RALEIGH, N.C. _ It took a lot longer than they wanted or expected, but the Carolina Hurricanes now have back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Joakim Nordstrom's first goal of the season gave the Canes the lead in the third period, goaltender Cam Ward made all the saves and Carolina came away with a 1-0 victory at PNC Arena.
Ward had 22 saves in his 24th career shutout and his first of the season.
Nordstrom's goal came at 10:48 of the third period as the Canes' fourth line provided the score while putting together some strong shifts in the period.
After some strong backchecking by the Canes' Viktor Stalberg on Joonas Donskoi in the Sharks zone, Stalberg carried the puck up the right wing with center Jay McClement driving the middle. Nordstrom got off a shot, then collected a loose puck and backhanded a shot past goalie Aaron Dell.
The Canes (5-6-4) were coming off their best performance of the season, a 5-1 win Saturday over the Washington Capitals. The Sharks, on their longest road trip of the season, had won three straight _ at Washington, Florida and Tampa Bay.
The game was scoreless for the first two periods as Dell, the Sharks' backup goalie, stopped 23 shots and Ward 14. While there was good flow to the game, the checking was tight and both teams effective enough in their own zones.
The Canes had the best shift of the game _ maybe the best of the season for Carolina _ in the first period.
Jordan Staal's line kept the puck in the offensive zone for more than two minutes, getting off five shots, as wingers Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen buzzed around the zone and defensemen Jacob Slavin and Brett Pesce joined in.
The Canes had the better of the play in the second period, limiting the Sharks to two shots while getting off 10.
But again, Dell took care of the job in net. In one sequence in the second, he stopped a Teravainen shot from the slot, then got his right pad on an Aho rebound try.
Midway through the period, the Canes had one of the few odd-man rushes of the first 40 minutes as Lee Stempniak and Brock McGinn had a two-on-one. But Dell stopped Stempniak's shot, then McGinn's attempt.
Early in the third, the Canes' Jeff Skinner got off a heavy rising shot. But Dell gloved it, keeping the Canes from scoring the game's first goal.
Moments later, Ward got a pad on a redirection by the Sharks' Tommy Wingels in the slot. Ward then corralled a redirection by Logan Couture and stopped others late in the third.
The Canes had defenseman Justin Faulk back in the lineup and paired with Ron Hainsey. Faulk had missed three games with an upper-body injury, but was activated off NHL injured reserve on Tuesday afternoon.
Two years ago, the Sharks turned to goalie Troy Grosenick and the rookie had 45 saves in a 2-0 victory. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer was hoping for a similar effort from Dell, a former University of North Dakota star who was in the East Coast Hockey League three seasons ago.
Dell had played once since making his first start Oct. 18 against the New York Islanders, winning 3-2. He relieved Martin Jones on Nov. 5 in Pittsburgh, allowing two goals on 18 shots as the Penguins won 5-0.
