Carolina Hurricanes Recap and Notes

Cerrato inked a three-year, entry-level contract with Carolina on Tuesday.

Cerrato will make the jump to the professional ranks after wrapping up his sophomore campaign at Penn St. With the Nittany Lions, the 21-year-old center notched seven goals and 20 assists in 23 contests. Selected by the club in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft, Cerrato figures to start 2026-27 in the minors but could make his NHL debut for the Hurricanes at some point next year.

Jankowski signed a two-year, $3.7 million contract extension with the Hurricanes on Monday.

Jankowski put together a solid campaign during his first full year with the Hurricanes in 2025-26, logging 11 goals, 10 assists, 45 hits and 45 blocked shots while averaging 11:09 of ice time across 68 regular-season appearances. He was slated to become an unrestricted free agent during the offseason but will instead remain under contract with the Hurricanes for two more years.

Slavin logged an assist and three shots on goal in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Flyers in Game 4.

Slavin helped out on Jackson Blake’s game-winning tally in overtime. This was the first point of the playoffs for Slavin, who has added 15 shots on net, 16 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating in his usual shutdown role. The 32-year-old defenseman dealt with injuries for most of the first half of the season, but back-to-back sweeps have the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals, and he’ll have time to get some rest before that series starts against an opponent that’s yet to be determined.

Andersen made 15 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over the Flyers on Saturday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference second round.

Andersen is a perfect 8-0 this postseason. He leads all netminders in GAA (1.12) and save percentage (.950). He has been exceptional, and he’ll get a much-deserved rest until the Eastern Conference Finals against either the Canadiens or Sabres. Andersen is only the fourth goalie in NHL history to allow two goals or fewer in each of his first eight starts of a playoff run.

Aho was held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 overtime win over Philadelphia on Saturday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference second round.

Carolina has a perfect 8-0 record this postseason, but Aho has just four points (three goals, one assist). Two of his goals have been empty-netters, and he picked up only one helper during Carolina’s four-game sweep of the Flyers in Round 2. Aho should break through offensively at some point. He has 89 points, including 37 goals, in 97 career appearances during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.