Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a goal and an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes moved closer to a Metropolitan Division championship by defeating the visiting Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Carolina (52-21-9, 111 points) maintained a one-point lead over New Jersey (51-22-8, 110 points) for the top spot. The Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 on Tuesday.
The Hurricanes finish up the regular season with a road game against Florida Panthers on Thursday, while the Devils visit Washington Capitals on the same night.
Stefan Noesen, Jordan Martinook and Brent Burns had the other goals for Carolina, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Antti Raanta made 20 saves for the win.
The Red Wings (35-36-10, 80 points) have lost four straight (0-3-1), and they scored just one goal for the third consecutive game. Robert Hagg had the lone tally on Tuesday, while Alex Nedeljkovic was credited with 24 saves.
The game was relatively clean in terms of penalties. The Red Wings came up empty on two power plays, while Carolina had just one (unsuccessful) man advantage.
Red Wings captain and first-line center Dylan Larkin missed the game due to a lower-body injury.
The Hurricanes scored twice in the first eight minutes.
Noesen scored his 13th goal when he collected a loose puck behind the net and jammed in a wraparound at 2:46. Kotkaniemi and Shayne Gostisbehere had the assists.
Martinook’s goal at 7:50 was also his 13th. Brady Skjei set him up with a pass from the point, and a screened Nedeljkovic had no chance to recover. Jesper Fast was credited with the secondary assist.
Hagg scored his second goal of the season to make it 2-1 five minutes into the second period. He beat Raanta on the short side from the left circle off a Joe Veleno feed with David Perron also picking up an assist.
Burns fired in his 16th goal at 9:10 of the middle period from near the blue line after Detroit turned the puck over in its own zone. Jaccob Slavin and Jack Drury had the assists.
Kotkaniemi added an unassisted empty-netter in the final minute of the game.
–Field Level Media
