Hurricanes 4, Senators 3
Chad LaRose scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes stayed within range of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by rallying for a 4-3 home victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
It was the second consecutive win for the Hurricanes (34-29-10), who improved to 78 points and continued their hopes of catching Buffalo for eighth place in the conference. The Sabres also won to maintain their three-point advantage.
The Hurricanes continue their drive to catch Buffalo with the first of back-to-back games against the Lightning on Friday in Tampa Bay.
Carolina fell behind 2-0 in the first period on goals by Ottawa's Colin Greening and Marek Svatos. The Hurricanes tied the score later in the opening period on goals 25 seconds apart by Tuomo Ruutu and LaRose.
LaRose scored again late in the second period before Cory Stillman gave the Hurricanes a two-goal lead at 6:04 of the third period.
Defenseman Erik Karlsson pulled the Senators within 4-3 at 14:15, but Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward held off a late attack to seal the victory.
Ward finished with 35 saves, while Curtis McElhinney stopped 20 shots for Ottawa.
Forward Jason Spezza recorded two assists for the Senators (27-37-9), who remain at the bottom of the East standings with 63 points.