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National Hockey League
Carolina 5, Arizona 4
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 6, 2015
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Referees: Chris Lee, Evgeny Romasko
Linesmen: Steve Miller, Pierre Racicot
Attendance: 9021

RALEIGH, N.C. - Defenseman Justin Faulk provided the final answer for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Faulk scored a power-play goal with 17 seconds left as the Hurricanes responded with two late goals to defeat the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 on Sunday at PNC Arena.

"Just sticking with it," Faulk said. "Having a late lead in the third and them tying it and taking the lead can sometimes be difficult to deal with."

The winning goal came with two seconds remaining on the power play as the Hurricanes won consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.

"That's a good character win," said Carolina coach Bill Peters, whose team reached the five-goal mark for only the second time this season.

Defenseman Ron Hainsey's goal tied the game at 4 with 4:22 to play after Arizona had produced two third-period goals to take the lead.

Center Antoine Vermette scored on a power-play goal with 6:19 remaining to put Arizona up 4-3. Vermette collected a rebound in front of the net and powered a back-hand shot that made it into the net.

Coyotes defenseman Stefan Elliott made it 3-3 earlier in the period, but Arizona fell to 0-10-1 when trailing after two periods this season.

"It's unacceptable," said Coyotes goalie Anders Lindback, who faced only 18 shots.

Center Eric Staal, right winger Kris Versteeg and center Jay McClement also scored for the Hurricanes (10-13-4), who last won two games in a row in late October. Staal finished with two assists.

Right winger Tobias Rieder and defenseman Nicklas Grossmann also scored for the Coyotes (13-13-1), who are winless in the first four games of a five-game road trip.

"Poor mistakes and turnovers, bad penalties and our goaltenders haven't cleaned a lot of messes for us," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said.

Goalie Cam Ward made 19 saves for Carolina and Lindback had 13 saves.

The winning goal came when Faulk was in the right spot. He leads the NHL with nine power-play goals, accounting for all his goals this season.

"They blocked a shot and it just came right back to me," he said. "... If we continue to bring that (effort) every night, whether we're sharp or not is going to be key going forward."

Carolina scored three goals within two minutes of surrendering a goal.

"We would get it back as soon as possible," Hainsey said. "It's kind of hard to believe nine goals were scored out of it. It was pretty choppy."

Elliott, who was in the Arizona lineup for only the third time in a 10-game stretch, slid the puck just inside the near post from the right side. Ward failed to respond in time to cover the opening.

But the Coyotes' good fortune didn't last.

"We're making some bad mistakes and we have below-average goaltending," Tippett said. "It's as simple as that. You can't give up five goals in a game."

The Hurricanes twice answered Arizona goals with equalizers in the first period and then took a 3-2 lead into the third period.

Staal's first goal in 15 games broke a 2-2 tie 6:27 into the second period.

Arizona opening the scoring 49 seconds into the game on Rieder's first goal in 15 games.

Carolina didn't waste time in pulling even on Versteeg's goal. The unassisted tally came less than 24 hours after he sat out as a healthy scratch. He hadn't scored since Nov. 1.

The Coyotes led 2-1 on Grossmann's goal late in the first period.

Less than two minutes later, Carolina tied the game when McClement scored his first goal of the season. He has played in all 27 games.

NOTES: Arizona RW Shane Doan was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He missed his seventh game in a row. ... LW Viktor Tikhonov rejoined the Coyotes organization after being claimed off waivers from Chicago. He did not play Sunday. ... RW Kris Versteeg was back in the Carolina lineup a day after he was a healthy scratch first time this season. ... C Riley Nash was scratched for the second day in a row for the Hurricanes, leaving him with 198 career games. ... The teams meet in a rematch Saturday at Arizona. ... The Coyotes complete the five-game road trip Tuesday at St. Louis. ... The Hurricanes don't play at home again until Dec. 18, beginning a four-game road stretch Tuesday at Dallas.
Top Game Performances
 
Arizona   Carolina
Stefan Elliott 2 Points Ron Hainsey 2
Stefan Elliott 1 Goals Ron Hainsey 1
Stefan Elliott 1 Assists Ron Hainsey 1
Antoine Vermette 1 Power Play Goals Justin Faulk 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Anders Lindback .722 Save Percentage Cam Ward .826
Anders Lindback 13 Saves Cam Ward 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Arizona 23 4 1-4 3-4 8 28
Carolina 18 5 1-4 3-4 8 29
Upcoming Games
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .412 after a loss.
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .538 after a win and .429 after a loss.