Aho scores in OT, Hurricanes rally past Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- Sebastian Aho scored 59 seconds into overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Monday.

Aho took a pass from Martin Necas in the slot and scored on a slap shot. He has four overtime goals this season, tied for the NHL lead with Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens.

“We both can skate, and obviously we have some good history in the OT, so we have a little confidence when we go out there,” said Aho. “Another great pass by [Necas], and I’m lucky to put that in.”

Frederik Andersen, playing for the first time since Oct. 26 because of a knee injury, made 22 saves for the Hurricanes (28-16-3) in his 500th NHL game.

“It was nice,” Andersen said. “It was obviously something I was looking forward to for a long time, just to be back and playing. It’s obviously what’s fun and what we like to do.

“It’s a nice moment (500 games), obviously. You move on pretty quick from these. You’ve got to go again tomorrow. It is kind of nice to acknowledge that and keep building those memories together.”

Petr Mrazek made 44 saves for the Blackhawks (15-28-4). Philipp Kurashev and Ryan Donato each had a goal and an assist.

“He was awesome,” Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall said of Mrazek. “He’s been really good for a huge portion of this season. He works hard and he’s always positive. He’s a very good teammate. That would’ve been a nice win to get for him, especially playing his former team.

“We got just a bit overwhelmed by their shot quantity and just how much time they spent in our end. We couldn’t hold onto a lead, with that being said. So yeah, just overall, we had a goalie that played more than well enough to get a win, and we couldn’t do it.”

Jordan Staal tied the game 3-3 at 13:37 of the third period for the Hurricanes, poking the puck into the net after Mrazek attempted to cover it. It was Staal's 700th NHL point (295 goals, 405 assists) in his 1,300th game.

“You’ve got to give credit to the captain,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Staal. “We talked about him before the game. It’s the same stuff every night. Without him, I’m not sure where we’d be because he just drags us in it every night.”

Kurashev put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 at 9:46 of the first period. Donato skated the puck up the right-wing boards and fed a backhand pass to Kurashev in front of the net. Kurashev had been a lineup scratch for four straight games and eight of the previous nine.

“It's definitely nice for me personally, but now I've got to do it again and try to help the team win,” Kurashev said. “It wasn't always pretty, and we definitely didn't have always good shifts, but I think we just kept it simple and worked off each other.”

Tyler Bertuzzi made it 2-0 at 16:55. He knocked the puck down in front of the net, retrieved it behind the net and banked it in off Andersen’s back.

Seth Jarvis scored short-handed at 1:25 of the second period to bring the Hurricanes to within 2-1. Jarvis moved past Chicago defenseman Seth Jones and in alone on Mrazek before scoring on a backhand shot.

“Oh, yeah, we were dead in the water,” Brind’Amour said. “Not a good start. They’re on a power play there. They get one, and it’s probably lights out.”

Jesperi Kotkaniemi tied it 2-2 at 7:26, tapping in Eric Robinson’s pass from behind the net.

Donato put Chicago back ahead at 19:41, taking Hall’s pass from behind the net and putting the puck past Andersen’s stick side.

NOTES: Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns skated off the ice and went to the locker room at 6:20 of the first period after whiffing on the puck off a face-off. It appeared Burns’ head hit the body of Kurashev. Burns returned to the ice with 4:36 to go in the period. … Staal and his brother Eric (1,063), became the sixth pair of siblings to each record 700 or more points, joining Daniel (1,041) and Henrik Sedin (1,070); Henri (1,046) and Maurice Richard (966); Frank (1,103) and Peter Mahovlich (773); Geoff (799) and Russ Courtnall (744); and Saku (832) and Mikko Koivu (711).