Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is congratulated by left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (James Guillory-Imagn Images)

Hurricanes Defeat Stars 6-3 to Split Regular Season Series

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated Jan 6, 2026 10:13 PM ET

The Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Dallas Stars in their final matchup for the 2025-26 regular season. The Stars defeated the Hurricanes 3-2 the last time these two teams met on Oct. 25 in Dallas, Texas. The Hurricanes came into the game looking for their second straight win of 2026, while the Stars were looking to snap their five-game losing streak. After the final horn, the Hurricanes defeated the Stars 6-3 on Star Wars Night.

Game Recap

The first period saw four goals, three from the Hurricanes and one from the Stars. The Hurricanes got the scoring going after a beautiful passing sequence from Sebastian Aho to Andrei Svechnikov, who found K’Andre Miller on the opposite side of Jake Oettinger. Miller got the puck in his wheelhouse and ripped a one-timer past Oettinger to make it a 1-0 game. The Stars would respond after a weird fire drill in front of the Hurricanes’ net. Somehow, the puck got into Brandon Bussi’s sleeve, and he was waiting for a whistle from the refs. While looking back at them, it flew out of his equipment and into the net for a Jason Robertson power-play goal.

Less than two minutes later, the Hurricanes responded with a power-play goal of their own. Shayne Gostisbehere got the puck from Seth Jarvis and ripped a slapshot into the net, giving the Hurricanes their one-goal lead back. The final goal of the period came from Logan Stankoven, who scored on his former team. He was able to fake out Mikko Rantanen, who tried to play him near the blue line. Stankoven deked him out, got into the high slot, and ripped a shot past Oettinger, making it a 3-1 Hurricanes lead.

The second period saw two more goals for the Hurricanes. Miller scored his second of the game, as Svechnikov got the puck in his wheelhouse once again, as the two keep humming along. It gave Svechnikov his first four-assist night and his first four-point game since December 2024 against the Colorado Avalanche. In his first game back, Seth Jarvis scored the second power-play goal for the Hurricanes to make it a 5-1 game. It was his 20th of the season, and the Hurricanes outshot the Stars 18-12 through 40 minutes.

The third period saw the Stars score two goals in the final 10 minutes of the game. Rantanen scored 36 seconds into the period to make it a three-goal deficit for the Stars. Almost eight minutes later, William Carrier gave the Hurricanes their four-goal lead back, on a nifty snapshot to beat Casey DeSmith. With less than two minutes left in the game, the Stars scored their second power-play goal as Wyatt Johnston picked up the rebound to get back to within three. However, it was not enough.

The Hurricanes move to 26-14-3 on the season after their 6-3 win. It’s their second straight win of 2026, and it was their most dominant win of the new year. Bussi picked up his 15th win of the season, stopping 19 of 22 shots. The Stars are on a six-game losing streak following the loss. They’re now 25-10-8 on the season.