The Carolina Hurricanes had a lot of reasons to be distracted Thursday night.

Not only was the team playing on the other side of the globe, in a new and unfamiliar place, in a new and unfamiliar arena, after a four-day break, and with it being Taylor Hall's 1,000 game, and with three of their players, including their top player Sebastian Aho, being the height of media focus every day leading up to the game and the fact that they also wanted to make sure that they were doing right by those teammates who'd be welcoming in friends and family, many perhaps for the first time, and...

Well, you get the picture.

There were a lot of reasons why the opening of the 2026 NHL Global Series in Helsinki could have gone sideways for Carolina, however, this Hurricanes team is one that has been through the wringer more than a time or two and they know how to do two things more than anything else:

How to take care of business and how to win.

And they did both Thursday night, rattling off a 4-1 over the Seattle Kraken in front of a buzzing crowd in Finland.

"These are unique trips and everyone wants a piece of us, and I think that's the way to do it too, but I really do appreciate how the guys worked," Aho said. "We were ready to play and that basically gave us a win. We started on time. It's part of the whole trip, but I appreciate the effort the guys gave today."

Right from the drop, it was clear that the Hurricanes were ready for the moment and they just never looked back, proceeding to dominate Seattle for nearly the entire 60 minute affair.

And as it should have been, it was the team's Finnish stars that shined the brightest in the victory.

Aho led the way with a two-goal performance, notching both the game-winner and the dagger in his first ever NHL game back home.

"I was actually a little nervous before the game," Aho said. "Obviously you hope to win that game, for sure, that's the main thing, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it didn't feel good. It was nice to score in that game, for sure."

Juuso Valimaki even got in on the action too, getting a fortunate bounce off of a Kraken stick for his third goal of the season.

"Really happy for him," Brind'Amour said on Valimaki. "That was special for him to get that goal. He's a big part of what we're doing."

The Hurricanes were just dominant in every facet of the game: scoring at 5v5 and on the power play, giving the Kraken no grade-A chances on any of their power plays, stifling them through the neutral zone. 

It was an all around tremendous effort up and down the lineup.

"There's always things to do better, but I thought we were pretty solid in every aspect of the game," Brind'Amour said. "So I'd love to be able to repeat that."

The Canes will try their best to repeat the magic on Saturday when they play the host team in the second game of the Global Series.

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