Eddie Lack, Hurricanes blank Senators

RALEIGH, N.C -- Eddie Lack made 34 saves, Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-0 at PNC Arena on Friday.
The shutout was Lack's first of the season in his sixth start for the Hurricanes (25-24-8), who ended a five-game losing streak. Phil Di Giuseppe had two assists.

"I felt like I saw it well today and I had a little luck when I needed to," said Lack, who got his ninth NHL shutout. "The boys really wanted this one to end the losing streak."
WATCH: All Senators vs. Hurricanes highlights
Craig Anderson made 41 saves for Ottawa (32-21-6).
Staal's 12th goal of the season gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 1:19 of the first period. Elias Lindholm made it 2-0 at 15:16 of the second period. Di Giuseppe made a backhand pass across the crease to Lindholm, who was open near the left post. Staal had the second assist.
"I think Jordan was trying to throw it to him," Di Giuseppe said. "I believe it hit [Senators defenseman Erik] Karlsson's skate or stick. I didn't have a shot, and I knew [Lindholm] was there. It was a good play by him just to put it in."

The Hurricanes took a 3-0 lead on Viktor Stalberg's ninth of the season. Anderson stopped Sebastian Aho's backhand, but he kicked the rebound to Stalberg in the slot. Victor Rask had the second assist for his first point in 15 games.
"In the second period we started to be better," Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said. "We got scoring chances and gave less and less, then we just gave two freebies. [It was] faceoffs in our zone in the second period, stuff that we normally don't give. We paid for it."
Boucher was particularly unhappy with the first period, when the Senators were outshot 19-7.
"When you come out like that and you waste an entire first period you don't deserve to win," he said. "The opponent played great and we were awful, and the mix is the result."

Goal of the game

Staal got away from Senators defenseman Dion Phaneuf behind the goal line and scored on a wraparound, hitting the left post before the puck trickled over the goal line.

Save of the game

Senators forward Ryan Dzingel split two defenders and made a late move to his backhand, but Lack kicked the shot away with his right pad at 4:21 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Stalberg's goal was the kind that have been elusive for Carolina recently, scoring chances that result from a strong drive to the net.
"That's the kind of goal we need more of," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "Aho throws it at the far pad, there's a big rebound there, and all of a sudden [Stalberg] is coming high to low and scores on the rebound."

Unsung performance of the game

Hurricanes defenseman Klas Dahlbeck (15:57) skated additional ice time one day after Ron Hainsey was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dahlbeck (19 games) has been in and out of the lineup this season.

They said it

"I feel like I haven't shown my best here in Carolina. I feel like I played so much better when I played in Vancouver. While I've been sitting on the sidelines (recovering from a concussion), I've been thinking about what can I do differently. Once that I'm out here playing, I'm thinking too much about technical stuff instead of playing and having fun. That's something I'm trying to work on lately. That's obviously when I play my best hockey. It was fun tonight." -- Hurricanes goaltender Eddie Lack
"[Anderson] shouldn't have to face that. Our goalies never face that many shots. That's been an identity of our team, that we limit the chances. It's hard for the opponent to get through, and it wasn't tonight. So he had to live with what he had tonight, and I don't think that's right." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher

Need to know

The Senators played their second straight game without injured forwards Mark Stone (neck) and Mike Hoffman (groin). ... Staal had eight shots, and Lindholm and Aho had six each. ... Lindholm's goal was his first in 14 games.

What's next

Senators: At the Florida Panthers on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SN, SN360, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: Host the Calgary Flames on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-SE, NHL.TV)