The Carolina Hurricanes‘ seven-game winning streak is not built on one player or one lucky bounce. It is built on a goaltender who has not lost, a depth forward who suddenly cannot stop scoring, and a roster that keeps finding ways to win on the road. Carolina improved to 7-1-1 on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, and the pieces behind that run point to a formula that looks repeatable rather than lucky.
Kochetkov’s Perfect Start Anchors The Run
Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov made 21 saves against Winnipeg and is 5-0-0 to start the season. That mark makes him just the second goaltender in franchise history to open a season with a five-game winning streak, joining Frederik Andersen, who went 8-0-0 in 2021-22. A goaltender who has not tasted a loss gives Carolina a floor every night, and that floor is the clearest repeatable factor in the Hurricanes winning streak.
Andersen’s run two seasons ago is the only real precedent for what Kochetkov is doing now, and it stretched three games longer before ending. Whether Kochetkov can match or extend that mark will say a lot about how far this stretch can go, but the early returns already rank among the best starts by any goaltender in team history.
Jankowski’s Scoring Surge Adds A New Weapon
Forward Mark Jankowski has scored in six straight games, tying the third-longest goal streak in franchise history behind Pierre Larouche’s nine-game run in 1981-82 and Ray Ferraro’s seven-game streak in 1988-89. Jankowski has six goals in nine games this season. Last season he scored 11 goals in 68 games, so his per-game scoring rate has jumped dramatically since Carolina acquired him in a trade in March 2025.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour credited both the acquisition and increased opportunity for the shift. “He’s a solid player, and ever since we picked him up (in a trade March 2025), that’s what he’s been doing, and now with a little more opportunity (he’s) suddenly cashing in,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s just a guy that can do a little bit of everything and we need that right now.” That quote frames Jankowski’s streak as the product of a role change rather than a one-off hot stretch, which matters for whether it continues.
Depth Contributions Spread The Scoring Load
Carolina is not relying solely on Kochetkov and Jankowski. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere picked up two assists against Winnipeg, and forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have factored into the team’s scoring during the run. A streak sustained by only one or two players tends to be fragile. Carolina’s mix of a hot goaltender, a surging depth forward and secondary contributions from its blue line suggests the Hurricanes have more than one lever to pull on a given night.
A Historic Road Trip Adds Context
Carolina won its first five road games of a season for the first time in franchise history during this stretch. That detail matters because it shows the streak has not been propped up by a favorable, home-heavy schedule. Winning away from PNC Arena at that rate is a sign the formula travels, which is a fair test of whether a hot streak reflects real team strength.
The Counterpoint: Injuries And Small Sample Size
The strongest case against reading too much into this run is personnel and sample size. Forward Taylor Hall is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, meaning Carolina has produced this streak without one of its established scorers. Kochetkov’s five-game unbeaten start and Jankowski’s six-game goal streak are also still small samples in an 82-game season, and both the Andersen and Larouche team records for longer streaks remain unmatched. If either player’s pace slows to a career norm, the margin that has carried Carolina through one-goal games like Saturday’s could shrink quickly.
What To Watch Next
Forward Seth Jarvis could potentially return for the Hurricanes this weekend, which would add another scoring option as Carolina tries to extend the streak past seven games. The next test for Kochetkov is whether he can approach Andersen’s 8-0-0 mark, and for Jankowski it is whether he can pass Ferraro’s seven-game franchise record. Both milestones are within reach in Carolina’s next outing.
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