Sebastian Aho scores twice as Carolina Hurricanes beat Seattle Kraken 4-1 in Helsinki Global Series opener

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Sebastian Aho scored two goals as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-1 at the 2026 NHL Global Series at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, Finland, on Thursday. The win improved Carolina’s record to 15-3-2, while Seattle dropped to 9-7-1. Brandon Bussi made 12 saves for the Hurricanes, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 26 shots for the Kraken.

Nikolaj Ehlers added a goal and an assist for Carolina, and Juuso Valimaki, a native of Tampere, Finland, found the net as well. Freddy Gaudreau scored for Seattle, with his goal coming after the Hurricanes established a 4-0 lead earlier in the game. Carolina’s victory came as the club extended a strong stretch, having won three straight and seven of its past eight.

Carolina took control early in the first period. Ehlers gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 11:44 when he scored on a wrist shot from inside the blue line. Jackson Blake set a screen at the top of the crease on the play, helping create the lane for Ehlers’ shot.

Aho then struck on the power play to make it 2-0 at 12:50 of the first period. He redirected an elevated pass from Blake at the left post. Shortly after, Carolina drew another power play when Seattle unsuccessfully used a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference on Ehlers’ goal.

The Hurricanes pushed the advantage wider in the second period with Valimaki’s goal at 9:34. Logan Stankoven won a faceoff back to Valimaki, who scored under the crossbar on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle, sending Carolina into the third period with a comfortable cushion.

Carolina added to its lead in the third period with Aho completing a give-and-go with K’Andre Miller. Aho finished the sequence with a one-timer at 11:41 to extend the Hurricanes’ lead to 4-0.

Seattle broke the shutout at 13:15 when Gaudreau jumped on a loose puck after a turnover and scored from the right hash marks to make it 4-1. Despite the Kraken’s response, Carolina held on for the win as Bussi and the Hurricanes’ defensive structure limited Seattle’s chances over the final minutes.

The Global Series also included a milestone for Taylor Hall. Hall, the No. 1 pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL Draft, became the first player in NHL history to skate in his 1,000th game outside of North America, according to the game recap.

Carolina and Seattle will meet again at Veikkaus Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. The broadcast information listed for the rematch includes HHN and Prime Video, as well as CARNHL, KONG, KING, NHLN, and SN1.

Following Thursday’s Global Series action in Helsinki, NHL Auctions announced that game-worn jerseys from the 2026 Global Series Finland—along with pucks from practices, warmups and games in Helsinki—are available for purchase. This follows the league’s presentation of the Hurricanes and Kraken’s season-long series in Finland.

The Hurricanes carried their scoring into all three periods with goals from Ehlers, Aho, Valimaki and Aho again, while the Kraken were kept to one goal in the late stages by Carolina’s goaltending and defensive play. With another game scheduled for Saturday at the same venue, both teams will have an immediate chance to adjust and build on Thursday’s result in Helsinki.