Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov notched a hat trick and Jesper Fast scored two goals to support the return of goalie Antti Raanta in the Hurricanes’ 5-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Svechnikov broke a tie with 6:09 left with his second goal of the game. His empty-netter came with 18.9 seconds left for his sixth goal of the season.

Sebastian Aho’s four assists and Brent Burns’ three assists were boosts to Carolina’s offense. Raanta made 18 saves.

Mitchell Stephens, Mike Matheson and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens, who were in their first post-holiday game. Cayden Primeau made 29 saves.

Fast’s second goal of the game and fourth of the season gave Carolina a 3-2 lead just 1:29 into the second period.

The Canadiens were faster to begin the third, with Anderson tying the score 25 seconds into the period with his sixth goal of the season. It was Anderson’s fifth goal in a five-game span.

Raanta was in his first NHL game since Dec. 15. In the past two weeks, he cleared waivers and took an assignment in the American Hockey League before he was called back to the Hurricanes earlier this week.

Primeau, son of former Carolina captain Keith Primeau, faced the Hurricanes for the first time.

Svechnikov, in his 21st game of the season, scored for the second game in a row when he redirected Burns’ blast at 1:35 of the first period.

Fast had an easy tap-in for his third goal of the season. It came just seconds after he whiffed on a close-range shot, but the rebound on Aho’s shot came right to Fast’s stick.

Raanta stopped the first four shots he faced, but Stephens scored just 71 seconds after Carolina’s second goal.

Matheson’s wraparound on a power play with 3.9 seconds to play in the opening period tied the score. His first goal in 15 games was his sixth of the season.

–Field Level Media