Recap: Canes Edge Blue Jackets for Third Straight Win

The Carolina Hurricanes edged the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1, to win their season-high third consecutive game.
Jordan Staal opened the scoring in the first period, while Noah Hanifin's second-period marker was the difference-maker. Scott Darling made 35 saves on 36 shots in his first win in six appearances.
Here are five takeaways from the Canes' long-awaited return home.

One
Coming off a 13-day, six-game road trip, this second half of a back-to-back against a team waiting in town had a difficult two points written all over it.
Credit to the Hurricanes, who rose to the challenge and got the two points in regulation to close out their four-game season series against the team that entered the game leading the Metropolitan Division.
"It's tough being on the road that long and then having a back-to-back against a really good team," Hanifin said. "Great effort by everyone in the room."
"That was a big win for the team and a big win for me, too. I haven't won a game in a while, so that one feels really good," Darling said. "It feels good to win."
Two
For the first time since Nov. 19, a 4-2 win against the New York Islanders, the Hurricanes won the second period, 1-0, and they look a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Hanifin scored the lone goal of the period on a nice play in transition. In 4-on-4 play, Jeff Skinner entered the zone with possession before dishing a beauty of a no-look, backhand pass to Derek Ryan. Ryan then led Hanifin, who extended his stick to tip the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky.

"It was a good play. 4-on-4 is a good opportunity to make some offensive plays. Doc made a good play to try to get it to the net," Hanifin said. "It was a good bounce. It was a good overall effort."
Three
The challenge for the Hurricanes, then, was to preserve their one-goal lead in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Prior to the game, head coach Bill Peters had this to say: "We've got to do a better job of closing teams out, and that comes down to puck management."
And they did. Just as the Canes won their first second period since Nov. 19, so too did the team win its first game in regulation since that same date.
"If you want to control the game, you've got to have the puck. The easiest way to do that is faceoffs," Peters said. "We're a real good faceoff team."
"It's important to know how to win. If you're going to be in the playoffs and be a tough team to play against, you have to know how to win, especially when you have leads," Hanifin said. "Tonight we had a lead in the whole third period and we found a way to hold it, so we're learning from that."
Four
Darling was sharp, using his size to his advantage and seeing the puck well, as he tallied his first win since Nov. 26. He celebrated with a twirl and an emphatic fist pump at the horn before he was mobbed by his teammates.
"I felt really good tonight. I felt confident," he said. "I haven't had a lot of games where I got a lot of shots that early. It got me into the game, and I knew I was seeing the puck good."
"Darls, in tough circumstances, came in and did a good job. He's a big man and did a good job," Peters said. "He was real clean in and around his net. Got us a lot of whistles we needed to get fresh bodies out there. I really liked his game."
The Canes were doubled up in shots in the first period, 16-8, though the score was even at one after 20 minutes. Staal netted the first goal, as his centering feed to Brock McGinn was tapped in by Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson. Columbus tied it when Alexander Wennberg tipped in a lead pass from Cam Atkinson.

"[Darling] gave us a chance to build a game," Peters said. "We looked like a little bit of a fatigued team, then built a game and got better. Credit to him to give us that opportunity."
"There's a lot of fight in the room, a lot of good character. We weren't too happy with our first period," Hanifin said. "We came in and talked about what we wanted to do. We knew we had more to give."
"I was fresh," Darling said. "It was a gutsy effort by the guys to weather the storm in the first and build a good hockey game."
Five
Darling has admittedly had a tough go of it as of late, posting a 0-3-2 record in his last five starts, and you saw the relief of tonight's victory wash over him at the end of the game.

Even still, Darling has kept a level head, and he credits his goaltending partnership with Cam Ward, who won his 300th and 301st games this week.
"I'm learning every day. I've been learning a lot from Cam, too. He's been showing me the ropes. It's not going to happen overnight, and I'm excited to keep working on it," Darling said. "He talks to me and keeps my confidence up. He's been through it all in his career. He's seen the highs and the lows. If he sees me down, he's quick to give me a pat on the back."
And, Darling took a little page out of Ward's book in mentally preparing himself with two simple words: have fun.
"It's the mental preparation and not being afraid of playing bad," he said. "I just wanted to go out there and have fun. That was my mindset, and I've been doing a good job of it lately. It worked out tonight."
Up Next
It was an abbreviated stop at home for the Hurricanes, who will hit the road again next week to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
"We need to get on a roll," Darling said. "They were all gutsy games, too. That's three hard wins. None of them came easy. That says something about the way the guys are working right now."
"We've got 50 games left. That's a lot of hockey," Peters said. "So, how high a quality can we play over the next 50? That's the intriguing thing and exciting thing for me."