Michael Leighton, the Carolina netminder, put in a fine display to help the Hurricanes end a recent poor run with a 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. Leighton made 32 saves as the Hurricanes moved into a tie with the Washington Capitals for the Southeast division lead. Carolina started the season with two wins before losing to Detroit at home and away to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime.
"It was definitely a big win for us," Leighton said. "We had lost two in a row. We wanted to come out and get the first goal. We did that and got a big win." Ryan Bayda collected the opening score for the Hurricanes six minutes into the first period, but Anaheim's Francois Beauchemin levelled things in the second period with a good finish. The Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour made it 2-1 late in the second, and Eric Staal's empty-netter with 38 seconds to go in the game wrapped up the scoring.
* Reuters