
The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Blackhawks 9-2 on Saturday night in Raleigh, tying the franchise record for goals in a game since the team moved from Hartford in 1997, in a rout decided before the second period began.
Jordan Martinook scored twice in the first period and Andrei Svechnikov added two goals of his own as Carolina built a 7-0 lead through two periods. Seth Jarvis, Jackson Blake, Sebastian Aho, Alexander Nikishin and Shayne Gostisbehere also scored, and the Hurricanes have now outscored Chicago 14-4 across their two meetings this season.
The tone was set in the opening minutes. Jarvis scored his second goal of the season just 1:34 into the game, and Blake followed less than two minutes later to make it 2-0. Martinook then scored twice in the first period, and by the time Carolina had built a 6-0 lead, the Blackhawks had managed only eight shots on goal.
The Hurricanes did not let up. Svechnikov added two goals, and Aho, Nikishin and Gostisbehere all found the net as Carolina stretched the lead to 7-0 through two periods. Seven different Hurricanes scored, and Eric Robinson, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and William Carrier each recorded two assists.
Chicago finally got on the board in the third period. Roman Kantserov ended Kochetkov's shutout bid 5:56 into the third, extending his own point streak to eight games, and Connor Bedard also scored, with Alex Vlasic assisting on both Chicago goals.
The goaltending told its own story. Kochetkov stopped 18 shots and rebounded from his first defeat of the season. At the other end, Chicago starter Spencer Knight allowed six goals on 17 shots before being replaced by Arvid Soderblom.
Nine goals is a rare number in the modern NHL, and for Carolina it ties the high-water mark of the franchise's 29 seasons since leaving Hartford. The Hurricanes have built their identity around relentless pressure, speed through the neutral zone and waves of scoring from all four lines, and on Saturday every part of that identity showed up at once.
The result also fits a pattern at home. Carolina's last two home games have ended in routs by a combined 16-2 margin, including last Sunday's 7-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The Hurricanes have turned their own rink into a place where opponents struggle to get a shot off: Chicago managed a single shot in the first 11 minutes on Saturday, a stretch in which Carolina scored twice.
For Chicago, the defeat extends a miserable run. The Blackhawks have now lost six games in a row and nine of their last 10, and they were completing a three-game road trip that offered no relief. Bedard scored again on Saturday, but the gap between Chicago's rebuild and Carolina's contender status has rarely looked wider.
The 9-2 scoreline was built on speed and volume. Carolina scored twice in the first three and a half minutes, six times before Chicago had eight shots, and seven times before the second intermission. The Hurricanes did not rely on one line or one scorer: Martinook and Svechnikov each had two, five others scored once, and three players finished with two assists apiece.
The territorial dominance was just as stark as the score. Chicago's one shot in the opening 11 minutes said everything about how the game was played: Carolina owned the puck, owned the zone time, and turned pressure into goals at a rate that made the second half of the game a formality.
There was no single moment that decided this game; there were about a dozen of them, all in the first period. By the time Carolina had scored twice in the opening three and a half minutes, the only question was how many the Hurricanes would score. The answer, nine, ties the best offensive night the franchise has produced since arriving in North Carolina.
The numbers underline the scale of it. Carolina outscored Chicago 14-4 across the two meetings this season. The Hurricanes have won their last two home games 16-2 on aggregate. Chicago, meanwhile, has now lost six straight and nine of 10, and Saturday's goaltending change changed nothing.
For Carolina, a nine-goal night is more than a fun box score. It is a reminder that this roster can overwhelm opponents in waves. The Hurricanes do not need their top line to carry them; on Saturday, seven players scored and three more had two assists each. That depth is what separates contenders from good teams.
For Chicago, the loss matters in the opposite direction. Six straight defeats and nine losses in 10 games is the kind of slide that tests a rebuilding team, and the way this one unfolded, outshot, outworked and outscored from the opening minutes, will worry the coaching staff more than the scoreline alone.
Carolina now travels to Finland for two games against the Seattle Kraken next week, taking its high-scoring form overseas. They will arrive with confidence after back-to-back home routs.
Chicago heads home to regroup after a three-game road trip. The Blackhawks need to find a way to slow the bleeding: six straight losses, nine in 10, after allowing nine goals on Saturday.
The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 9-2 on Saturday, November 7, 2026, in Raleigh.
The nine goals tied the Carolina franchise record for goals in a game since the team relocated from Hartford, Connecticut, in 1997.
Jordan Martinook and Andrei Svechnikov each scored twice, and Seth Jarvis, Jackson Blake, Sebastian Aho, Alexander Nikishin and Shayne Gostisbehere each scored once.
Kochetkov made 18 saves, bouncing back from his first loss of the season after winning his first 10 starts, a franchise record.
Carolina travels to Finland for two games against the Seattle Kraken next week.
Read more: Predators rout Hurricanes 4-1, ending Kochetkov's 10-game winning streak; Patrick Kane out after leaving Blackhawks' 5-2 loss to Avalanche; NHL Monday roundup: Avalanche rally, Red Wings win, Flames edge Sharks.