Hall scores hat trick in 3rd, Hurricanes stay hot with win against Ducks

ANAHEIM -- Taylor Hall scored a hat trick in the third period for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 5-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Sunday.

It was Hall’s second hat trick of the season and sixth in the NHL.

"It's special," Hall said. "I went 10 years without one. I got one earlier this year with Chicago, so I guess you never take it for granted and, at the end of the day, it was a big team win."

Mark Jankowski and Jordan Martinook also scored for the Hurricanes (43-23-4), who have won nine of 10 but were coming off a 7-2 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Jack Roslovic had two assists, and Frederik Andersen made 35 saves.

"He's just so calm and there's no wasted movements with him," Hall said of Andersen. "Everything's calm and cool. He provides a lot of stability for us."

Carolina moved 10 points ahead of the New Jersey Devils for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Alex Killorn and Trevor Zegras scored, and Lukas Dostal made 32 saves for the Ducks (30-32-8), who have lost three of four (1-2-1).

Anaheim is 13 points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

"It took us, I think, too long to get into the game," Killorn said. "By the third, I thought we were playing some good hockey, but a little too late."

Jankowski gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 7:59 of the second period. Tyson Jost took a shot from just above the left hash marks that was headed wide, but Jankowski redirected the puck into the net from below the goal line.

It was his 10th goal of the season and sixth in seven games since being acquired from the Nashville Predators on March 7.

Killorn tied it 1-1 at 13:04, sliding the puck between Andersen's pads to finish a 2-on-1 rush with Leo Carlsson.

Martinook put Carolina back ahead 2-1 at 14:37 of the second. Shayne Gostisbehere's shot went off the end boards and came out to the other side, where Martinook was waiting to sweep the puck into the net.

Hall’s power-play goal on a rebound extended it to 3-1 at 2:32 of the third period.

Zegras cut it to 3-2 at 16:37 when he scored on a rebound in the crease, but Hall scored his second goal of the game 36 seconds later at 17:13 to make it 4-2. He waited out Dostal after receiving a pass close to the net.

"We stuck with it and, even after they scored to make it 4-2, we had some quality chances to bring it back to 4-3," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "It's just one of those games. I give Andersen credit, he was outstanding."

Hall completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal at 18:02 for the 5-2 final.

"It was a good third period for us, on a back to back, to protect the lead," Hall said. "Our [penalty kill] and Freddie had a lot to do with that, so it was a good win."

Anaheim went 0-for-6 on the power play against Carolina, which has the best penalty kill in the NHL. (84.9 percent).

The Ducks had six minutes of power-play time in the first period but were outshot 11-6.

"The power play can't go 0-for-6," Ducks forward Troy Terry said. "Their penalty kill comes with pretty much just all-out pressure everywhere. ... That's kind of the way it is, but we just need to bear down and put them in the net."

Andersen was particularly sharp in the third period, making 19 saves on 20 shots. That included a sprawling glove save on Olen Zellweger from in front of the crease and two breakaway stops on Terry and Ryan Strome.

"Just stay in the moment," Andersen said. "Try to see what's in front of you and try to stop it."

NOTES: Carolina has allowed 31 power-play goals this season, the second fewest in the NHL behind the Dallas Stars (28). ... Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns, who had an assist, recorded his 15th season with at least 20 assists and tied Drew Doughty for the second most by an active defenseman. Kris Letang (16 seasons) has the most. … Gostisbehere had an assist on Martinook's goal after missing Saturday's game against the Kings with an illness.