Hurricanes top Predators for seventh straight win

RALEIGH, N.C. --Morgan Geekie scored two goals to help the Carolina Hurricanes extended their winning streak to seven games with a 5-1 victory against the Nashville Predators at PNC Arena on Thursday.

"Obviously you don't expect that kind of performance," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said of Geekie. "We needed it. Obviously, we're going to need it moving forward. We've got a lot of key guys out. Everybody has to step up a little bit, and Morgan did tonight."
James Reimer made 32 saves, and Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (19-6-1), who are 10-1-1 at home.
Jake Bean
and Andrei Svechnikov each had two assists.
The Hurricanes have won each of the four games against the Predators this season.
"We were pretty opportunistic tonight, and especially early," Reimer said. "When you get up by a couple goals, it's nice, especially as a goalie. [We] didn't really give them a sniff."
Nick Cousins scored for the Predators (11-15-1), who are 1-4-1 in their past six games. Pekka Rinne allowed five goals on 23 shots and was pulled in the third period. Kasimir Kaskisuo made three saves in relief.
"It's a good group we're playing against out there," Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "Plus, us having a younger lineup, it's important to get off to a good start, and tonight we didn't manage that. We have to learn from that."

Carolina scored three goals in a span of 2:21 in the first period.
Geekie's first goal of the season came on the power play when he tipped Bean's shot from the center point to make it 1-0 at 9:06. Geekie was playing his first NHL game since Feb. 11.
"It's good to watch some games from [the press box], get a different point of view," the forward said. "I was just going out there every day, trying to get back in the lineup and do what I can."
Brock McGinn one-timed a pass from Warren Foegele in the right face-off circle for a 2-0 lead at 11:11. On the next shift, Svechnikov carried the puck behind the Nashville net and fed Hamilton driving the slot for a 3-0 lead at 11:27. It was his first goal in 17 games and extended his point streak to seven games (one goal, eight assists).
"It was a couple bad minutes," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "We came in on the defensive-zone coverage and we had guys in the slot, but we didn't pick up [Hamilton]. Right away, it's 3-0 from there."

Geekie's second goal on the power play pushed the lead to 4-0 at 8:50 of the second period. Rinne stopped Geekie's wrist shot, but the rebound went in off Ekholm's skate.
The 22-year-old rookie was assigned to the Chicago of the American Hockey League for two games in February and scored four goals and an assist.
"He's a very mature guy," said Bean, who played two seasons in the AHL with Geekie. "He took it really well. Obviously, he took his time in the American League and took full advantage of it to get confidence, and it showed tonight."
Martin Necas made it 5-0 on the power play when he redirected Svechnikov's pass to the slot at 4:38 of the third period. Rinne was pulled after the goal.
"I thought five was enough," Hynes said. "[Rinne] made some big saves later in the second, but after five with that much time left in the period, it was an opportunity to give him a break and give [Kaskisuo] an opportunity to come in and play."
Cousins scored on a wrist shot to make it 5-1 at 15:28.
NOTES:Kaskisuo played his second NHL game. He made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 6-1 loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 16, 2019. … Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki sustained an upper-body injury in the first period. There was no update after the game. ... Carolina was 3-for-3 on the power play and has scored a power-play goal in seven straight games. They are 12-for-25 (48.0 percent) in that span. … The Hurricanes won seven straight games for the first time since Feb. 5 - March 4, 2010. … Hamilton is tied with St. Louis Blues forward David Perron (four goals, five assists) for the longest active point streak in the NHL. … Hamilton had an assist in his seventh straight game; Zarley Zalapski (1992-93) was the last Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers player to do so.