Hurricanes defeat Red Wings, extend point streak to nine

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes extended their point streak to nine games with a 3-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at PNC Arena on Thursday.

Teravainen was playing his second game after the forward missed 25 because of a concussion. Brady Skjei scored in his first game back after the defenseman missed four because of a concussion.
"It was big," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "[Teravainen] looks like he didn't miss a beat. That's a positive sign. Nice for him to get a goal. Brady probably had a little rusty period, then he got his game going. Good to see."
Sebastian Aho had two assists, and James Reimer made 16 saves for the Hurricanes (33-10-7), who are 6-0-3 during their streak.
Carolina remained two points ahead of the Florida Panthers, who won 4-3 in overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, for first place in the Discover Central Division with two games in hand.
Jakub Vrana scored, and Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves for the Red Wings (17-26-9), who have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
"We certainly had chances in the first and I thought we transitioned well," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "But we didn't get enough after that because we spent so much time in defensive-zone coverage. To me, the whole thing comes down to our puck play."

Skjei put Carolina ahead 1-0 at 4:40 of the second period. Aho waited for Skjei to gain the offensive blue line before passing to the unmarked defenseman, who beat Bernier over his glove from the high slot.
"I thought I did not play that well in the first," Skjei said. "I thought I turned it around in the second. Obviously, the goal helps. It took a little time to settle in, but I think in the second and third I started playing a lot better."
Warren Foegele pushed the lead to 2-0 at 13:29. He took a backhand pass from Brett Pesce before scoring off his own rebound in the crease.
"If you go around the League and talk about players that are underrated, [Pesce] is probably No. 1 on the list," Brind'Amour said. "You watch every night and you see it, but he's really as valuable on this team as any of the guys."
After Aho couldn't handle a pass from Pesce, Vrana skated through the slot and faked his forehand before lifting a backhand over Reimer's glove to cut it to 2-1 at 17:31.
"He can score, there's no doubt about it," Blashill said. "What we'll keep working on with him is making sure he becomes that complete player that can score on a winning hockey team."
Teravainen made it 3-1 at 9:48 of the third period when he forced a turnover in Detroit's zone, then received a no-look pass from Aho and beat Bernier five-hole.
"It's good to play with him, it's pretty easy," Teravainen said. "We don't really talk about too much, we just play natural out there. Especially now when I haven't played in a long time, it's good to have Aho out there."

Carolina outshot Detroit 10-3 in the third period.
"We're having a tough time scoring, so those mistakes are magnified," Red Wings forward Luke Glendening said. "That's the way it's going to be, so we have to tighten up defensively."
NOTES: Detroit has scored two goals in its past three games. … Aho extended his point streak to six games (three goals, eight assists). … Andrei Svechnikov played his 200th NHL game, and Brind'Amour coached his 200th NHL game (117-64-19). … The Hurricanes' 33 wins are the second most through 50 games in a season in their history. They had 35 wins through 50 games in 2005-06, when they won the Stanley Cup for the only time.