RALEIGH, N.C. _ Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters says he doesn't pay attention to the NHL standings.
It's all about winning the next game, he said. The rest will take care of itself.
The Hurricanes, powered by defenseman Justin Faulk's first career hat trick, took care of their business Tuesday, jumping to a 5-0 lead against the Los Angeles Kings and winning 7-3 at PNC Arena.
Jeff Skinner scored twice _ his second goal quashing a Kings comeback attempt in the third period _ for the Canes (27-21-9), who solidified their wild-card playoff position in the Eastern Conference with 63 points.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho added goals for the Canes as goalie Cam Ward earned his 17th victory. Ward, so steady in net, is 5-1-1 in his last seven starts.
Faulk became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to score a natural hat trick, scoring the Canes' last two goals of the first period and their first goal in the second.
Carolina, playing the last game of an eight-game homestand, led 3-0 after the first period and then 5-0 in the second, outskating and outhustling the Kings (30-21-5). The Canes, staying on the move, outshot the Kings 18-3 in the opening period.
But the Kings made a strong push, getting within two goals early in the third and staying on the attack. Torrey Mitchell's goal in the third made it 5-3 before Skinner and Aho scored as the Canes went 5-2-1 on the homestand.
Faulk entered the game with four goals for the season, a disappointing total for the three-time NHL All-Star. But he scored on three outside blasts Tuesday, finding shooting lanes and turning loose his heavy shot _ his seven goals now tied with Noah Hanifin for the team lead among the D-men.
There was some confusion about the hat trick. Faulk's second goal was changed to Teuvo Teravainen during the first-period break, and the scoring change announced to the crowd in the second period.
But another change was made and when Faulk ripped in his third goal for a 4-0 lead, some hats _ although not a lot _ were flipped onto the ice. The Kings also made a change lifting goalie Jonathan Quick for Darcy Kuemper.
The Kings, playing the third game of a seven-game road trip, made a push late in the second. Anze Kopitar scored on the power play after Skinner was penalized, and Tyler Toffoli muscled inside defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk for his 19th goal.
Kings forward Dustin Brown served a one-game suspension for kneeing Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in Saturday's game in Tampa, Fla.
