RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes still have a piece of the lead in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division, but it took a strong third-period comeback Thursday.
The Canes battled their way back into the game against the Winnipeg Jets at PNC Arena, taking the lead on goals by defenseman Jaccob Slavin and then winger Seth Jarvis for a 4-2 victory.
The Canes kept pace with the New York Rangers, who easily topped the Islanders on Thursday. The teams, who face off Tuesday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, both have 108 points.
Jarvis’ goal at 8:21 of the third period pushed the Canes in front 3-2 for their first lead of the game. The goal was challenged by Jets interim coach Dave Lowry, who claimed goaltender interference by Jarvis, but the goal stood after review.
Jordan Staal’s empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining made it 4-2, giving goalie Antti Raanta his 14th win of the season. Raanta had 20 saves.
The Jets led 2-0 after the opening period after Kyle Connor’s 44th goal of the season and a goal and assist by Pierre-Luc Dubois. Goalie Eric Comrie seemingly had all the answers, making 15 saves in the first and another 17 in the second before the Canes found the net.
Teuvo Teravainen’s power-play goal with 30 seconds left in the second period was his 20th of the season. He also assisted on the Jarvis goal.
The Jets will not be in the Stanley Cup playoffs this season but looked like a playoff-caliber team for much of Thursday’s game.
The Jets had lost three in a row — outscored 16-5 — and were 2-6-1 in their last nine games, Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler spoke out Thursday morning about a frustrating season, venting, speaking for 10 minutes with the media at PNC Arena.
“This is the best part of the year to be a hockey player, except when you’re in our shoes, then it’s the worst,” Wheeler said. “It’s really disappointing. We have a lot of guys who don’t like losing and don’t like the results we’re getting. Try to win, that’s it. Win the game tonight and get some sort of good feeling back in our room.”
Teravainen scored from the top of the slot with 30 seconds left in the second period — the winger hitting the 20-goal mark for the third time in his career.
Teravainen’s score came on a 4-on-3 power play after the Canes’ Vincent Trocheck and Jets’ Dubois were penalized and then Josh Morrissey hooked Sebastian Aho. With Andrei Svechnikov screening Comrie, Teravainen got off a well-placed shot.
Defenseman Tony DeAngelo earned an assist, his 49th point of the season. That tied him with Justin Faulk (2014-15) for most points by a D-man in Hurricanes history.
