National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Carolina 5, San Jose 4
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 7, 2015
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees: Justin St. Pierre, Mike Leggo
Linesmen: Shane Heyer, Jay Sharrers
Attendance: 17139

Hurricanes 5, Sharks 4: Defenseman Andrej Sekera snapped a tie with 4:51 remaining in the third period and Carolina held off a late charge to finish 2-1-1 on its four-game road trip.

Sekera - who also had an assist - unleashed a blast from the left faceoff circle that was stopped by Antti Niemi, but the rebound caromed off Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon's skate and in to give the Hurricanes a 4-3 edge. Elias Lindholm joined Sekera with a goal and an assist, captain Eric Staal, Andrej Nestrasil and Victor Rask also scored and Cam Ward made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, who improved to 5-1-2 in their last eight overall contests.

Tomas Hertl recorded two goals and an assist while Patrick Marleau added one of each for San Jose, which failed to earn a point for the third time in 11 games (6-3-2). Logan Couture also tallied, rookie Chris Tierney notched two assists and Niemi turned aside 25 shots.

Carolina opened the scoring with 58 seconds left in the first period as Staal jammed the puck past Niemi at the right post before the netminder was able to cover the puck after Jiri Tlusty's shot from the right point caromed off the end boards. Nestrasil doubled the lead at 5:33 of the second, taking a backhand pass from Alexander Semin and splitting two defenders in the slot before beating Niemi to the glove side.

Hertl halved the deficit less than three minutes later, converting a backhand feed from Tierney after the rookie outmuscled Hurricanes defenseman John-Michael Liles for the puck behind the net. Lindholm beat Niemi from the top of the right circle during a power play 1:47 afterward, but Hertl and Couture scored 82 seconds apart early in the third to forge a 3-3 tie.

GAME NOTEBOOK: All-Star D Justin Faulk collected three assists for Carolina. ... Rask gave the Hurricanes a 5-3 lead with an empty-net goal at 18:50 of the third, but Marleau cut the deficit back to one by burying a rebound with 55 seconds remaining. ... The Hurricanes were without D Ryan Murphy, who suffered a knee injury in Thursday's win at Arizona.
Top Game Performances
 
Carolina   San Jose
Justin Faulk 3 Points Tomas Hertl 3
Elias Lindholm 1 Goals Tomas Hertl 2
Justin Faulk 3 Assists Chris Tierney 2
Elias Lindholm 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Cam Ward .852 Save Percentage Antti Niemi .862
Cam Ward 23 Saves Antti Niemi 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Carolina 30 5 1-4 1-1 2 33
San Jose 27 4 0-1 3-4 8 26
Upcoming Games
  • San Jose will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Sharks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .538 after a loss.
  • Carolina will play their next game at home against Anaheim. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .389 after a win and .353 after a loss.