Ryan Kesler has 2 goals to send Canucks to 3-2 victory over Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. – Ryan Kesler scored two goals to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

Tom Sestito also scored for the Canucks and Jason Garrison had two assists. Backup goalie Eddie Lack made 29 saves to help Vancouver pick up its third win in its past 11 games.

Kesler’s second goal capped a stretch where the teams combined to score three goals in 37 seconds.

Jordan Staal and Nathan Gerbe scored for Carolina. Cam Ward made 27 saves.

The Hurricanes squandered six power-play opportunities against the NHL’s best penalty-killing unit and have lost six of their past eight games.

One day after losing 5-2 to the New York Rangers, Vancouver controlled much of the early play on Sunday, scoring twice in the first period to build a 2-0 lead.

The first goal came after Carolina’s Drayson Bowman (boarding) and Mike Komisarek (delay of game) took penalties.

Eleven seconds after Vancouver went on the two-man advantage, Kesler converted on a rebound to Ward’s right at 3:24 of the first period.

At 15:48 of the first, Garrison took a shot that Sestito deflected off the post and into the net.

Carolina then scored two goals 10 seconds apart at the start of the second period to tie the score at 2.

Staal got the first goal when he skated into the zone and sent a wrist shot that hit Lack in the mask.

Several Vancouver and Carolina players converged on the crease, but Staal managed to follow up his own rebound and poke the puck into the net 39 seconds into the period.

After the Hurricanes won the ensuing faceoff, Justin Faulk connected with Eric Staal with a nice stretch pass.

Lack stopped Staal’s one-handed backhand attempt, but Gerbe collected the rebound and slapped it under Lack as the goalie fell into his net.

It was the first time the Carolina franchise scored two goals in the first minute of a period since Nov. 1, 1987 when they were the Hartford Whalers.

The Canucks regained the lead 27 seconds later by winning a number of battles behind the Carolina net.

Chris Higgins eventually emerged with the puck, shovelling it into the crease, where Jannik Hansen deflected it to Kesler, who managed to knock it just across the goal line 1:16 into the period.

It was only the third time in its past 11 games that Vancouver had scored three or more goals in a game.

NOTES: Vancouver’s Hansen left the game in the first period with an apparent right shoulder, but he returned in the second period. … It was the first time Vancouver’s Alexander Edler and Carolina’s Eric Staal played against each other since Edler hurt Staal in the world championships last summer with a knee-on-knee hit. … Carolina defenceman Andrej Sekera missed the game with an upper body injury.