HURRICANES CONTINUE SURGE, BEAT BLACKHAWKS

raleigh, n.c.» Someone different always seems to step up to keep the Hurricanes rolling on home ice. This time it was Jay McClement.

McClement scored the key goal 2:54 into the third period and the Hurricanes beat the Blackhawks 3-2 on Friday night.

Elias Lindholm and Lee Stempniak scored early goals 1:05 apart to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead, and they held on to earn a point in their 11th straight home game.

“We’re obviously gaining confidence, and we’ve done that the last little while,” McClement said. “I think we’re kind of firing on all cylinders at home. We’ve just got to continue to do that on the road.”

They’re 10-0-1 at PNC Arena since Nov. 12, and McClement became the seventh Carolina player with a game-winning goal during that stretch.

“We’re learning as we go, and then finding different guys stepping up each and every night,” coach Bill Peters said.

Michal Kempny had a goal and an assist, and Vinnie Hinostroza added a deflected goal 5:49 into the third for the Western Conference-leading Blackhawks, who had their four-game road winning streak snapped while also losing their fourth in five games overall.

FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHT

Juuse Saros made 25 saves for his first career shutout, Filip Forsberg got a goal and an assist and the Predators beat the Blues 4-0. Yannick Weber, Viktor Arvidsson and Colin Wilson also scored, and Saros won his second career road game. The Predators have won three of their four meetings against the Blues this season and snapped a fivegame losing streak on the road against St. Louis. Mike Ribeiro had a pair of assists to run his points streak against the Blues to five games. Jake Allen allowed three goals on 14 shots before giving way to Carter Hutton to start the third as the Blues fell to 14-3-4 at home. They entered the game with points in 16 of their last 17 at the Scottrade Center. The Blues outshot the Predators 9-6 in the first period but couldn’t convert on a pair of power plays. Saros stopped Jaden Schwartz’s shot from the slot on the Blues’ first man advantage and followed that with a blocker save on Vladimir Tarasenko. Saros kept the Blues off the board with a glove save on Robby Fabbri’s shot with five minutes left in the second.