Flames down Hurricanes to finish hot road trip
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Johnny Gaudreau scored two goals as the Calgary Flames completed a splendid road trip by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at PNC Arena.
Michael Ferland also scored for the Flames, who went 4-0-1 in five road games to gain more traction in a bid for a Western Conference playoff spot.
Calgary goalie Brian Elliott stopped 34 shots to win his third consecutive outing and to improve to 6-1-1 this month.
Victor Rask scored for Carolina, which won only once during a five-game homestand (1-3-1).
Gaudreau's second goal came with 8:55 remaining in the third period when he skated to top of the slot and sent a shot through traffic. It produced his third two-goal game of the season.
Hurricanes goalie Eddie Lack, who appeared in back-to-back games for the first time since October, couldn't repeat his shutout performance from two nights earlier and finished with 21 saves.
Calgary led 2-1 through two periods even though the Hurricanes held a 22-19 edge in shots.
Rask had gone 15 games without a goal before his power-play tally less than five minutes into the game. He took a pass from Jeff Skinner and converted on a one-timer.
That also provided Carolina with only its second power-play conversion in a five-game span.
The Hurricanes might have added to the lead in the opening period if not for Calgary center Matt Stajan recovering and blocking a shot from Carolina's Ryan Murphy after Elliott had fallen.
Ferland tied the score in the second period with his third goal of the road trip and 11th of the season.
Then Gaudreau put the puck between Lack's pads with 5:10 remaining in the second period for his first goal in 11 games.
NOTES: Carolina LW Brock McGinn was scratched after suffering an undisclosed injury Friday night. ... Flames RW Kris Versteeg was back in Raleigh for his first game since playing the first 63 games of last season as a member of the Hurricanes. ... Calgary C Sean Monahan played in his 300th career game. ... Even though Flames G Chad Johnson was coming off a victory Friday night at Florida and is 7-1-0 all-time against Carolina, he was the backup Sunday. ... The Flames, who completed a five-game road swing, return home to face the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. ... The Hurricanes head on the road for a pair of games, beginning Tuesday night at Florida.