Hurricanes 4, Islanders 3: Jiri Tlusty collected his first two goals of the season and Jeff Skinner scored for the third time in five games as visiting Carolina staved off New York.

Jordan Staal also tallied while captain Eric Staal and Alexander Semin each notched two assists. Cam Ward finished with 22 saves for the Hurricanes, who swept last season's three-game series with the Islanders and improved to 3-1-2 in their last six games overall.

Matt Moulson and Frans Nielsen scored power-play goals and Kyle Okposo tallied with 61 seconds remaining in the third period to bring New York within one at 4-3. Captain John Tavares notched an assist to extend his point streak to seven games, but the Islanders fell to 1-3-1 in their last five contests.

After a scoreless first period, Carolina drew first blood at 1:05 of the second as Tlusty capped a 3-on-2 rush by sweeping the puck past Evgeni Nabokov (19 saves). Jordan Staal doubled the advantage 5 1/2 minutes later, scoring from the inner edge of the left faceoff circle following a nifty pass from defenseman Ryan Murphy on the Hurricanes' first power-play opportunity.

Skinner converted a brilliant pass from Riley Nash to give Carolina a 3-0 lead with 6:23 left in the second period. Moulson trimmed the deficit with 67 seconds remaining in the session, but Tlusty capped a 2-on-1 rush by beating Nabokov between the pads with 8:54 to go in the third.

GAME NOTEBOOK: New York D Lubomir Visnovsky suffered a concussion in the first period and did not return. ... Tavares has collected four goals and six assists during his point streak. ... Eric Staal, who set up both of Tlusty's tallies, has recorded 37 points (21 goals, 16 assists) in 35 career contests versus the Islanders.