RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jalen Chatfield scored with 2:39 left, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Chatfield caught a high clearing attempt at the top of the right circle, then dropped the puck and pushed a shot at the goal that snuck under Vitek Vanecek’s right arm. It was Chatfield's third goal of the season.
Luke Kunin scored both of San Jose’s goals. Vanecek made 25 saves in the Sharks’ first game since they traded goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to Colorado on Monday.
Brent Burns and Shayne Gostisbehere also scored for Carolina. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 21 shots.
Gostisbehere gave Carolina a 1-0 lead 4:26 into the first period but his turnover in the second period led to Kunin’s second goal and a 2-1 San Jose lead.
Sharks: Macklin Celebrini continues the strong start to his rookie season. The No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft had an assist on Kunin’s first goal. He has 16 points in first 19 NHL games.
Hurricanes: Fighting through a mini-slump (with losses in four of the previous five games), Carolina could ill afford a home loss to one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Vanecek made a breakaway save on Jordan Martinook in the second period and a point-blank save on Sebastian Aho in the third but the Canes kept pushing to pick up the home win.
Not all goals are pretty but Burns’ goal at 4:11 of the third was. Martin Necas started the play with a cross-ice pass to Aho, who fed the puck back across the ice to Burns for a tap-in goal.
Burns spent 11 seasons with the Sharks. The 39-year-old defenseman has 18 points in 30 career games against San Jose.
The Sharks close out a six-game trip at St. Louis on Thursday. The Hurricanes continue a four-game homestand Friday against Ottawa.
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