RALEIGH, N.C. — Dainus Zubrus scored two goals and the suddenly surging Devils beat the Hurricanes 3-1 on Saturday night.
Travis Zajac scored the go-ahead goal on a deflection in the second period to help the Devils earn a point for a seventh straight game.
They improved to 4-0-3 during a stretch that has given their playoff chances a significant boost. The Devils are just one point behind the Blue Jackets for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jeff Skinner scored for Carolina, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Hurricanes had kept their faint playoff hopes alive by earning points in their previous five games.
Cory Schneider stopped 26 shots for the Devils, including all eight he faced in the third period of his second straight victory.
Anton Khudobin made 20 saves in his first loss since March 25.
The Devils won the season series 3-1.
A strange goal initially credited to Marek Zidlicky at 6:34 of the second turned out to be the game-winner.
Zidlicky’s shot from between the circles had some english on it as it hit the left post, and it spun in the blue paint behind Khudobin before curving across the goal line. It was later determined the puck had clicked off Zajac on its way toward the net.
When the Hurricanes couldn’t tie it during the final 13½ minutes of the period, the Devils could just about count on a victory: They improved to 22-1-5 when leading after two periods while the Hurricanes fell to 4-24-4 when trailing after 40 minutes.
Zubrus iced it with an empty-netter with 37.6 seconds left.