Hurricanes rally past Blackhawks, season-opening winning streak at nine

CHICAGO -- The Carolina Hurricanes extended their season-opening winning streak to nine games with a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Wednesday.

Seth Jarvis scored his first NHL goal, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves for the Hurricanes (9-0-0), who rallied from down 3-1 to remain the only undefeated team in the NHL and tie the 2015-16 Montreal Canadiens for the second-longest winning streak to start a season in NHL history, behind the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres and 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs, who each won 10 straight.

Martin Necas scored from the right face-off circle at 3:26 of the third period to make it 4-3 after Jesper Fast tied the game 3-3 17 seconds into the third when he scored on the rush after a Chicago turnover in the neutral zone.

"We weren't great the first two periods, that's for sure," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I felt like were just kind of going along with the game. We certainly weren't playing our game the way we needed to. It showed. We were down going into the third, but then we obviously got to it."

Video: CAR@CHI: Fast scores 17 seconds into 3rd

Alex DeBrincat scored twice, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for the Blackhawks (1-8-2), who were coming off their first win of the season, 5-1 against the Ottawa Senators on Monday.

Carolina killed a four-minute Chicago power play after defenseman Ethan Bear received a double minor for high-sticking at 14:34 of the third period. The Hurricanes had killed two minor penalties earlier in the third.

"That was obviously the game," Brind'Amour said. "We were eight minutes [shorthanded] in the third period. That's way too much to give that team. They had their looks. The goalie was good; Freddie made some saves. We had some huge blocks. That was obviously the crucial point of the game. Came up big."

Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said the Hurricanes penalty kill made it difficult.

"The way they kill, it really scrambles things," he said. "You're not going to be able to do everything you want to do out there. You're not going to be able to control the play, and you have to kind of take what they give and find a way to win some loose pucks and battles.

"The fact that the power plays were kind of stacked up worked against us. If they're spread throughout the game, maybe it's a little bit easier. But that's not why we lost the game, so I think let's not get distracted by that."

DeBrincat scored at 1:35 of the first period to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. He took a pass from Patrick Kane at the Carolina blue line, skated in alone, and put the puck past the stick of Andersen.

Derek Stepan tied it 1-1 at 6:25, scoring from in front of the net off a pass from Tony DeAngelo.

Kane gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead at 2:49 of the second period when he tipped Riley Stillman's shot from the left point.

DeBrincat made it 3-1 at 8:24, scoring from the left circle off a feed from Philipp Kurashev after Mike Hardman made a pass while falling to the ice following a Hurricanes turnover just outside the blue line.

"We had good spots," DeBrincat said. "We were up 3-1. We have to find a way to win that game. We just have to battle hard for the full 60 [minutes]. We let up for a couple of minutes there, and there were a couple in our net. [We] have to figure out how to hold a lead."

Video: CAR@CHI: DeBrincat cashes in on tic-tac-toe play

Jarvis got Carolina within 3-2 at 12:50 when he skated past defenseman Erik Gustafsson and slid the puck between the pads of Fleury.

"Super excited," said Jarvis, who was playing his second NHL game. "Last game [against the] Arizona [Coyotes], I came really close; I hit the D-man's foot. So it's nice to get one tonight, especially against Marc-Andre Fleury. I grew up watching him, idolizing him. To get one against him means a little bit more."

Colliton said the way the Blackhawks lost made it more disappointing.

"It's a terrible feeling when we put [ourselves] in a great position," he said. "Then we give them life. We give them momentum, give them their goals. Up 3-1 at home midway through the second period, that should be enough to close the game out.

"We gift-wrapped them an opportunity to get back in the game, and [it was] hard to watch it happen, hard to be a part of."

NOTES: DeAngelo extended his point streak to four games (two goals, four assists). … Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce left the game at 6:04 of the second period after he lost his balance in a race for the puck against Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik and slid into the end boards. Brind'Amour did not have an update. … Kane has scored seven points (four goals, three assists) during a three-game point streak. … Blackhawks forward Henrik Borgstrom was removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol but did not play. Forward Tyler Johnson and defenseman Isaak Phillips entered the protocol.

Video: Necas scores go-ahead goal, lift Canes to 9-0-0 start