Jackson Black’s 3-pointer night leads Hurricanes to 6-3 win over Predators – Hockey Writer – Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes host the Nashville Predators in the first of two games during the 2025-26 season. The Hurricanes are looking to get back into the win column after losing 5-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night (December 4). The Predators enter the game on a two-game winning streak after defeating the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers. As the final horn blew, the Hurricanes defeated the Predators 6-3.
game review
The first quarter was all about the Hurricanes and they dominated the Predators. Not only did they outscore their opponents 19-4, but they also scored three goals. The first two goals came on the power play, with the first coming from Taylor Hall, who took three attempts to get the ball past Jus Saros. Eventually scoring his sixth goal of the season. About two minutes later, on the Hurricanes’ 5-on-3 power play, Seth Jarvis took a shot and fooled everyone. He then passed the puck to Nikolai Ehlers, who fired a one-time shot past Saros.
RELATED: Hurricanes’ Brandon Busey has been a lifeline in the crease
Jarvis made it 2-0 in Ehlers’ wheelhouse, scoring the Fly’s sixth goal of the season. The Hurricanes were the 31st-ranked power team in this game, and they shot 2-for-4 in the first quarter alone. The final goal of the period came with 15 seconds left when William Carrier burst out from behind the net and stuffed the ball into the Saros sideline. After one quarter, the Hurricanes defeated the Predators 3-0.
Only one goal was scored in the second period, compared to three goals in the first period. Jackson Blake scored a fantastic goal to make it 4-0. After receiving a pass from Ehlers, he went from forehand to backhand to forehand and just passed the ball past Saros, his seventh goal of the season. He was hanging out of a London phone box with a Predators goal that could only be described as dirty. The Hurricanes led 4-0 after two quarters and outscored the Predators 14-8 (33-12 after 40 minutes).
RELATED: Carolina Hurricanes November 3 stars
Five goals were scored in the third period, two by the Hurricanes and three by the Predators. Sebastian Aho created his own breakthrough and beat Saros to make it 5-0. Blake scored his second goal of the game after seizing his third opportunity to give the Hurricanes a 6-1 lead. The Predators ended Busey’s buzzer-beating drive when Michael Bunting scored on a power play after the defense collapsed, giving him an unmarked look at the crease.
Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg scored two consecutive goals to tie the score to 3 points. At 11 minutes and 36 seconds of the third quarter, the score became 6-3. Both goals were scored with two players standing alone in front of the Hurricanes net. The defensive lapse was not on Busey’s fault, as there was nothing he could do about it and he didn’t score. Overall, Busey had a good night for the Hurricanes, while Saros was pulled after giving up his sixth goal of the game.
The win over the Predators improved the Hurricanes’ record to 17-8-2. Following his two-goal and one-assist performance, Blake scored his second career three-pointer. Bussey is now 8-1-0 on the season and has won his past six starts. He is the first goaltender in Hurricanes history to win eight of his first nine games. The Predators’ two-game winning streak was snapped when they lost the game. Their next game will be against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, December 9, while the Hurricanes will face the San Jose Sharks tomorrow.
