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Tlusty, strong 3rd period help Carolina top Islanders

Feb 12, 2013 - 4:27 AM Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Jiri Tlusty scored twice and had two assists during a four-goal third period that lifted the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Alexander Semin potted his 200th career goal 5:33 into the final frame to snap a 3-3 tie, while assisting on both of Tlusty's tallies to help the Hurricanes move to 3-0-1 thus far on their current five-game road trip. Eric Staal added a goal and an assist and Cam Ward made 24 saves in the victory.

"I think tonight made have been the best game of the road trip," said Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller. "We just keep finding ways to win right now."

Matt Moulson notched two goals and an assist in the loss, New York's fifth straight regulation defeat that came despite the club scoring four times on the power play. John Tavares scored once and assisted on another for the Islanders, with Lubomir Visnovsky registering a pair of helpers in the setback.

Rick DiPietro stopped 25-of-30 shots for the Islanders in his first start since Jan. 25.

Down 3-2 entering the final period, Carolina erupted for three goals within a nine-minute span to move ahead.

The tying marker came with just 30 seconds elapsed, with Semin setting up Tlusty's tip-in with a well-executed pass from the right circle. Semin put the Hurricanes in front nearly five minutes later, rushing up the right side and flicking a wrister that hit Isles defenseman Travis Hamonic and took a bad bounce past DiPietro.

"Their fourth goal was a really tough break," Tavares remarked.

Carolina kept the pressure on and was rewarded with a two-goal cushion shortly afterward, with Justin Faulk's slap shot caroming off Staal's skate after being re-directed by Tlusty and slipping by DiPietro with just under 11 minutes to play.

"Our third periods have been really strong [on the road trip], and we showed it today," said Tlusty. "We came out hard and wore the [defense] down. That was the plan and we did it well."

New York got some momentum back after Tlusty was whistled for interference with 8:53 remaining, with Moulson getting his second of the night on a deflection of Visnovsky's shot on the resulting power play that cut the deficit to 5-4.

Carolina was able to successfully kill off a penalty to Staal later on, and Tlusty sealed the triumph with an empty-net score that came with only 11 seconds left.

The Islanders went 0-for-22 on the power play over the course of their four previous losses, but converted all three chances with the man advantage over the first two periods to grab a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

Frans Nielsen began the scoring just 2:48 in, whipping a centering pass from Josh Bailey past Ward with the Hurricanes' Jordan Staal in the box for a slashing infraction.

Despite being outshot by a 12-6 margin, Carolina would head into the first intermission all even after Jamie McBain's one-timer off the right boards deflected off Tim Wallace's skate and through with 6:18 to go in the frame.

Tavares put New York back ahead 5:23 into the second period by poking home a rebound left by Ward on Visnovsky's power-play shot from the right point, but Carolina answered a mere 29 seconds later when Jordan Staal created a turnover near center ice and fed Jeff Skinner for a blast that got by DiPietro for the winger's seventh goal of the season.

The Hurricanes' Tim Gleason was sent off for tripping Kyle Okposo just 16 seconds after Skinner's tally, however, and the Islanders capitalized once again.

Brad Boyes skated around the net and into the left circle before hitting a wide-open Moulson, camped out near the right post, for an easy goal that gave New York a 3-2 edge at the 7:46 mark.

Game Notes

Eric Staal extended his point streak to eight consecutive games, with the Carolina captain amassing eight goals and five assists during that span. Skinner (2G, 5A) and Jordan Staal (1G, 5A) have had at least one point in five straight outings ... Tavares has scored a goal in three straight games and has racked up seven in New York's last eight contests ... The Hurricanes had been a perfect 11-for-11 on the penalty kill over their last three tests before letting up four power play goals on Monday ... Nielsen's tally ending a 17- game goalless drought dating back to Mar. 24 of last season ... The Islanders won all four meetings between the teams last season, but Carolina is 11-2-4 in the series since 2008-09 and has gone 6-1-2 at Nassau Coliseum over that stretch.