Hurricanes 5, Jets 3
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Carolina center Jordan Staal collected a goal and set up two others as the Hurricanes scored three times in the first five minutes and then hung on for a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.
Left winger Phillip Di Guiseppe, center Andrej Nestrasil, Staal and defenseman Justin Faulk all scored to power the visitors to a 4-0 lead after the opening period.
Jets center Alexander Burmistrov injected some energy into a lifeless MTS Centre with 1:25 left in the second period. Winnipeg left winger Andrew Ladd chipped in a power-play goal midway through the third to slice the lead to 4-2, and right winger Blake Wheeler pulled the Jets within one goal on a deflection with just over six minutes left in regulation.
Nestrasil netted his second of the game and seventh of the year with 1:20 left in the game, finishing a two-on-one break with Staal.
Carolina (24-21-8) pulled within two points of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Jets (22-26-3) ended a dismal six-game homestand that produced a single victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 26 to go with five defeats, all in regulation. Winnipeg is tied with the Edmonton Oilers for last place in the Western Conference.
Carolina goalie Cam Ward played for the first time since Jan. 15, and he turned aside 33 shots. The club placed him on injured reserve Jan. 20 after he was diagnosed with a concussion. Eddie Lack started the next six games in goal for the Hurricanes.
Di Giuseppe started the early onslaught with his fourth goal of the year when he took a bounce off the back boards and slipped a shot past Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck just 1:43 into the contest. At 3:04, Nestrasil scored his sixth when Hellebuyck kicked the puck right to him off an innocent shot by center Jordan Staal.
Staal's 12th goal of the season, a power-play tally at 4:33, made it 3-0 chased Hellebuyck from the Jets net. The rookie goalie, who started for the 21st time over the last 23 games, surrendered three goals on just six shots before being replaced by Michael Hutchinson, who hadn't played since Jan. 3.
Hutchinson came on in relief after the Staal goal 89 seconds later, to thunderous applause from the restless MTS Centre crowd, but any hopes the move would create a spark were dashed when Faulk's weak shot dribbled through the new goalie's legs and into the net at 10:04.
The goal was Faulk's 15th of the season, tying his career best set a year ago.
Burmistrov scored his sixth goal of the campaign at 18:35 of the second period, beating Ward off a scramble in front.
Ladd's third-period goal was his 12th of the season, while Byfuglien potted his 16th.
Hutchinson stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced.
NOTES: The Hurricanes were without D Brett Pesce (lower body), while D Ryan Murphy, C Brad Malone and LW Chris Terry were healthy scratches. ... Jets G Ondrej Pavelec (lower body) remained sidelined, but he is due to return any day. D Adam Pardy, D Paul Postma and RW Anthony Peluso were healthy scratches for Winnipeg. ... Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Flames on Wednesday night, Carolina didn't practice Thursday but did take to the ice in Calgary, reportedly enjoying a day of curling as a team-building event. ... D Toby Enstrom, 31, played in his 595th NHL contest Friday, good for third place on the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise's games-played list behind only RW Chris Thorburn (613) and C Bryan Little (606).