RALEIGH, N.C. _ It took half a season to get there, but the Carolina Hurricanes finally got their first look Tuesday at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Canes also beat the Blue Jackets, taking a 5-3 victory in a fast-paced game at PNC Arena.
Jordan Staal gave the Canes a 4-3 lead at 3:50 of the third period, going to the front of the net and knocking in the puck _ his stick a little below the crossbar _ after Elias Lindholm's shot glanced off a Columbus player.
Jeff Skinner scored his 15th of the season, and Derek Ryan and Brock McGinn had goals in a fast-paced second period. Victor Rask, who had two assists, had a late empty-netter to seal it.
Columbus (28-8-4), which led 1-0 after the first on a Cam Atkinson goal, got second-period goals from Josh Anderson and Brandon Saad.
It was the first of three games, in a 12-day span, between the Canes and Blue Jackets, the Eastern Conference leaders. That's quirky NHL scheduling, but as Canes coach Bill Peters said before the game, "We'll know what we are and where we stand going into the All-Star break."
The Blue Jackets have had a dream half-season, rolling off a 16-game winning streak and becoming the talk of the NHL. The streak ended last week against the Washington Capitals, and the Blue Jackets lost again to the New York Rangers, but came to Raleigh off a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Blue Jackets didn't have goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who joined defenseman Seth Jones in being named Tuesday for the 2017 NHL All-Star Weekend. In net was Anton Forsberg, a quick recall from the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League who was making his first start of the season.
The Canes had Lindholm, who had missed five games with an injury, back in the lineup after activating him off injured reserve Tuesday. With Lindholm back, Canes coach Bill Peters shifted Ryan back to the line with Skinner and Rask.
The Canes had goalie Cam Ward in net, again. Ward took a shot off the left in Tuesday's morning skate but made his 17th consecutive start.
The Canes could do little at even strength in the first period and came within an inch or so of trailing 2-0.
Atkinson's first goal for Columbus, 68 seconds into the game, came on a wraparound shot that had the puck slip under Ward's pads.
In the final 20 seconds of the first, Atkinson nearly did it again _ the forward signaling that the puck had crossed the goal line and later arguing his case with the referee.
Atkinson got a stick on the puck at the post as Ward stuck out his left pad. The ruling on the ice was no-goal and the ruling on review was there was inconclusive evidence the puck crossed the line.
It was close, very close. An overhead shot showed most of the puck across the line.
The Canes were a quicker, more assertive team in the second, getting an early goal from Skinner to tie the score and later adding goals from Ryan and McGinn.
Skinner's score came when Ryan hustled to the puck behind the net and got it to Rask, who made a touch pass to Skinner for the shot. Ryan scored his eighth crashing the net and McGinn picked up his second of the season off a Matt Tennyson pass from behind the net on a delayed penalty against Columbus.
Forsberg had little work in the first, facing four shots, but the Canes got off 14 in the second and Forsberg was spitting out a lot of rebounds. He did make a timely stop with 5:43 left in the second on a Joakim Nordstrom shot off the rush.
The Blue Jackets came into the game No. 1 in the NHL on the power play _ nearly all of the numbers for Columbus are good ones this season _ and the Canes tied for first in penalty killing. Carolina denied the Blue Jackets on four power plays in the first two periods, allowing one shot on goal.
The Blue Jackets' Josh Anderson scored in the second on a fluky play. Carrying the puck out of the corner, Anderson had it go off Tennyson's stick and flutter through the air, tumbling over Ward's left shoulder.
The Blue Jackets also scored the final minute of the second after a Skinner pass to Brett Pesce resulted a turnover just over the Columbus blue line. Saad tied quickly the score 3-3 with a shot off the rush that got through Ward on the glove side.
