Sabres - The Buffalo News
National Hockey League
Carolina 3, Winnipeg 1
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 20, 2016
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Wes McCauley
Linesmen: Matt MacPherson, Mark Wheler
Attendance: 10809

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Center Elias Lindholm found his scoring touch and it might have seemed like a relief for the Carolina Hurricanes.

"It's good to get the first one out of the way," Lindholm said after Sunday's 3-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets at PNC Arena. "I just tried to get it on the net and it went it, so it was good. It had been awhile since I had scored. I'm just happy to score a goal."

Lindholm scored for the first time this season as the Hurricanes extended their winning streak to a season-best four games.

"It's hard to keep believing in yourself," Lindholm said. "Now that I got on the board, hopefully more will come."

Carolina coach Bill Peters said Lindholm's lack of scoring hadn't been an issue for him.

"It's a good sign (that the puck went in)," Peters said. "He has been doing good things all year. I'm not worried about that one bit."

The Hurricanes scored two power-play goals in the third period, ending a five-game homestand on a high note during a game that at times was a physical affair with bodies crashing across the ice.

Goalie Cam Ward, who was less than 10 1/2 minutes away from securing his second shutout in three games, made 28 saves.

Center Victor Rask and defenseman Noah Hanifin also scored for the Hurricanes (7-6-4). It was the first goal this season for Hanifin as well.

With the score 2-1, the Jets (9-10-2) had a good chance on a power play to pull even. The puck fluttered behind Ward with less than five minutes to play before left winger Joakim Nordstrom cleared the puck from the mouth of the net.

Then, Hanifin's power-play goal clinched the outcome with 1:43 to play. It had been a month since Carolina scored two power-play goals in a game.

Goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 37 shots for Winnipeg, which received its lone goal from center Mark Scheifele.

"We really grinded this one," Hellebuyck said. "It's a tough loss."

The Jets are 0-3 to begin a five-game road trip, and they were danger of suffering their second shutout of the season until Scheifele benefitted from an odd-man rush and scored his 11th goal of the season. He scored the winning goal in last month's opener in overtime against Carolina.

"We never forgot what happened in Game 1," Ward said of the failure to protect a third-period lead, "so we wanted to keep our foot on the gas."

The Hurricanes had one four-game winning streak last season, and that January string came with two overtime victories. This time, they won them all in regulation.

Sunday's outcome was a bit of a strange result, because of the previous 33 meetings between the teams, the road team had won 22.

Combined with Saturday night's 4-1 loss at Boston, the Jets were outshot 78-41 in the two games. Coach Paul Maurice said the schedule has been brutal on his team.

"They've got nothing left. They did what they could do. I've got no problem with it," said Maurice, whose team has a three-game pointless streak for the first time this season. "(Our) team played 17 in 29 (days) and has been all over the god-green earth and playing a 5 o'clock game here today, so they're beat up. They're sore. They're tired. I think they gave what they had."

Lindholm's first goal of the season came 6:45 into the game, skating in from the corner and waiting to find the right window to shoot. Defenseman Ron Hainsey picked up an assist.

Though he was without a goal in the first 16 games this season, Lindholm's scoreless stretch wasn't any longer than that because he had one of the team's two goals in the 2015-16 finale. However, he hadn't scored in his last 23 home games.

It marked only the fourth time in 17 games this season that the Hurricanes led after the first period.

Rask's team-leading eighth goal came 2:39 into the third period off a rebound. He steadied the puck with his skate before lifting it past Hellebuyck.

NOTES: Carolina's penalty-killing at 90.7 percent rated best in the NHL entering the day. ... Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice spent 14 seasons across two stints (1995-2004, 2008-12) as head coach in what's now the Hurricanes franchise. ... This marks the back end of Winnipeg's third set of games on back-to-back days this month. Those have all come on the road. ... The Jets won their fifth game this month on Nov. 15, passing the four victories they posted in all of last November. ... The Hurricanes start a three-game road trip in Canada on Tuesday night at Toronto. ... The Jets head to the fourth game in their five-game road swing Wednesday at Minnesota.
Top Game Performances
 
Winnipeg   Carolina
Mark Scheifele 1 Points Noah Hanifin 1
Mark Scheifele 1 Goals Noah Hanifin 1
Nikolaj Ehlers 1 Assists Justin Faulk 1
N/A Power Play Goals Noah Hanifin 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Connor Hellebuyck .925 Save Percentage Cam Ward .966
Connor Hellebuyck 37 Saves Cam Ward 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Winnipeg 29 1 0-3 5-7 18 23
Carolina 40 3 2-7 3-3 10 36
Upcoming Games
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .400 after a loss.
  • Winnipeg will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Jets have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .500 after a loss.