Hurricane Eric Staal (12) celebrates his second goal with Tuomo Ruutu (15) during the first period against the Anaheim Ducks. CHRIS SEWARD - cseward@newsobserver.com
RALEIGH — Hurricanes star center Eric Staal had a hat trick, but it almost wasn't enough.
Carolina held on for a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks after three quick penalties put the Hurricanes down two men for an extended period in the closing minutes of the game.
Corvo, whose roughing penalty was the first of those penalties at the 16:59 mark in the third period, scored an empty netter with 4.7 seconds left.
Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf scored a power play goal at 18:12 in the period, giving the Ducks (17-15-4) a late chance in a game they trailed 3-1 since the 1:41 mark of the second period, when the hats came out for Staal.
Staal, who had a pair of power play goals in the first period, cleaned up in front of the net for his third goal, which capped the opening 1:41 of the second period, when the Canes sustained a two-shift possession to start the period.
The hat trick put Staal tied with the New York Rangers' Marian Gaborik and the Ottawa Senators' Alexei Kovalev among active hat trick leaders. Only Anaheim's Teemu Selanne has more with 21.
Canes rookie forward Jeff Skinner created the payoff, skating behind the net before passing into the slot, where forward Erik Cole tapped the puck to Staal, who scored for a natural hat trick (uninterupted by other scoring). It's his 12th career hat trick and second this season.
The Ducks, outplayed early in the second period, made a push near the end of the period and brought some dangerous shifts in the third, but Carolina goalie Cam Ward came up with 43 saves.
Anaheim scored first in the game, when Getzlaf scored from the slot at 2:39 in the first period. Ducks forward Bobby Ryan, in the left corner, sent the puck in front of the net, where forward Corey Perry swung the puck to his right for Getzlaf to score.
But a Getzlaf cross-checking penalty gave the Hurricanes a power play, and a rush down the ice led to Staal scoring his 14th goal of the season at 7:27.
Carolina forward Jussi Jokinen found Staal down the left wing and Staal elevated the puck between the left post and Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller.
With 19:34 left, Staal, camped to the right of the goal, collected the rebound from a hard shot from defenseman Jamie McBain and put it in for his 15th goal of the season. McBain had fired from just inside the blueline after Jokinen, also along the blue line, centered a pass. Moments before, McBain had kept the puck just inside the line when the Anaheim penalty kill attempted to clear the puck.
Anaheim entered the game ninth in the league on the power play, but is 0-for-1, while Carolina, which came into the game ranked 26th in the league on the power play, is 2-for-2. Canes finished the night 2-for-3 on the power play, while the Ducks wound up 1-for-7.
The Hurricanes (15-12-4) have now extended their season-long winning streak to four games and will face the division foe Tampa Bay Lightning in Florida on Monday. It leaves the Canes four points behind the Boston Bruins, which currently hold eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Carolina defenseman Jay Harrison, who was injured in a fight in with St. Louis' B.J. Crombeen on Saturday, is in the game. He was a game-time decision after missing two games this week with the undisclosed upper body injury.
The Ducks were in the third game of a seven-game road trip.
Javier Serna has covered sports for The News & Observer since 2007. He previously covered growth for the North Raleigh News, and sports at The Truth in Elkhart, Ind. E-mail
Comments
What's going on here!
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 12:19 — hellfishThat was a ref's WTF are you doing game ,Those clowns let the Ducks hook ,hold and cross check all night...Then as an insult (like the could'nt do a WORSE job) called that WEAK cross check on Staal and topped it off by putting the Canes in a 6 on 3...Had'nt seen that in a LONG time!
If ref's are fined and suspended those clowns ,Watson in particular need a face to face and suspension from the league...It was like "well were letting the Ducks tie this game up like it or not." as for Boychuk's play...5:51 TOI he's not getting enough time to impress at all. If the Canes call guy's up they need no less than around 10 min TOI to get any real look at how they play ,and with a 2 goal lead for the whole 2nd period you would think the 4th line would have got to eat-up some TOI for the top lines...don't get that logic Mo?
Can't speak for Mo but,
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 12:48 — beer210I too was surprised by the lack of time by Boychuk, but Boychuk isn't going to take time at center from Staal or Sutter, which leaves 3rd and 4th line time. It makes some sense that Carter (who played pretty well) would have extra motivation against the team that let him go, so give him 3rd line ice time. I'd look for Boychuk's ice time to increase with more games.
Boychuk, Listed as Center, but Plays Left Wing for Hurricanes
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 13:18 — abramsdougBoychuk is listed as a center; but he has played left wing for all but about 10 shifts in his entire time with the Hurricanes. Skinner played left wing with Staal and Cole; Jokinen was left wing with Sutter and Ruutu. Samsonov was left wing on the third line with Dwyer and LaRose. Boychuk was left wing with Carter and Bodie.
I'd have put Boychuk with Dwyer and LaRose; but the problem to me is the lack of size on the third line as it presently is constituted. Boychuk/Dalpe/Tlusty is a great third line. At some point in the near future, I think we'll see Boychuk/Sutter/Ruutu as a line. It's a line that makes hockey sense as far as I am concerned; and should result in increased offensive production by the Hurricanes.
officiating
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 11:32 — louis12580Has been even more inconsistent this year than in the past. Some teams get the calls, some don't. Same for some players getting the breaks. The other night I was watching the Detroit-Chicago game when there was a no-doubt interference by the Detroit player that went on for 5-10 seconds, yet the ref didn't bother to call it. As I have said for many years now, and was relayed to me "The officials never win or lose the game, they just decide the outcome." Oh, yeah. How about Sutter leveling the Anaheim player (Getzlaf/Perry)? Once a Sutter, always as Sutter.
Wonder what got under
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 08:25 — ctillWonder what got under Corvo's skin late in the game. Don't often see a 6-on-3. Ward was absolutely brilliant, and Staal earned his $91K. I guess all the Staal detractors have gone underground.
Staal
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 12:24 — beer210Eric Staal was awesome last night. Which is what drives me nuts about him. He can take over a game . . . or disappear and be complacent. Lets hope he's finished with complacency.
That was Ward's win last night. With the aid of inconsistent officiatting, that 6 on 3 would have resulted in a 4-3 or 5-3 win by the Ducks, but Ward was too good last night!
Punk hockey by Perry. Big, strong, professional hockey players don't come off their skates that easily. Same goes for Getzlaf falling from the tap on the shoulder Staal gave him. The refs should be angry about being embarassed like that.
wonder what got under..
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 10:17 — louis12580Corvo's skin? It was when Perry tried his best to draw a penalty the entire way down the ice. He was flopping like a fish the whole time and kept looking at the ref begging for a call. He finally got it when Joe gave him the glove to the back of his head for all of his whining. Perry has a reputation for going down faster than an anchor at low tide despite being a big physical player. When Joe shot the puck toward the open net, Perry gave him a pretty hefty slash and that's what started the junk at the end. Wonder how many noticed that Sutter was in it, taking up for his team mates? Also notice that Mr. Bodie was out just in case? A good, solid win against one of the better teams in the west. Now it's on to St. Petersburg for a divisional match.
Canes Win Vs. Ducks
Sun, 12/19/2010 - 10:56 — abramsdougCanes were great. Staal and Ward were awesome. The RBC crowd was fantastic and rocked the place. The NHL officiating was dismal. Brad Watson has no business being on the ice other than to run the Zamboni, maybe. Great win for the Hurricanes. Sutter throwing down his gloves and battling was a highlight of the game. He is such a warrior for the team.