RALEIGH, N.C. _ With five straight games at home, Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said it was time for his team to "dig in."
Play smart, play hard, win some games and get back into things in the NHL's Eastern Conference.
The Canes may yet do that, but it didn't happen Thursday. The Anaheim Ducks, getting two goals and two assists from forward Jakob Silfverberg, took a 4-2 victory at PNC Arena.
Trailing 3-0 in the second period, the Canes came to life. Teuvo Teravainen scored on a redirection of a Jaccob Slavin shot before the period ended, and Victor Rask scored early in the third off a Jeff Skinner pass.
Rask nearly tied the score with a backhander with 12:23 left in regulation, but Ducks goalie Jonathan Bernier was there for the save.
Canes forward Phil Di Giuseppe forced Bernier into another tough save with 6:30 left in regulation, and Bernier then high-sticked Di Giuseppe as he rose up out the net during the puck scramble. But Carolina couldn't convert on the power play.
Bernier also survived another wild scramble in front of the net with 1:26 remaining in the third as Skinner and others whacked at the puck in a scrum.
Ryan Kesler's empty-net goal, his second score of the game, then clinched it.
Teravainen's goal, his third of the season, energized the Canes (3-6-4). So did forward Viktor Stalberg, who dropped the gloves to fight the Ducks' Josh Manson later in the second.
In the third, Lee Stempniak gave the Canes' first-man pressure on the forecheck. Skinner took it from there, finding Rask alone for a shot _ Rask's fifth goal of the season and first point in five games.
The Ducks, a night after an overtime loss on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets, had enough energy to finish off the back-to-back set with a win.
After a scoreless first period, the Ducks put together an impressive three-goal second on 12 shots. Kesler gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead off an Andrew Cogliano feed from behind the net, and Silfverberg's first goal came after some active forechecking, when he collected a Cam Fowler shot off the end boards on the back side for an easy goal.
The third Ducks goal came after Canes defenseman Brett Pesce misplayed the puck at the Carolina blue line. It was a footrace for the puck that Silfverberg won, getting off a shot from the right circle that goalie Cam Ward couldn't stop.
The Ducks also were physical in the second. Kesler, who rarely backs off, took a run at Skinner late in the period, and Stalberg and Manson provided some fisticuffs.
After Rask's goal, the Canes continued to pressure Bernier in the third but couldn't get a tying goal. Peters made line changes throughout the game.
Peters made one lineup change after the morning skate, inserting defenseman Ryan Murphy for Jakub Nakladal. Murphy, like the rest of the Canes, had a tough second period, misplaying a pass from Ward that ended up with Silfverberg scoring his first goal.
Skinner nearly scored on a first-period power play. His shot, off a Teravainen pass, trickled toward the goal line, forcing Bernier to make a diving stop whole getting help from defenseman Sami Vatanen.
The Canes continue the run of home games Saturday against the Washington Capitals.
