Pyotr Kochetkov Hits 10-0 as Hurricanes Blank Jets

Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside all 26 shots he faced, and the Carolina Hurricanes crushed the Winnipeg Jets 7-0 on Sunday in Raleigh. The shutout makes Kochetkov 10-0 to start the season, only the third goalie in NHL history to open a year with 10 straight wins.

That ties Carey Price's 10-win start with Montreal a decade ago for the second-longest season-opening streak, per the AP. Only Jack Campbell has a longer one, with 11 straight wins for Toronto in 2020-21. Carolina has now won four in a row.

Never in Doubt

Sean Walker opened the scoring with a short-handed goal 5:16 into the game and later added a second, his first two-goal game in two seasons with Carolina. The Hurricanes then blew it open with four goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period, including a Sebastian Aho power-play goal. When Logan Stankoven scored at 9:09 of the second to make it 5-0, Winnipeg had five shots on goal.

Juuso Valimaki, Mark Jankowski and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored. Stankoven, Seth Jarvis, Nikolaj Ehlers and Shayne Gostisbehere each had two assists.

It was Kochetkov's second shutout of the season and the 13th of his career, in 135 games. He was busiest when Carolina was short-handed, making six saves on the penalty kill as Winnipeg went 0 for 3 on the power play.

The Hurricanes went 2 for 5 on their own power play and outshot the Jets 32-26. Stankoven's goal was his 10th of the season, and Aho's was his ninth. At 12-2-2, Carolina keeps rolling, and right now the goalie is the reason nobody is getting back into games against them.

The Jets Are in Free Fall

Winnipeg has lost nine straight (0-7-2), falling to 4-8-3, and has given up 23 goals in its last four games. This one got away early and never came back. Stuart Skinner made 12 saves and was pulled after the fifth goal, and Clay Stevenson stopped 13 shots in relief. The Jets finish a four-game road trip at Montreal on Tuesday at 4 PM PT.

Next Up and the Smacktok Lean

Carolina visits Nashville on Tuesday, Nov 3 at 5 PM PT.

Kochetkov is 10-0 and has two shutouts in those starts. If he gets the start in Nashville, my Smacktok lean is on the Hurricanes, and on Stankoven's points after his two-assist, one-goal night.