WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Dustin Byfuglien scored 34 seconds into the first period and the surging Winnipeg Jets never looked back as they beat the struggling Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday.
Evander Kane, Tim Stapleton and Bryan Little also scored as the Jets (13-11-4) built a 4-0 lead after two periods and held on for their fourth straight win, their longest streak of the season. Blake Wheeler had three assists.
Justin Faulk scored his first goal of the season on a point shot that was redirected to get the Hurricanes (9-18-4) on the board, and Brandon Sutter added a power-play goal to make it 4-2.
Newly acquired defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, who came from Montreal in a Friday morning trade for Tomas Kaberle, assisted on both of Carolina's goals.
The Jets have won all three meetings between the Southeast Division rivals.
Winnipeg continued to establish the MTS Centre as one of the league's toughest venues. The Jets have won seven of their past eight home games.
Carolina lost its seventh game in eight outings. The Hurricanes were forced to dress only 19 players after leading scorer Jeff Skinner was scratched with flulike symptoms.
Chris Mason, whose three wins this season have all come against Carolina, made 23 saves for the Jets, the best coming on an Anthony Stewart breakaway in the second period.
Mason is usually Winnipeg's backup, but is very effective against the Hurricanes, stopping 61 of 65 shots in those three wins.
Carolina starter Cam Ward was pulled in the second period after allowing his fourth goal on 30 shots. Mike Murphy came on and stopped all seven shots he faced.
Byfuglien opened the scoring in the game's first minute when the big defenseman banked a shot from behind the goal line off the back of Ward's leg and into the net.
Kane made it 2-0 less than five minutes later with his 15th goal of the season on a sharp-angle shot through traffic from the left boards.
Stapleton and Little added power-play goals a little more than a minute apart in the second period to chase Ward from the game. Winnipeg outshot Carolina 31-15 through two periods.
The Jets departed after the game for Detroit, where they'll face the Red Wings on Saturday night before returning home for a six-game homestand. The Hurricanes have three days off before taking on the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday.
Notes: Jets forward Nik Antropov, who was expected to return from a lower-body injury, missed his fourth straight game. ... Jets defenseman Randy Jones returned to the lineup after missing 15 games with a lower-body injury.
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