Brett Pesce's late goal lifts unbeaten Hurricanes past Coyotes

[November 01, 2021] Brett Pesce scored a go-ahead, power-play goal with 2:27 remaining in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes remained undefeated with a 2-1 win over the visiting Arizona Coyotes on Sunday at Raleigh, N.C.

Pesce, a defenseman, became the 14th Carolina player with at least one goal this season.

Martin Necas posted his first goal this season in the second period for the Hurricanes, who improved to 8-0-0. That extends the best start to a season in franchise history.

Necas and Seth Jarvis, who was making his NHL debut, each had an assist on the go-ahead goal.

Goalie Frederik Andersen made 22 saves for his seventh win with his new team.

Christian Fischer scored for Arizona, which remained winless at 0-8-1 on the season.
 

Karel Vejmelka made 37 saves for the Coyotes, who were playing the fourth contest of a six-game road trip. He held the Hurricanes to their lowest goal total of the season.

According to NHL Stats, this marked the first game in NHL history pitting an undefeated team through seven or more games against a winless team having played at least seven games.

Andersen played in the Hurricanes' first six games before serving as the backup on Friday.

Carolina Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck (16) and goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) celebrate their victory against the Arizona Coyotes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Necas' goal came just five seconds after a second-period faceoff. It was the first of Carolina's 26 shots on goal to get past Vejmelka, who was appearing in his seventh NHL game. The goal came with 3:03 remaining in the second period.

The Coyotes scored first when Fischer skated in from the corner to beat Andersen.

That marked the third time in the Hurricanes' four-game homestand that the opponent began the scoring.

Carolina made its first lineup change of the season among skaters when right winger Nino Niederreiter was scratched with a lower-body injury. That put Jarvis, a 2020 first-round draft pick, in the lineup for the center's debut at age 19.

--Field Level Media

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