MONTREAL -- The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at Bell Centre on Thursday to move closer to a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with their sixth win during a nine-game point streak.
Lee Stempniak scored two goals, Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist, and Eddie Lack made 21 saves for Carolina (32-27-13), which trails the Boston Bruins by five points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
On Feb. 24, the Hurricanes were 24-24-8, last in the Eastern Conference and 12 points behind the Bruins, New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs in the race for the second wild card. They are 8-3-5 since.
Hurricanes move within five points of wild card
Defeat Canadiens, who have one-point lead on Senators in Atlantic Division
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