Hurricanes 2, Avalanche 1
Jordan Staal and Patrick Dwyer each had a goal and an assist to help host Carolina hand Colorado just its third loss of the season.
Nathan Gerbe had two assists for the Hurricanes, who extended their points streak to four games. Justin Peters stopped 33 shots to improve to 3-0-1 in his past four starts.
Paul Stastny had a goal on assists from top overall pick Nathan MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog as Colorado lost for the first time in seven chances on the road this season. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for his second loss in three starts.
Staal scored off a rebound on a shot by Gerbe at the 12:47 mark of the opening period, and the two assisted on Dwyer’s first goal of the season to give Carolina a 2-0 lead 26 seconds into the second. Stastny tapped in a power-play goal with 5:26 remaining in the second to trim the deficit.
The Avalanche outshot the Hurricanes 10-5 in the final 20 minutes, but Peters fended them all off. Captain Eric Staal drew a penalty on defenseman Eric Johnson - Colorado’s only infraction of the game - with 31.6 seconds left to end the threat.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hurricanes RW Radek Dvorak left with a lower-body injury and did not return. … Stastny’s goal gave him 142 for his career, tying him with Dale Hunter for eighth-most in franchise history. … Hurricanes G Cam Ward, who has been out since Oct. 24 with a lower-body injury, participated in the morning skate and could return in a backup role by the weekend.