Hurricanes hold off Red Wings for 6th straight win

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jack Roslovic had a goal and an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes extended their winning streak to six games in a 4-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Lenovo Center on Friday.

Taylor Hall, Jalen Chatfield and Eric Robinson also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 24 saves for the Hurricanes (40-22-4), who are second in the Metropolitan Division, six points ahead of the New Jersey Devils with one game in hand. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had two assists.

The winning streak followed a seven-games stretch where the Hurricanes were 2-5-0.

“It’s looked a lot better [lately] for the 60 minutes,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “This whole year we’ve played well. Sometimes it was just four or five minutes in a game, you give up a few, so that was the frustration. This last stretch of games, I haven’t really seen that.”

Alex DeBrincat and Michael Rasmussen scored for the Red Wings (31-29-6), who have lost seven out of eight. Petr Mrazek made 28 saves.

Detroit remained two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“Everyone in this locker room knows what we are capable of,” Detroit forward Lucas Raymond said. “We have a lot of trust and belief in ourselves. It’s a lot of games left to be played, and our goal remains the same. We’re going to do everything we can to push towards it.”

The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead at 18:07 of the first period. After a failed Carolina clearing attempt along the boards, the puck came free to Debrincat, who scored on a snap shot over Andersen’s glove from above the faceoff circles.

The Hurricanes outshot the Red Wings 9-6 in the first period.

“I definitely thought we deserved better in the first,” Brind’Amour said. “That was a really solid period. Even the second was pretty good. We stuck with it. We’ve done that always. It’s not surprising."

Hall tipped Kotkaniemi’s one-timer from the left circle to tie the game 1-1 at 22 seconds of the second period.

Hall has three points (one goal, two assists) in his past two games. He has played 16 games since he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-team trade that also involved the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 24.

“Personally, my last few games I’m feeling a lot more adjusted to how we play and the speed and where I need to go,” Hall said. “It just takes time. You just need reps, and I feel like I’m contributing.”

The Hurricanes went up 2-1 at 5:44. Koktaniemi skated around Detroit forward Craig Smith in the left circle and passed to Roslovic for a back-door tap-in.

“I don’t do that too often if you ever notice,” Kotkaniemi said. “There was a little room there, and I tried something new, and it worked this time.”

Chatfield took a pass from Sean Walker in the right circle and scored on a shot through traffic for a 3-1 lead at 12:18.

“The second period was unacceptable,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “It wasn’t just Carolina-inflicted, it was self-inflicted. Just some really dumb play on our behalf. We had a little chat between the second and third and found a way to push a little more, but obviously not enough.”

Rasmussen cut the lead to 3-2 at 2:53 of the third period. He drove around Roslovic in the right circle and was stopped twice by Andersen before chipping the puck over the goaltender’s right pad.

Robinson scored an empty-net goal with 1:11 remaining for the 4-2 final.

“For us to win a few games in a row, everyone is doing their part, and you see that,” Hall said. “We’re getting a bit more puck luck, but I think [it’s] the work ethic and getting to our game right at the start of the puck drop.

“We’re not tip-toeing into the game, we’re asserting ourselves. Obviously that might be a bit easier at home, but we’re doing that really well. We’re kind of rolling the lines a bit more, and everyone is contributing. That’s a good feeling when everyone feels like that.”

NOTES: Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider played a game-high 26:30. … DeBrincat has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past two games. … Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis has four points (three goals, one assist) in a four-game point streak. … The Hurricanes lead the NHL with 27 home wins. … Robinson established an NHL high with his 13th goal.