The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime Friday night, with Alexander Nikishin scoring the game-winner just 41 seconds into the extra period.
Nikishin fired a shot past goalie Joseph Woll’s blocker to secure the victory for the Eastern Conference leaders.
ALEXANDER NIKISHIN’S FIRST OVERTIME GAME WINNER pic.twitter.com/8sFiC2diCN
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 21, 2026
Eric Robinson scored on a penalty shot for Carolina. K’Andre Miller and Jordan Staal also found the net.
Brandon Bussi made 23 saves in goal for the Hurricanes. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho each recorded two assists.
John Tavares, William Nylander and Dakota Joshua scored for Toronto. Woll stopped 32 shots, while Matias Maccelli contributed two assists.
Robinson’s penalty shot goal came in the second period after Toronto defenseman Troy Stecher hooked him on a breakaway. The Carolina winger beat Woll to the glove side.
Aho reached a significant franchise milestone with his performance.
He became the third player to hit at least 70 points in five seasons with the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise. Ron Francis (11 seasons) and Eric Staal (seven seasons) lead that list.
Toronto captain Auston Matthews had surgery on his left MCL in New York on Thursday. He was injured last week on a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas.
Up Next
Hurricanes: At Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Maple Leafs: At Ottawa on Saturday night.
