Jordan Staal's goal gets Hurricanes past Blue Jackets

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jordan Staal scored early in the third period, and Cam Ward made 24 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PNC Arena on Tuesday.
Victor Rask and Jeff Skinner each had three points for the Hurricanes (19-15-7).
Staal broke a 3-3 tie at 3:50 of the third with his eighth goal when he tipped Elias Lindholm's end-over-end shot from the top of the right circle.

"It's always important to go to the net, so tonight was no different," Staal said. "For me especially, with the amount of breakaways I've missed, it's nice to get one that's a little more greasy than others. That's where goals are scored. We had a few of those tonight that helped us get the win."
WATCH: All Blue Jackets vs. Hurricanes highlights
The Blue Jackets (28-8-4) lost for the third time in four games since the end of their 16-game winning streak.
Goaltender Anton Forsberg made his first NHL start of the season in place of Sergei Bobrovsky, who became ill Tuesday morning. Forsberg made 24 saves but struggled with rebound control. Joonis Korpisalo was also recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League.

"It's tough for him," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "With goaltending, you've got your guys, then Bobrovsky gets sick and we have both minor-league goalies here. I thought he handled the position very well, but there were some struggles also. It's to be expected. That's a tough one for him."
Cam Atkinson scored his 20th goal at 1:08 of the first period to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. After Ward kicked Boone Jenner's shot to the corner, Jack Johnson fed Atkinson behind the net for a wraparound.

Skinner tied the game 1-1 at 2:01 of the second, sending a wrist shot past Forsberg after Rask poked the puck to him in the slot.
Skinner then set up Derek Ryan to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. Forsberg bobbled Skinner's shot from the right point, and Ryan banked the rebound off the goaltender at 4:57, giving him 15 points in his past 21 games.
"He's smart and he's got a lot of poise with the puck," Skinner said. "It's difficult to find time and space because defensemen close on you so quick. He's able to get in good spots, and once he gets in those spots, he's able to make high-end plays. It's been fun playing with him."

Josh Anderson's ninth of the season made it 2-2 at 8:01. He stripped the puck from Noah Hanifin, then chipped the puck off Ward's shoulder and into the top corner of the net.
Carolina took a 3-2 lead on a delayed penalty at 13:58. After Jack Johnson tripped Lindholm behind the net, Matt Tennyson circled the net and sent a pass to the low slot, where Brock McGinn scored his second of the season.
Brandon Saad's 15th goal tied the game 3-3 at 19:05. After Skinner and Brett Pesce fumbled the puck in Carolina's offensive zone, Saad went in on a 2-on-1 and scored on a wrist shot.
Rask scored an empty-net goal at 19:39 of the third period.

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Goal of the game

Ryan began a give-and-go with a crisp cross-ice backhand, then beat Josh Anderson to the net to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.

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Save of the game

With 8:10 remaining, Ward needed every bit of his left pad to kick out a backhand shot by Scott Hartnell at the top of the crease.

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Highlight of the game

Alex Wennberg jumped on a turnover and fed Saad, who deftly used Atkinson as a decoy before scoring on a 2-on-1 to make it 3-3.

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Unsung performance of the game

Carolina limited the Blue Jackets' top-ranked power play to one shot in 6:30 with the man-advantage.

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They said it

"Our power play didn't work, and we've got to give them some credit. They've had good penalty killing all year long. The (key) part of the game for me was when Anderson scores, we stopped shooting the puck in that second period. I thought we had some really good chances after that, and I think that's when Ward played really well." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"We're on the right track for sure, playing the game hard, playing the game the right way. We still have things we can do better on a consistent basis. We can learn from the upper-echelon teams in the League, and we will. I like our people, I like our skill level; it has improved since I've been here. It's a credit to our management group to go out and get these people. We're becoming more competitive." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters

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Need to know

Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert became ill before the start of the game and was replaced by defenseman Dalton Prout. ... Atkinson has five goals in the past six games. He has 20 goals and 20 assists through 40 games. ...The Hurricanes are 19-15-7 at the halfway point in the season, compared to 16-18-7 in 2015-16. ... Ward made his 17th straight start.

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What's next

Blue Jackets: At the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, FS-O, SUN, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-CR, NHL.TV)