Aho scores again in Hurricanes win against Predators

NASHVILLE --Sebastian Aho scored a goal to extend his point streak to 10 games for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Aho, who has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) during the streak, made it 4-1 at 4:33 of the third period when he got his own rebound in front.
"There wasn't really much letdown," Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. "Overall, everyone was moving their feet, everyone was working. We knew it was going to be a tough game. Obviously, it's a tough building to come in and play against a team that's desperate as well. Really love the effort from everyone. It was a good, complete game."
WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Predators highlights]
Justin Williams had two assists, and Petr Mrazek made 28 saves for the Hurricanes (34-21-4), who are 4-1-1 in their past six games and moved into a tie with the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"I thought from the outset our mentality was good," Williams said. "Sometimes you have a good sense of the dressing room and where it is. It's time to get this going in the right direction. After the second period we said, 'We don't have to score another goal. So let's just shut it down and give them nothing.' That's the way you've got to win. It's not the first 20 games right now, it's the last 20."
Juuse Saros made 26 saves for the Predators (29-23-7), who had won three straight.
"I thought that we played slow tonight," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "We didn't play fast. Particularly, I thought our offensive intensity tonight was not close to where it needed to be. I thought our decisions on zone entries when they had numbers back, we were trying to make plays and they would knock it down and go back the other way, so you don't set yourself up to be able to play in the offensive zone."
Staal gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 3:23 of the first period with a one-timer in front after receiving a pass by Williams from behind the net.
Ryan Johansen scored 48 seconds into the second period to tie it 1-1 when he batted the puck into an open net. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the call was upheld after a video review.

"It wasn't good enough," Johansen said. "We need to find ways to get points every game right now. Disappointed tonight, but in saying that, we've got to look at things and make sure we're ready for Chicago (on Friday)."
Andrei Svechnikov gave Carolina a 2-1 lead at 3:45 of the second period on a wrist shot from the right circle on the power play. He has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in an eight-game point streak.
Nino Niederreiter extended the lead to 3-1 at 8:02 of the second on a rebound.

"I mean, we're here for competition, right?" Williams said. "We're not here just to play. We're here to compete. The table is set and the stage is set for the last 20 games to have a race, and we've just got to win our games. I don't care that we're in the best division in hockey with the most points, just win our games and we'll be fine."

They said it

"Certainly when you're watching it, it looks like we know what we're doing as far as the game plan. And then the engagement from all of the guys, like everybody was digging in and making some good plays and battling when they had to battle."-- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour
"It's another situation for us as a group. It's the first time we've won three in a row (since October). We came off of a weekend where I think everyone feels good. As a coach, we had the day off yesterday and I didn't have a great day off because you're worried about where's the mindset of your team? A lot of times you can get lost. You can get lost in a big win, you can get lost in success. The second that happens, you get complacent, you just lose your edge a little bit and you lose your hunger. That's human nature. We didn't handle the situation as well as we needed to." -- Predators coach John Hynes

Need to know

Mrazek is 9-1-0 in 10 starts against Nashville. … Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson has one goal in his past nine games. … Nashville hasn't won four straight since Oct. 22-29.

What's next

Hurricanes:Host the New York Rangers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, MSG 2, NHL.TV)
Predators:At the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-TN, NHL.TV)