Hurricanes score four in first period, defeat Predators

NASHVILLE -- The Carolina Hurricanes scored four goals in the opening 6:29 of the first period in a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.
Noah Hanifin had a goal and two assists; Derek Ryan, Elias Lindholm and Victor Rask scored; and Cam Ward made 28 saves for the Hurricanes (15-12-7), who have won four of their past five games.

WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Predators highlights]
"I saw a ton of character," Ward said. "We had some guys eating some pucks today and, to be honest, they needed to. Those little details win hockey games."
It was the second time in franchise history the Hurricanes scored four goals in the opening seven minutes (Jan. 23, 1988, when the Hartford Whalers defeated the Minnesota North Stars 5-0).
"Definitely one of those periods where everything we touched seemed to be going in," Ryan said. "We talked about that in lots of game plans, especially tonight against a good goaltender Nashville has, we want to get pucks and bodies to the net and make sure we make it hard on them. I thought we did that."
Kevin Fiala scored for the Predators (21-9-4), who have lost consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 1.
"I guess to put it as honest as possible, we're not playing hard enough," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.
Ryan gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 37 seconds on a redirection on the power play. Hanifin put the puck toward the net, and Ryan redirected it past Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne for his seventh goal.
"Anything that happens positive early in the game gives you a little more juice and gives you a little more wiggle room," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "It's a tough league to win in when you're chasing the game."
Lindholm made it 2-0 at 3:11 on a redirection. Jeff Skinner took the original shot, and Lindholm sent it past Rinne for his 10th goal.
Carolina took a 3-0 lead on a power-play goal by Hanifin at 4:47 when his shot from the point went through traffic and past Rinne for his seventh goal.

Rask made it 4-0 at 6:29 on a flip toward the net that bounced past Rinne.
The Predators pulled Rinne for Juuse Saros after Rask's goal. Rinne made two saves. Saros stopped all 26 shots.
Fiala cut the lead to 4-1 at 15:33. It was his 10th goal and extended his point streak to nine games.
"It's no panic, for sure, for us," Fiala said. "We're still [tied for the Central Division lead], but we've got to change something because … the standings are quite close. We've got to be much better, and that starts next game."

Goal of the game

Ryan's goal 37 seconds into the first period.

Save of the game

Ward's save on Viktor Arvidsson at 3:35 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Lindholm's goal at 3:11 of the first period.

They said it

"It was huge to respond the way that we did. I mean, obviously, things didn't go well in Toronto [an 8-1 loss on Tuesday]. We were embarrassed because of it. It was important that we got off to a good start, and I think we couldn't have gotten off to a better start with the way that it went in the first period. That's a team that's not going to quit even though it's 4-0. I mean, I'm impressed with the fans here that tried to rally their home team even when they're down 4-0 in the first period. They had a little bit of a push in the second. We held the fort, and we really liked what we did in the third to hold the lead." -- Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward
"It's something we take a lot of emphasis on, to have a good start, and we've been talking about it, but somehow we just can't get it done. Tonight, again, we take a couple penalties early, and it doesn't help. They scored two on the power play and obviously two goals 5-on-5. We've been talking about it, and it's something we've got to fix." -- defenseman Roman Josi on the Predators starts in the past four games

Need to know

Skinner has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 13 career games against the Predators. … Fiala had eight shots on goal and 14 shot attempts. … Predators forward Craig Smith sat out with a lower-body injury.

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What's next

Hurricanes:Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Predators: At the Dallas Stars on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-SW+, NHL.TV)