Darling helps Hurricanes hold off Blue Jackets

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Scott Darling made 35 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes to their season-high third straight win, 2-1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PNC Arena on Saturday.

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Alex Wennberg scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for Columbus (20-12-1).
The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead at 3:40 of the first period when Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson tried to break up Staal's centering pass across the crease but pushed the puck through Bobrovsky's legs.
Wennberg tied the game 1-1 at 12:01 of the first. Cam Atkinson won a battle along the boards and sent a pass to the slot, where Wennberg redirected the puck.
Hanifin made it 2-1 at 4-on-4 at 12:58 of the second period. Bobrovsky stopped his backhand, but Hanifin tapped in the rebound for his sixth goal of the season.
"Almost all of my goals this year are within 5 feet of the crease," Hanifin said. "Obviously 4-on-4, it's a good opportunity to make some offensive plays. It was a good bounce, but it was a good overall effort."

Darling, who did not start the past two games, won by Cam Ward, was 1-5-2 in his previous eight decisions.
"I felt really good tonight," Darling said. "I felt confident. I haven't had a lot of games where I got a lot of shots that early. It got me into the game and I knew I was seeing the puck good."
Columbus outshot Carolina 28-18 through two periods, but Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella was not pleased with the quality of their shots.
"I thought we controlled the play, I thought we had our forecheck," Tortorella said. "But give them some credit. I thought Darling made some key saves at key times. Whether it's us, or it's them defending that well, we're just not getting enough second chances."

Goal of the game

Hanifin's goal at 12:58 of the third period.

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Save of the game

Darling stopped Nick Foligno's backhand at 15:42 of the third period.

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Highlight of the game

Wennberg's goal at 12:01 of the second period.

They said it

"I don't think we really got to it, as far as rebounds and getting to second opportunities. They scored a couple of fluky goals. They score two, we score one. To score goals, you're going to have to score some ugly ones along the way." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"You get some more experience and the game slows down around you, so maybe that's happening for him a little bit. But to me, he's always had that real good offensive side to him. Now he's picking his spots maybe a little bit better. He's just evolving and continuing to grow in all aspects." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters on defenseman Noah Hanifin

Need to know

The Blue Jackets, who have the lowest-rated power play in the NHL (9.67 percent), went 0-for-4 in 5:39 of ice time with the man-advantage. … Elias Lindholm won all eight of his face-offs for Carolina.

What's next

Blue Jackets: At the Boston Bruins on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, NESN, FS-O, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (2 p.m. ET; SNO, FS-CR, NHL.TV)