Aho, Hall score in 2nd period as Hurricanes beat Canadiens 4-1 for 10th win in 12 games

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho and Taylor Hall scored 2:24 apart in the second period, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the slumping Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Friday night.

Jackson Blake had a goal and two assists, Andrei Svechnikov also scored, and Seth Jarvis had two assists for Carolina in its 10th win in 12 games. Frederik Andersen stopped 14 shots.

Josh Anderson scored for Montreal, which has lost five straight (0-3-2). Sam Montembeault had 21 saves.

Hall put the Hurricanes ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal with 6:14 left in the second. It was Hall's 17th of the season, and fifth in the last three games.

Aho made it a two-goal lead from the right circle with 4:50 to go in the middle period for his 27th.

Svechnikov, back in the lineup after missing seven games with an upper body injury, added an empty-netter with 1 minute remaining.

Anderson gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game on their first shot with a one-timer from between the circles.

Blake was credited with the tying goal 18 seconds later as his deflection of Jaccob Slavin's point shot deflected off the skates of two Canadiens players and in through Montembeault's skates.

Defenseman Kaiden Guhle returned for Montreal after a 21-game absence due to a quadriceps injury that required surgery.

Canadiens: Montreal fell into a tie with Columbus and the New York Rangers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference after the Blue Jackets beat Vancouver 7-6 in shootout..

Hurricanes: Carolina has firm control of second place in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Less than 2 1/2 minutes after Hall gave the Hurricanes the lead, Jarvis skated up the left side and saucered a cross-ice pass over the stick of sliding Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier to Aho, who redirected it up over the Montembeault's glove to make it 3-1.

The Canadiens had just seven shots on goal through the first 40 minutes — four in the first period and three in the second.

Canadiens play at Florida on Sunday to open a home-and-home set, and Hurricanes host the New York Islanders.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Carolina Hurricanes' Jaccob Slavin (74) chases the loose puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov (37) lines up to shoot the puck at Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) watches the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montreal Canadiens' Josh Anderson (17) center, celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with teammates Christian Dvorak (28) and Mike Matheson (8) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho, front left, shoots the puck past Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) for a goal with teammate Seth Jarvis (24) nearby during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) controls the puck in front of Montreal Canadiens' Jayden Struble (47) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)