire career, but I don’t feel very good right now.”
NOTES: Stankoven scored the NHL’s 15th natural hat trick on record involving an even-strength, power-play and short-handed goal. The only other player with one over the last five seasons was Bo Horvat (Oct. 16, 2025). ... Walker set a career high for points in a game with four. ... Blake has five assists in a four-game point streak. ... The Hurricanes were 3-for-3 on the power play. The Canucks were 0-for-4. ... DeBrusk returned to the lineup after missing two games with an illness.
