CAR OTT 3.24 recap Ward

OTTAWA -- The Carolina Hurricanes kept pace for an Eastern Conference wild card with a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.
Brock McGinn, Jeff Skinner and Noah Hanifin scored, and Cam Ward made 34 saves for Carolina (33-31-11), which trails the New Jersey Devils by nine points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East.

"The effort was good," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "I thought we got better as the game went along. We built on our game."
\[WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Senators highlights\]
Bobby Ryan and Thomas Chabot scored, and Mike Condon made 19 saves for Ottawa (26-37-11), which has lost four straight and has already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Erik Karlsson had an assist after missing the past two games after he and his wife, Melinda, announced their son, Axel, had been stillborn.
"I'm feeling for him and his wife," said Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal, who dealt with a similar situation in February when he and his wife, Heather's, infant daughter, Hannah, died of a terminal birth defect. "It's not an easy thing, obviously. It's hard to see.
"If he was ready to play, he's ready to play. It's always nice to get back into the swing of it and get back with the fellas. … It was good to see him out there."
Hanifin scored at 8:29 of the third period to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead. Sebastian Aho circled the zone before passing to Hanifin, who shot into an open net.
Hanifin had missed the past three games because of a concussion he sustained in a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 17.
"The timing there was obviously good," Peters said. "Noah's an elite player, so a little bit of rust obviously, but I thought he did well."
Aho has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in an eight-game point streak.
"His potential is sky-high," Staal said. "He's a player that has great speed and kind of the whole package: he's got a great shot, great vision, great hands and can really move. He's been good at center for us, as well. You can see his speed take off in that position."
Skinner scored with a backhand on a breakaway to make it 4-1 at 9:37 before Chabot scored at 16:34 to cut it to 4-2.
Staal scored an empty-net goal at 19:25 to extend it to 5-2.
Phillip Di Giuseppe gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 7:34 of the first period when he beat Condon glove side with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle.

Ryan tied it 1-1 at 9:38, redirecting Ryan Dzingel's shot past Ward.
McGinn redirected Klas Dahlbeck's shot from the point five-hole on Condon to give Carolina a 2-1 lead at 17:19 of the second period. Senators coach Guy Boucher challenged for offside, but the goal was confirmed after video review.

Goal of the game

Hanifin's goal at 8:29 of the third period.

Save of the game

Ward's save on Cody Ceci at 15:40 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Skinner's goal at 9:37 of the third period.

They said it

"He's a good young player. It was the plan for a while to put him in the middle. I think that was game three of a five-game plan to put him in the middle. He struggled off the gate on draws. … But he got his feet moving on the Hanifin goal, and he makes plays whether he's a winger or a center." --Hurricanes coach Bill Peters on Sebastian Aho
"I think you saw in the first period we could've had five goals. We had three breakaways, Erik hit the post, we hit another post after that. The guys were pumped up. You could feel it in the room, too."-- Senators coach Guy Boucher on Erik Karlsson's return

Need to know

Carolina is 19-6-5 in its past 30 games against Ottawa. … Boucher said Karlsson hasn't decided whether he will make the trip to Carolina for the game on Monday.

What's next

Hurricanes: Host the Ottawa Senators on Monday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV)
Senators: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV)