Hurricanes Rally Late to Defeat Mammoth 5-4

In a stunning display of resilience, the Carolina Hurricanes erased a two-goal deficit in the final two minutes of regulation to defeat the Utah Mammoth 5-4 on Thursday night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The victory marked only the third time in NHL history a team has rallied from such a late disadvantage to win in regulation, joining the Dallas Stars in October 1995 and the Montreal Maroons in 1932.

The game had appeared firmly in Utah's grasp entering the closing stages. The Mammoth built a 4-2 lead on goals from Kailer Yamamoto, who scored twice for the first time in over two years, JJ Peterka and Michael Carcone, whose tally at 7:11 of the third period extended the advantage. Utah's defense forced Carolina into several puck-handling errors in the neutral zone, while goaltender Karel Vejmelka turned aside key shots to preserve the edge. The Mammoth, concluding a four-game road trip, controlled much of the play in a chippy contest that included a hard hit by Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on Carolina's Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the second period.

Carolina, returning from a five-day break since their last game on Saturday, struggled early with sharpness but...