RALEIGH, N.C. — Tom Kostopoulos and Rod Brind'Amour scored about a minute apart in the first period, Manny Legace made 25 saves and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Thursday night to capture their seventh straight victory.
Chad LaRose and Brandon Sutter also scored to help the Hurricanes win for the 11th time in their last 13 games.
Former Hurricane Matt Cullen, traded to Ottawa on Feb. 12, scored a goal in his return to the RBC Center, breaking up the shutout on a wraparound with 8:05 left.
Kostopoulos and Brind'Amour, part of Carolina's fourth line, scored 65 seconds apart on backup goalie Pascal Leclaire, who was pulled after the second goal and replaced by Brian Elliott.
Zach Boychuk had two assists for Carolina, which used a new lineup a day after a flurry of activity at the NHL trading deadline. The Hurricanes traded five players and a minor-leaguer, primarily for future draft picks.
LaRose, who has missed 26 games this season because of injuries, gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead, and Sutter added an empty-net goal in the third period.
The Senators, who won 14 of 16 games before the Olympic break, have been outscored 8-2 in their last two games, both losses.
Notes
Daniel Alfredsson assisted on Cullen's goal, giving him 600 assists for his career. … Leclaire faced just five shots in the first period before he was benched. … The Senators have lost five in a row in Raleigh dating back to 2007. … The Hurricanes have outscored their opposition 29-12 during their seven-game winning streak. … The Hurricanes' Jussi Jokinen had his points streak snapped at 10 games.