By MIKE POTTER
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho’s scoring surge seems to be rubbing off on his teammates.
Aho had a goal and two assists, Teuvo Teravainen scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 4-2 on Sunday night.
Aho has scored in four straight games after failing to get a goal in his first 15 games this season. Carolina has won three of those four games, including Saturday night over Buffalo.
“It was a good weekend,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. “Today we started well and that’s what we want to be part of our foundation.”
Elias Lindholm also scored for the Hurricanes, and Cam Ward stopped 27 shots. John Tavares and Nick Leddy scored for New York, and Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves.
The Islanders beat Carolina 6-4 on Thursday night in Brooklyn.
“It’s cliché, but in a game like this, you just want to take care of your own business,” Ward said. “They have lines that can really score. Tonight was gutsy. My job is to be the last line of defense. At times it was a bit scrambly, but it was a matter of competing and getting to the puck.”
Aho has four goals and 13 assists this season, while Teravainen has eight goals and 11 assists. Their center, captain Jordan Staal, has six goals and nine assists.
“I don’t think the team is leaning on us in any way,” Teravainen said. “We’ve got four good lines that can score. I think any line can come in and win some games for us. But it’s all about confidence. And it’s always more fun to play with a little smile out there.”
Carolina led 3-1 after the first, outshooting the visitors 16-6.
Aho opened the scoring at 1:50, converting on a power play from the right circle with Teravainen on the primary assist. Teravainen made it 2-0 at 3:46, beating Halak from the left circle.
Leddy cut the lead to 2-1 with some fancy stickwork on a rush for an unassisted goal at 10:44.
Lindholm came back to put the Hurricanes up 3-1 in transition at 17:13.
Teravainen got his second of the night at 17:40 of the second, scoring on a power play.
Tavares cut it to 4-2 for New York when he got his 15th of the season on a follow shot at 13:13 of the third.
“We had really good second and third periods and opportunities to make it a really good hockey game,” said Islanders coach Doug Weight, who was a member of Carolina’s 2006 Stanley Cup championship team. “On the first (goal) we just fell asleep on a faceoff and Jaro had no chance, and on the second it was just a bad break — it hits Pelle’s skate and all of a sudden it’s a harmless 2-on-3 rush and it’s two-zip.”
NOTES: Teravainen was playing in his 100th game for Carolina. ... Islanders captain Andrew Ladd is a former Hurricane. ... Islanders RW Cal Clutterbuck was out with an illness. ... New York D and former Hurricane Dennis Seidenberg was a healthy extra along with teammate D Scott Mayfield. ... Carolina C Victor Rask and D Haydn Fleury were healthy scratches. ... The teams’ other meetings this season are in Raleigh on Feb. 16 and New York on March 18.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host Philadelphia on Wednesday night for the opener of a back-to-back with the Flyers.
Hurricanes: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday night in the second of a four-game homestand.
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