Kraken Fall to Hurricanes as Sebastian Aho Steals the Show in Finland

The Seattle Kraken couldn’t spoil Sebastian Aho’s homecoming.

Playing in front of his fellow Finns, the Carolina Hurricanes forward scored twice to help his team defeat Seattle 4-1 in the opening game of the 2026 NHL Global Series at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

Carolina came out firing and quickly put the Kraken on their heels. Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring with 8:16 remaining in the first period. Just 66 seconds later, Aho added a power-play goal to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead.

Seattle had a difficult time slowing down Carolina’s attack, and Aho struck again in the third period to make it 4-0. The Finnish forward entered the game in strong form and added to his recent production with seven points (three goals, four assists) over his last three outings.

Frederick Gaudreau finally got Seattle on the scoreboard in the third, finding the back of the net for the Kraken’s only goal of the night. Brandon Bussi stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced for Carolina.

The loss dropped Seattle to 9-7-1 (19 points), while the Hurricanes improved to 15-3-2 (32 points). Carolina has now won seven of its last eight games and sits atop the NHL standings.

The Kraken won’t have to wait long for another shot at Carolina. The two teams will meet again Saturday in Helsinki, giving Seattle an opportunity to respond and leave Finland with a split in the Global Series.