RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Ethan Bear scored the game’s first goal with 5:40 left and Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 on Thursday night.
Bear collected a loose puck along the boards near the Avalanche bench and fired a long shot that slipped through Darcy Kuemper. It was the breakthrough moment in a matchup of the league’s top two teams in terms of points percentage, one that came after the Hurricanes and Avalanche had come up empty on a combined 68 shots to that point.
The Hurricanes added the clinching score after the Avalanche had pulled Kuemper with about 3 minutes left, with Aho stealing Gabriel Landeskog's pass near center ice and skating in for the score with 1:32 left to seal this one.
Antti Raanta had 36 saves for his second shutout this season for the Hurricanes, who have won eight of 10. Carolina, which was second to Colorado by getting 74.1% of available points, has also earned points in 10 of 11 games.
Kuemper finished with 35 saves for the Avalanche, who entered with a league-best 87 points and have accumulated 75% of available points this season. Colorado has now lost four of five.
SNAPPED
Colorado's Cale Makar saw the end of his franchise-record 13-game assist streak, which stood as fifth-longest by a defenseman in NHL history.
ANDERSEN'S STATUS
This marked Raanta's third straight start in net for Carolina, while the Hurricanes wait on No. 1 starter Frederik Andersen to return from an unspecified injury.
Coach Rod Brind'Amour said earlier Thursday that Andersen “isn't quite 100%” as he works in practice, and that it will be his call when he's ready. Brind'Amour said he thought Andersen could be back this weekend.
Andersen entered the night tied for second in the league in wins (29) with Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Returns home to host Calgary on Sunday.
Hurricanes: Host Philadelphia on Saturday.
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