Jarvis leads Hurricanes past Blackhawks for 5th straight win
The Carolina Hurricanes have one game left on their schedule, and their playoff position is still undecided.
In the meantime, they are closing strong.
Seth Jarvis collected two goals and an assist in the third period, and Carolina beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Sunday for its fifth consecutive victory.
The Hurricanes (52-22-7) remain in the running for the Metropolitan Division title and the Presidents' Trophy, along with home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. They are tied with the Dallas Stars with 111 points, one back of the New York Rangers.
New York (54-23-4) hosts Ottawa on Monday night, and Carolina is at Columbus on Tuesday night. Dallas (51-21-9) hosts St. Louis on Wednesday night.
“It's tough because it's out of our hands, right?” coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “We all know that we're in the playoffs and maybe we move up, but chances are probably not. And no one's catching us.
“That's why I give my guys a lot of credit, because we've been in this spot for a while and yet we still find ways to get it done.”
Jordan Staal also scored for Carolina, and Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter. Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves as the Hurricanes improved to 19-2-3 in their last 24 road games.
“We’ve got a great mentality and a great team to do what we did this season, and we’re not done yet,” said Andrei Svechnikov, who had two assists. “We’ve got one more game to go here. Our mentality is the same. We’ve got to win every game and just stick with that.”
Frank Nazar scored in his NHL debut for Chicago, which dropped its fourth consecutive game. Andreas Athanasiou also scored, and Petr Mrazek made 30 saves.
The lowly Blackhawks finished with a 17-20-4 home record this season.
The 20-year-old Nazar, one of Chicago’s top prospects, turned pro after Michigan lost 4-0 to Boston College in the Frozen Four on Thursday night.
“Frank was really good,” coach Luke Richardson said. “I really liked his game tonight. Really happy for him.”
Staal, Jalen Chatfield and Brett Pesce returned to Carolina's lineup after they rested during Friday night's 5-2 win at St. Louis. But Teuvo Teravainen was scratched for the second straight game, and defenseman Brady Skjei was held out for the first time this season.
The Hurricanes trailed 3-2 after Athanasiou converted a rebound 1:54 into the third period. But Jarvis got his 32nd goal when his power-play tip was knocked in by rookie Blackhawks defenseman Ethan Del Mastro at 6:24.
Jarvis then put Carolina ahead to stay when he scored on a power-play rebound with 3:33 remaining. The Hurricanes went 2 for 3 with the man advantage and killed off each of the Blackhawks' three chances.
“Power play and penalty kill was the difference tonight,” Brind’Amour said.
Athanasiou was shaken up after two collisions with Kochetkov early in the third, but he returned to the ice.
Nazar put Chicago in front 10:05 into the first period, sending a charge through the United Center crowd.
After coming up empty on an early power-play opportunity, Nazar got a slick pass from Seth Jones and skated in on Kochetkov for a breakaway. He beat Kochetkov on the goaltender’s stick side, becoming the fourth-youngest player in franchise history to score in his first game.
Staal tied it at 1 when he scored his 10th goal 4:10 into the second. He had his first shot stopped by Mrazek, but he jumped on the rebound in the slot and beat the goaltender on his glove side.
The Hurricanes had a chance to take the lead with 2:51 left in the second, but a wide-open Jake Guentzel was denied on a glove save by Mrazek.