Carolina 2, St. Louis 0

HURRICANES 2, BLUES 0: Cam Ward stopped 40 shots for his 200th career NHL victory as host Carolina snapped a two-game skid and won for just the second time in six home games.

After two scoreless periods, Chad LaRose fired a wraparound over Brian Elliott’s shoulder to break the deadlock just over 12 minutes into the third period.

Jeff Skinner put the Hurricanes ahead 2-0 at 17:22 of the third, dangling the puck past a sliding defender and kicking it to his stick before snapping it past Elliott for his 20th goal of the season.

St. Louis lost back-to-back games for just the third time since the New Year, and was denied clinching a spot in the Western Conference playoffs for at least one more game.

Elliott made 28 saves in the loss, including a sliding pad stop on Andreas Nodl on a rebound off the post.

Patrik Berglund led the Blues with six shots on goal. The Blues were 0 for 5 on the power play including two double-minor opportunities.

Andy MacDonald was shoved into the boards and left with an apparent right shoulder injury with just over six minutes left in the second period. MacDonald had a six-game point streak heading into Thursday.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Hurricanes played their inaugural game in the renamed PNC Arena. … St. Louis lost for just the third time in the last 12 games. … The Blues outshot the Hurricanes 40-30. … St. Louis was shutout for just the fourth time this season.

• Carolina will play their next game on the road against Carolina . The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .269 after a win and .444 after a loss.
• St. Louis will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay . The Blues have a W/L % of .622 after a win and .630 after a loss.