Hurricanes hand Senators sixth straight loss

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Victor Rask's power-play goal in the third period lifted the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Rask scored from the left face-off dot with 8:28 remaining off a backhand feed from Justin Williams, beating Craig Anderson (37 saves) to the short side.
"Just a good play by Williams] to hold on to the puck," Rask said. "He passed it to me and I got a pretty clean shot and it went in."
***[WATCH: [All Senators vs. Hurricanes highlights]*
Cam Ward made 29 saves for the Hurricanes (23-19-8), who won their second consecutive game and ended a four-game home losing streak (0-3-1). It was the first of an eight-game homestand.
"That's a good win to start the homestand," Carolina forward Jeff Skinner said. "Ward played a great game for us, keeping us in it early, then making some big saves down the stretch."
The Senators (15-24-9) lost their sixth straight (0-6-0). They have scored eight goals during the losing streak.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead with 1:12 remaining in the second period with his seventh goal of the season. His wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle beat Ward between his glove arm and body.
Carolina forward Sebastian Aho, returning after missing four games (concussion and lower-body injury), tied it 1-1 at 1:49 of the third. His slap shot hit off the stick of Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot.
"Honestly, that's the story of our season," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "We've got to live with it and we've got to get our own breaks. Tonight, we deserved at least one break that made the difference to at least get a tie and go into overtime."
Aho's goal was his Hurricanes-leading 17th and his 10th in his past 12 games.
"I was really excited," Aho said. "In the first period, I was a little rusty and I didn't feel that good, but the first period after a break is always the toughest."

Goal of the game

Rask's goal with 8:28 remaining in the third period.

Save of the game

Ward's pad save on Brassard with 3:29 remaining in the second period.

Highlight of the game

Pageau's goal with 1:12 remaining in the second period.

They said it

"I thought he played very well. He was very smart. He knows when it's time to do something, [when] there's no play. I thought he managed the puck well under pressure. He was real fast, real quick. He looked real good out there." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher on Magnus Paajarvi, who had one shot, three hits and two blocked shots, playing 14:07 in his Ottawa debut
"It's not about feelings. It's about finding a way to get wins and make a push. Look after yourself, get your game in order. Know where you fit in, find your individual game within our team game. It's not about veterans and rookies. It's about who is getting the job done." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters
"In the third, we knew the desperation that needed to take place, and I thought that's exactly what we showed." -- Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward

Need to know

Ottawa is 2-11-3 in its past 16 games against Carolina. … Senators rookies Chabot and Colin White each turned 21 years old Tuesday. ... Ward is 13-4-2 in 21 games since Nov. 10. … Carolina has 12 power-play goals in the past 12 games.

What's next

Senators: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-SE, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)