RALEIGH, N.C. _ The Carolina Hurricanes still don't have a blemish on their record.
The Canes, showing off their speed and quickness, topped the New York Islanders, 5-2, on Friday to push their record to 5-0-0. That's the best start to a season in franchise history and had Canes fans roaring in the final seconds.
The Canes and Islanders last faced each other in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Canes won twice in PNC Arena, finishing up the four-game sweep at home, and there was some residual friction between the two teams.
The Canes got goals Friday from the forwards _ Teuvo Teravainen, Erik Haula and then an empty-netter by Andrei Svechnikov. They got goals from their defensemen _ Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton, who also made a spectacular assist on Teravainen's goal. They showed off their team speed while showing enough grittiness when the Isles turned more physical.
Canes goalie Petr Mrazek, making his third start in net, was beaten twice for power-play goals, by Brock Nelson in the first period and Johnny Boychuk early in the second.
Penalty killing has proven to be a weakness early in the season for the Canes. They had given up four power-play goals in the first four games, and the Islanders' first power play lasted eight seconds before Nelson scored.
But at even strength, the Canes have been at their best. They have balance in their lines a lot of quickness, a growing trend in the NHL, producing a high number of high-danger scoring chances Friday against Isles goalie Thomas Greiss, who had won six of his last seven games against Carolina.
The Canes, who host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, learned this week that forward Jordan Martinook would need surgery to repair a core muscle injury, sidelining him for six to eight weeks.
But that meant Julien Gauthier, a former first-round draft pick by Carolina, would get the recall from the AHL's Charlotte Checkers that he has long awaited. Making his NHL debut, with a number of family members in the stands, Gauthier was given the traditional first-game honor of being the first player on the ice for the pregame warmups.
Gauthier, a winger on the fourth line, got limited minutes. He also picked up his first NHL penalty, for high-sticking in the third that the Canes killed off without allowing a shot.
With Martinook out, Teravainen wore an "A" as an alternate captain. And his line, with center Sebastian Aho and winger Nino Niederreiter, was flying much of the game, especially Aho. Niederreiter had two assists, his first multi-point game of the season.
Teravainen's goal, his second in as many games, was a simple tap-in made possible by the scintillating pass from Hamilton. The defenseman held on to the puck on the rush, causing Isles defensemen Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock to go down attempting to block a pass or shot. But Hamilton, on one leg, curled the puck to Teravainen for the easy one.
Greiss has had the Canes' number the past few years at PNC Arena. But the Canes scored twice in each of the first two periods, taking a 2-1 lead after the first and 4-2 after the second.
Pesce's goal in the first period came off a neat pass from Svechnikov, the forward's league-best seventh of the season. Hamilton's, which made it 4-2, was on a blast from the point late in the second period.
Haula scored his fourth of the season with a power move from behind the goal line, taking the puck to the net, getting off a shot, then punching the rebound past Greiss.
The Isles were an inch or so from trailing 4-3 entering the third. Defenseman Devon Toews hit the crossbar with a shot, the puck skidding down the goal line in the final seconds.
