Hurricanes 3, Devils 2
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Goalie Cam Ward came up a big after a midgame rough stretch, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 Sunday at PNC Arena.
Ward finished with 23 saves, stopping all nine shots in the third period.
Victor Rask scored twice and Ron Hainsey had a goal for the Hurricanes (33-28-15).
Bobby Farnham and Travis Zajac scored for the Devils (36-32-8), who had a three-game points streak snapped.
New Jersey rookie goalie Scott Wedgewood, who started his fourth consecutive game, lost in regulation for the first time. He made 20 saves.
Wedgewood, who allowed a total of two goals in his first three games, gave up three goals in slightly more than 22 minutes Sunday.
Ward hadn't played in Carolina's two previous games, but he was up to the task as the Hurricanes won for only the second time in eight games (2-2-4).
Carolina led 3-2 after two periods, but the Devils made a strong second-period push after trailing by three goals.
Farnham's goal came unassisted to get the Devils on the board at 6:27 of the middle period after they were shut out across their previous four periods.
Zajac drew the Devils within 3-2 just 50 seconds later. An assist on that goal went to left winger Blake Pietila for his first NHL point in his third game this season. Pietila had the first good crack at the goal on the sequence before Zajac cleaned up the rebound.
The Hurricanes held a 3-0 lead after Rask's second goal just 2:01 into the second period.
His first goal came on a four-on-three power play, marking Carolina's second goal in a 36-second span.
Hainsey, who hadn't scored this month, opened the scoring for the Hurricanes when he was left alone on the backside.
The opening 40 minutes were opposite for the Hurricanes from a night earlier in an overtime loss to the New York Islanders. In that game, Carolina started slowly before producing a big second period.
On Sunday, Carolina held a 14-3 edge in first-period shots. New Jersey responded with a 13-5 shots advantage in the second period.
NOTES: Hurricanes C Riley Nash was out of the lineup after he collided with a post Saturday night. ... With a lineup of seven defensemen, Carolina D Ryan Murphy was used as a winger for this game. ... C Adam Henrique had the game-winning goal in five of the Devils' last seven wins against Carolina. ... This game was the back end of the final set of back-to-back games for Carolina. ... This was the first of three road games in a stretch of a week for the Devils, but they play home Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins. ... Carolina plays its only road game during a five-game span Tuesday night against the New York Rangers.