Svechnikov, Mrazek help Hurricanes beat Devils 5-2

Andrei Svechnikov scored on a perfectly executed rush in the second period to push his point streak to six games and help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Friday night. Nino Niederreiter and Warren Foegele scored first-period goals for the Hurricanes, helping Carolina play from in front nearly all night as it jostles for wild-card playoff positioning. Martin Necas and Joel Edmundson added two more in the third period for a 5-1 lead, part of a relatively smooth night for the Hurricanes in their return from a four-game road swing.

Petr Mrazek finished with 35 saves for Carolina after losing his previous three starts. He made a pair of big stops in the final minutes with the Devils holding a two-man advantage.

Sebastian Aho assisted on Svechnikov's goal, but was unable to find the back of the net, ending his six-game goal scoring streak.

Mirco Mueller scored in the first period and Joey Anderson added one in the third for the Devils, while Louis Domingue had 26 saves in a losing effort. New Jersey had won three of four coming in, including Thursday's 4-1 home win against Detroit.

The Hurricanes entered this game four points back of Philadelphia for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference playoff race with two games in hand. They went ahead for good when Foegele got between the circles and slipped the puck past Domingue at 11:23 of the first.

Then Svechnikov provided the highlight midway through the second. The Hurricanes won a face-off and pushed up ice, with Svechnikov leaving a short drop pass to a trailing Aho along the left boards. He cut toward the crease as Aho zipped the puck cross-ice to Teuvo Teravainen, who sent it right to Svechnikov on the left side for an easy putaway and a 3-1 lead.