Patrik Laine scores 2 more goals, Jets beat Hurricanes 3-2

Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 33 shots for the Jets. Winnipeg improved to 7-2 in its last nine to close within six points of Nashville for the Central Division lead.

Teuvo Teravainen scored for the fourth straight game for the Hurricanes. Jordan Staal also scored, and Cam Ward made 20 saves. Carolina fell to 2-5-2 in its last nine as it tries to hold on to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

“We’re right there,” Staal said. “I’m not sure what happened tonight. We’ve got to put together a streak here, and it’s got to be now.”

Laine opened the scoring 5:40 into the first when he ripped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle through Ward’s legs. He nearly scored twice more in the first period, with a wrist shot that dinged the right post and a slapshot that rang off the crossbar.

“I was pretty mad to myself,” Laine said. “I should’ve scored from those chances. I thought, ‘They’re not going to pass to me any more if I can’t bury it from those passes.’”

The Hurricanes pulled even with 1:29 left in the opening period. Right as a power play ended, Teravainen fired a pass toward the Winnipeg crease that was intended for Staal, but the puck instead bounced up off Jets defenceman Dmitry Kulikov’s chest and into the net.

But Laine struck again just 2:37 into the second period, and six seconds into a power play, with another wrist shot through Ward’s legs, this time from the left faceoff circle.

“It comes off his stick different,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. “It comes jumping off his stick. He’s real dangerous right now.”

Stastny added insurance with an unusual goal midway through the third period. Ben Chiarot’s wrist shot rang off the right post and redirected to the left side of the ice, where it hit referee Eric Furlatt in the side of the face.

With Furlatt recoiling in pain and players across the ice adjusting to the puck’s sudden change in position, Stastny picked up the loose puck and fired it into the net.

“I didn’t really see anything,” Stastny said. “I just heard it hit post or crossbar. Literally know where it went, then all the sudden I realized it was in front of me and then out of the corner of my eye saw the goalie out of position.”

The fluky goal would prove critical when Staal fired home a rebound with 4:12 remaining.

“A few games ago we had some odd bounce off the ref and they blew it down and they said they wouldn’t allow a goal like that,” Staal said. “It was tough, obviously, to watch that go in. That was tough.”

NOTES: The Jets are 4-0-1 in their last five road games. … Hurricanes F Sebastian Aho notched his 100th NHL point with an assist on Teravainen’s goal. … Jets D Toby Enstrom missed his third straight game with a lower body injury. He is day-to-day. … Jets coach Paul Maurice was the Hurricanes’ coach from 1997-2004 and 2009-12.

UP NEXT

Jets: At New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Hurricanes: At Minnesota on Tuesday night.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Patrik Laine scores 2 more goals, Jets beat Hurricanes 3-2

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