Hurricanes 5 - 2 Predators
Final
  for this game

Skinner's trifecta leads Hurricanes past Predators

Dec 6, 2013 - 6:08 AM Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Jeff Skinner scored his first career hat trick and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Thursday night.

Skinner scored his first two goals in the second period and got the third on an empty net, giving him nine goals for the season.

The Hurricanes scored four unanswered goals to end the game, including three in under 13 minutes in the second period after the Predators had taken a 2-1 lead with two goals in the first 2:41 of the frame.

"The puck was bouncing," said Skinner. "It was a weird game. There wasn't much flow."

Justin Faulk and Riley Nash also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won two straight, and Justin Peters made 20 saves.

Mike Fisher and Viktor Stalberg scored for the Predators, who went 0-3-1 on a four-game homestand. Marek Mazanec allowed four goals on 13 shots in the first two periods and Carter Hutton made nine saves in the third.

The Hurricanes have won two straight against the Predators after losing six in a row. They snapped a four-game losing streak in Nashville.

After the Predators took the lead, the Hurricanes rallied to go up 3-2.

Skinner's first goal came from the right side at 6:11 of the second period. Nash tied it at 11:51, finishing off a 3-on-1 from the left circle after a Nashville neutral zone turnover, and Skinner scored on a power play with 52 seconds left in the period on a slap shot from above the right circle.

"That third goal, it was just a blatant turnover," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "That changed the whole game right there. It got them excited and it got us on our heels again."

Earlier, Faulk scored just 23 seconds into the game to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead, getting a shot through traffic from near the right boards.

The Predators tied it on their own quick goal when Victor Bartley's shot from the high left side went in off Fisher 50 seconds into the middle period.

Nashville jumped into the lead on Stalberg's rebound goal just 1:51 later.

Game Notes

The Hurricanes snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with a 4-3 win in their most recent meeting on Feb. 28, 2012 ... The Predators go on the road for two straight games starting in Washington on Saturday ... The Hurricanes return home to play San Jose on Friday.






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