Matt Irwin gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 17:05 of the second period on a shot from the point. Irwin got a pass from Colton Sissons and took a shot that went through traffic past Ward for his third goal, all coming in the past three games.
"It's a concern where we're at," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's concern with the inconsistency. It's not good enough. That's the bottom line. Nobody's going to sit here and say that it's been good enough or that the start's been great. It hasn't. It's frustrating."
Ron Hainsey tied the game 2-2 at 8:22 of the third period on a shorthanded breakaway. Hainsey took a pass from Elias Lindholm and beat Rinne through the five-hole for his first goal.
"As the game went along, I thought [Hainsey] was real good," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "I thought our penalty kill was good, a real good job at the line for the most part. On their first [power play], they had us hemmed in there for a little bit. I'll have to look at it again. I think we had some opportunities to get the puck out and didn't. When we needed [Ward], he was there."
Ward made 25 saves, including three breakaway saves in the first period. He also didn't allow a goal on three shootout attempts.
"[In the first period], it could've been an easy 4-0 [deficit] without him making some saves on three of the four breakaways," Hainsey said. "He made a couple in the third too where they had little plays that worked. I think we had one shift where we got caught out there a little bit, and he made a big stop on kind of a wraparound so he was there to stand tall."
