McGinn scores two goals to lift Hurricanes past Avalanche

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Brock McGinn scored two goals to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at PNC Arena on Saturday.

"McGinn was the man tonight," said Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward, who made 29 saves and is 4-1-1 in his past six games. "Clearly he was feeling it. The kid plays the right way. It's nice to see him get rewarded."
Carolina (26-21-9), which is 4-2-1 on its eight-game homestand, moved into the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders.
WATCH: [All Avalanche vs. Hurricanes highlights]
Tyson Barrie scored, and Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves for Colorado (29-21-4), which has lost two in a row and is 2-5-1 in its past eight games.
Barrie's fifth goal of the season gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 16:51 of the first period. He scored from in front after receiving a pass from Mikko Rantanen, who stripped the puck from Jordan Staal.

McGinn tied the game at 1-1 18 seconds later. After a strong forecheck, Elias Lindholm fed McGinn from behind the net for a quick shot below the left face-off circle.
"That was a huge part in the game for us, getting the game tied back for us," McGinn said. "Going down 1-0, we kept our foot on the pedal there and did a good job responding."
The Hurricanes killed a high-sticking double minor on Teuvo Teravainen in the second period, allowing four shots.
"We spent a lot of time killing and it's hard," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "A lot of guys sit there, so we got out of the rhythm of the game. I thought in the third, the guys did a great job."
McGinn broke the tie 35 seconds into the third period. Lindholm got possession of the puck behind the net and passed to McGinn, who scored short side in the left slot to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.
"We made the exact same mistake on both goals," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We chased below the goal line and left the front of the net open, left our coverage and they slipped it through us. Both of those goals (ended up) looking the exact same way for me."
Jeff Skinner made it 3-1 at 13:17. Varlamov stopped Lee Stempniak's backhand from between the circles, but Skinner gathered the rebound and scored from the right goal line.

Colorado, which is 10-14-3 on the road, had seven shots in the third period.
"When the game is on the line, you've got to double your shot count and make it a tougher night on Ward," Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "I'm sure if you ask him it was a pretty easy night."

Goal of the game

McGinn's goal 35 seconds into the third period.

Save of the game

Ward's save on Gabriel Bourque at 12:05 in the first period.

Highlight of the game

McGinn's goal at 17:09 in the first period.

They said it

"You've got to learn how to generate on the road. You've got to learn how to put a little extra into your defending mentality on the road. I've got to be honest, I liked the effort tonight. We were there competing, we were skating, and the game had a really good pace to it." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar
"The team effort in front of [Ward] was more committed. That was good to see. I just think we've got to do it right. We know how to play. When we're committed to doing it the right way, we get positive results." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters

Need to know

Avalanche forward Blake Comeau did not play because of an upper-body injury. ... Varlamov faced 95 shots in two starts against Carolina this season. ... The Hurricanes killed five penalties and haven't allowed a power-play goal since Jan. 25 (17-for-17).

What's next

Avalanche: At the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, ALT, NHL.TV).
Hurricanes: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-CR, NHL.TV)