Mark Jankowski scored early in the third period to make it 3-0, and the Hurricanes held on to beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 on Thursday night at Lenovo Center, per AP. Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves. AP and ESPN's recap both say he is now 9-0-0 and has set the franchise record for the longest season-opening winning streak. Deadspin's headline and summary make the same claim, counting it as the record for goaltender wins to begin a season.
Our box score fills in the shape of the game. Carolina scored once in each period, and Columbus did not score until the third. Jankowski's goal was his seventh of the season, which Sportsnet called the game-winner. That is more than half of his 12 goals in 60 games in 2025, the last full season in our archive. Seth Jarvis had two assists, and Jordan Martinook and Logan Stankoven also scored for Carolina. Jankowski also won 14 of his 25 faceoffs and played 2:24 on the penalty kill. Carolina went 0-for-2 on the power play.
Columbus made it tight late. Sportsnet said the Hurricanes "fended off a late Columbus Blue Jackets push." Kent Johnson scored in the third, and Denton Mateychuk added a second goal. The Blue Jackets' only power-play goal came on three chances. Shots were close, 27-26 to Carolina. Kochetkov stopped 24 of 26 for a .923 save percentage, and Jet Greaves stopped 24 of 27 for Columbus. Columbus outhit Carolina 27-16.
One caution on the streak. Our season table for Kochetkov shows 6 games and 6 wins, which doesn't match the 9-0 that AP reports. His game log has nine regular-season appearances from Oct. 3 through Thursday. Our season line has him at a 1.98 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. His save percentage is middling, but he has not lost.
| GP | GS | TOI/G | WINS | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 60:28 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Carolina is 11-2 and first in the Metropolitan Division, on a three-game winning streak. Before Thursday it won 2-1 over Boston on Tuesday and 4-0 at St. Louis on Saturday. Columbus is 5-6 and seventh in the division with its first loss in three games. It had beaten Philadelphia 4-3 on Tuesday and Vegas 2-1 on Oct. 24.
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | P% | Home | Away | Strk | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 24 | .800 | 4-1-1 | 7-1-1 | W3 | +19 | |
| 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | .667 | 6-2-0 | 2-2-0 | W3 | +8 | |
| 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | .615 | 6-2-0 | 2-3-0 | L1 | +5 | |
| 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 16 | .615 | 4-1-1 | 3-3-1 | W2 | +5 | |
| 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | .536 | 6-1-0 | 1-5-1 | L3 | +2 | |
| 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 12 | .462 | 4-1-1 | 1-5-1 | OT1 | -1 | |
| 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 10 | .455 | 4-3-0 | 1-3-0 | L1 | -8 | |
| 15 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 10 | .333 | 2-3-3 | 1-5-1 | L1 | -22 |
Columbus is back on the road Saturday at Dallas. Carolina is home on Sunday against Winnipeg, where Kochetkov can try to extend the streak.
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