Hurricanes 2, Jets 1
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Centers Jordan Staal and Riley Nash scored power-play goals as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Tuesday night at PNC Arena.
Staal opened the scoring in the first period and Nash added his tally in the second period. Carolina had not produced two power-play goals in the same game in almost two months.
The Hurricanes (26-21-10), trying to stay in playoff contention, gained team points in five consecutive games. That matches the team's longest streak of the season.
Right winger Blake Wheeler scored in the third period for Winnipeg (25-28-3), which won in its previous five visits to Raleigh.
Goalie Eddie Lack made 20 saves for the Hurricanes.
Lack (10-10-3) didn't allow a goal until Winnipeg's 11th shot of the game came nearly seven minutes into the third period.
Lack was starting for the first time in five games. He replaced Cam Ward, who sustained an injury, during the second period of Saturday night's victory against the New York Islanders.
Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec stopped 27 shots.
Midway through the first period, Staal collected the puck after it bounced off center Elias Lindholm and scored on a tough-ankle shot from the right side of the net.
Nash got to the puck in the front of the net to score his goal with 10:20 remaining in the second period.
Nash has four of his six goals this season across his past six outings. It was his first power-play tally.
With the score 2-0, Pavelec prevented more damage when he recovered to thwart center Andrej Nestrasil's shot into what was temporarily an open net.
Wheeler pulled the Jets to within 2-1 with 13:08 remaining when he was credited with tipping defenseman Jacob Trouba's blast from inside the blue line.
Wheeler has 16 goals, tying for second-most on the team this season.
The Jets have scored in 26 consecutive games after they were shutout victims three times across their first 30 games.
Winnipeg applied considerable pressure in the final two minutes after pulling Pavelec for an extra skater.
The Hurricanes took three first-period penalties, nearly matching their NHL-low 6.3 penalty minutes per game in the opening period.
NOTES: Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice had two different stints as Carolina's coach. ... Winnipeg D Mark Stuart missed his first game of the season in what might be a month-long absence after he suffered a broken hand Saturday vs. Edmonton. D Adam Pardy was in the lineup for only the second time since November. ... Hurricanes LW Joakim Nordstrom played in his 100th career NHL game. ... D Justin Faulk missed his third game in a row for the Hurricanes after suffering a lower-body injury during a practice last week. ... Carolina called up G Daniel Altshuller to serve as the backup with G Cam Ward out with a lower-body injury sustained Saturday night. ... This was the second stop on a four-game road swing for Winnipeg, which goes to Tampa Bay on Thursday night. ... Carolina's next game is Thursday night at Ottawa in its only road game during a seven-game stretch.