RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Martin Necas posted a natural hat trick in the first 17 minutes, the first three-goal game of his career, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 despite changing goalies twice.
Carolina led 3-0 with 3:09 remaining in the first period thanks to Necas, whose hat trick was the fastest to begin a game in franchise history. Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis also scored and Teuvo Teravainen had a career-high four assists for the Hurricanes.
Zach Parise, a recent free-agent acquisition, and Samuel Girard scored in a seven-second span in the final minute of the first period for Colorado.
