NHL: Carolina 5, Atlanta 1

ATLANTA, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Niclas Wallin had a goal and an assist Thursday night as Carolina beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 5-1.

Bret Hedican, Matt Cullen, Craig Adams and Ray Whitney also scored goals; Justin Williams and Rod Brind'Amour each had two assists; and goaltender Cam Ward stopped 30 saves for the Hurricanes (35-11-4). Carolina, which scored three times on the power play -- and leads the NHL in points with 74 -- has won three in a row and 12 of its last 13 games.

Patrik Stefan had the lone Atlanta goal on assists by Garnet Exelby and Slava Kozlov, while Kari Lehtonen gave up five goals on 33 shots for the Thrashers (23-22-6), who have followed up a five-game winning streak with four losses in a row.

Carolina out-shot Atlanta, 33-31. On the power play, the Hurricanes went 3-for-8 while the Thrashers were 0-for-3.