Third-period surge helps Hurricanes top Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS - Goaltender Eddie Lack did his part to keep the Carolina Hurricanes within striking distance for two periods before a quick-strike offense took over.
Lack made 42 saves and the Hurricanes scored three times in a 1:38 span of the third to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.
"We talked about it in the intermission," Lack said. "We responded well. It makes it easier when you get a two-goal lead like that."

The Hurricanes (32-28-14) ended a five-game losing streak and are seven points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining.
Columbus (30-36-8) was eliminated from contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Matt Calvert and Boone Jenner scored for the Blue Jackets, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves.
Carolina was outshot 29-17 and down 1-0 entering the third, but Victor Rask, Chris Terry and Elias Lindholm each scored; Terry and Lindholm scored 11 seconds apart.
"Some mistakes cost us," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "Other than that I thought we dominated the game.
"I liked the way we played tonight. We played a really good hockey game tonight other than a buck-fifty (in time)."
Rask got his 17th of the season at 52 seconds with a shot from the top of the left circle past the glove of Bobrovsky.

The goal came seven seconds after a Carolina power play ended but Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said the tone had been set during the man advantage.
"There were 45 seconds left on the power play entering the third," Peters said. "We talked about it, whether we scored or not, getting momentum off it and we did."
Lindholm sensed the opening minute of the third would make the difference.
"The power play was moving the puck very well and we had some chances," Lindholm said. "Then Rask scored right after. We got some momentum after that."
Terry scored his eighth goal of the season, third in as many games, at 2:19 on a breakaway after defenseman Jaccob Slavin flipped the puck to center ice.

Lindholm tipped a shot by Jordan Staal at 2:30 for his 10th goal of the season to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead.
"It's disappointing. A momentary lapse and it's three goals," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "You give up one; you can't give up a second. We've been fighting that all year. We've been better of late. It's kind of crept back into our game."
Jenner made it 3-2 with his Blue Jackets-leading 27th goal of the season at 4:03. Jenner's initial shot was stopped, but his second effort snuck under Lack's pad and inside the left post.
"A lot of the game was good but that three minutes cost us," Jenner said.
Lack made 15 saves in the third, including a Scott Hartnell point-blank stop with two minutes remaining.

The Blue Jackets continued their strategy of shooting from every angle and crashing the net for rebounds. They had 53 shots on goal against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and scored twice.
"We need to get harder around our net," Peters said. "Too many guys are stirring a little bit of soup. We need to address that and move on."
Calvert scored on the Blue Jackets' 29th shot at 17:35 of the second to avoid being blanked through two periods for the third time in five home games. Calvert, at the edge of the crease, tipped Dalton Prout's shot from the right point.
His eighth goal was his first in 22 games. The play was upheld after Hurricanes coach Bill Peters challenged the play citing goalie interference.
"I watched the replay," Calvert said. "It seems like every screen gets challenged in this League now. You never know what way the call is going to go. Luckily it went our way."

Lack disagreed and believed Calvert made contact with him.
"It's a 50-50 call but from my standpoint I had the glove in the crease," Lack said. "The puck was going towards my glove. He bumps my glove all the way. To me it's not a 50-50. It's understandable. It's a tough job out there."
Lack was undeterred and the Hurricanes won their fifth straight in Columbus and are 8-0-2 in the past 10 games vs. the Blue Jackets thanks to Lack.
"We got that 1-0 lead and couldn't build on it," Foligno said. "We couldn't get that second goal. That's how you usually put people away."