Hurricanes 4, Maple Leafs 1
Defenseman Justin Faulk scored a short-handed goal and set up another tally as host Carolina halted its six-game losing streak.
Fellow blue-liner Andrej Sekera also recorded a goal and an assist, Chris Terry scored in the first period and Elias Lindholm added an empty-net tally as the Hurricanes ended Toronto's six-game winning streak. Captain Eric Staal and Nathan Gerbe each collected a pair of assists while Cam Ward made 25 saves as Carolina won for only the fourth time in 17 games (4-13-0).
Captain Dion Phaneuf scored the lone goal for the Maple Leafs, who went 10-1-1 in their previous 12 games. Jonathan Bernier had his four-start winning streak snapped despite turning aside 33 shots.
Carolina, which had scored one goal in each game during its skid, dominated from the outset and scored on its 14th shot as Staal skated from behind the net to the left faceoff circle before turning and sending a pass to Terry for the conversion on the doorstep at 11:54. Faulk doubled the lead during a 2-on-1 rush less than two minutes later, taking a crossing pass from Patrick Dwyer and burying it from the slot.
Phaneuf cut the deficit in half with 3:05 left in the second, teeing up a high slap shot from the the top of the left circle and blowing it past a screened Ward. But, with a power play set to expire, Sekera went top shelf during a power play 11 minutes into the third to restore the two-goal cushion and help give the Hurricanes their fifth straight home win over the Maple Leafs.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Faulk became the first Carolina defenseman to notch two short-handed goals in a season since Mike Commodore in 2006-07. ... Maple Leafs C Phil Kessel and LW James van Riemsdyk each had his five-point streak come to an end. ... The Hurricanes traded veteran D Jay Harrison to Winnipeg for a sixth-round pick in the 2015 draft.