Hurricanes 6, Islanders 3
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Center Andrej Nestrasil continued his recent scoring surge with two second-period goals as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 6-3 on Saturday night at PNC Arena.
Five of Nestrasil's 10 goals this season have come in a four-game stretch.
Center Victor Rask also scored two goals for Carolina (25-21-10), which lost its previous two games in shootouts.
Center Riley Nash, who was scratched the night before, scored in the first period for the Hurricanes.
Right winger Kris Versteeg also scored for Carolina. Center Jordan Staal and left winger Phillip Di Giuseppe picked up two assists apiece.
The Hurricanes had a season-high six goals by the end of the second period.
Carolina goalie Cam Ward left late in the second period after suffering an apparent injury earlier in the period while making an awkward save.
Ward finished with 15 saves and Eddie Lack stopped eight shots in relief.
Center John Tavares and defenseman Nick Leddy scored in a 1:34 span of the second period for the Islanders (29-19-6), who trailed 4-0. Left winger Matt Martin added a third-period goal.
New York goalie Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves on 28 shots through two periods before goalie Thomas Greiss worked the third period.
The Hurricanes led 6-2 after the teams combined for seven second-period goals.
Nash did some of the hard work and was rewarded with the goal to open the scoring for the game's lone first-period goal.
He collected the puck along the boards and dished a pass to center Jay McClement, who returned the puck to Nash. Nash's shot gave him his fifth goal of the season.
Nestrasil's first goal came on a redirect of defenseman Noah Hanifin's delivery toward the net. His second goal made it 4-0 after he received a pass center Joakim Nordstrom.
Tavares posted his team-leading 21st goal of the season in the second period for the Islanders. Leddy's goal came on a power play with 4:40 left in the second period.
Rask notched his two goals in the last 1:23 of the second period. His second came with less than two seconds to play in the period.
NOTES: The Stanley Cup was on display in the arena for the second night in a row as part of the 10-year anniversary celebration of Carolina's only championship. A pregame on-ice ceremony honoring the 2006 champions included Doug Weight, the Islanders assistant coach and assistant general manager, who was a Carolina forward 10 years ago. ... D Justin Faulk of the Hurricanes was scratched for the second game in a row after sustaining a lower-body injury during Thursday's practice. ... The Islanders had RW Steve Bernier, who hadn't played in the previous 18 games, in the lineup. He replaced RW Cal Clutterbuck (illness). ... The teams meet twice more late in March. ... Entering the game, the Hurricanes had earned at least one team point in 25 of the previous 28 meetings. ... The Islanders return home to face Detroit on Monday night. ... The Hurricanes play the last game of a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against Winnipeg.