RALEIGH, N.C. — This is the way it’s going to be the rest of the season, Carolina Hurricanes forward Derek Stepan said Saturday.
The games will be tight, the scores close, open ice hard to find, regardless of the opponent. And Stepan should know, having played his 800th career game Saturday as the Canes faced the Philadelphia Flyers at PNC Arena.
Stepan also collected his 500th career point in the Canes’ 3-1 victory, assisting on a Steven Lorentz goal in the second period. Jordan Martinook had the go-ahead goal with 3:50 left in regulation and Sebastian Aho then added an empty-netter in the final minute as the Canes extended their home-ice point streak to 13 games ( 12-0-1) with the Metro Division win.