Hurricanes 4, Lightning 2
HURRICANES 4, LIGHTNING 2: Jeff Skinner scored two goals - including the winner 6:36 into the third period - and Cam Ward made 36 saves as visiting Carolina handed Tampa Bay its third consecutive loss.
Skinner circled behind the net and wristed a shot over Dustin Tokarski’s glove from the bottom of the right circle for the 3-2 lead. Chad LaRose added an empty-net goal with 21.4 seconds left.
Jussi Jokinen had two assists for Carolina, which is 4-1-4 in its last nine games.
Ryan Malone knocked home a rebound to put Tampa Bay up 1:20 into the game, but the Hurricanes battled back to take a 2-1 lead in the first period.
Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek tied it at 3:46 on the power play when his shot from the point deflected in off Lightning blue-liner Mike Commodore.
Skinner put the Carolina ahead, tapping in a nifty pass by Jokinen at 12:29.
Nate Thompson knotted the game 2-2 with 2:46 remaining in the opening frame, one-timing JT Wyman’s pass from behind the net.
Tokarski, who was making his first NHL home start, made a big save on LaRose at 16:20 of the second period.
Ward had 18 of his saves in the second period.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ward has 199 career wins. ... Skinner, 19, has 50 career goals. ... Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu was back in the lineup after missing the last 10 games with an upper-body injury. ... Thompson’s goal broke a 15-game streak without a point. ... Malone extended his season-high point streak to six games.