RALEIGH, N.C. -- Marek Zidlickys shot hit a teammate, then the post. It spun in front of the net, and took a left turn across the goal line. A few more breaks like that, and these New Jersey Devils might follow a similar, meandering path to a playoff berth. Dainius Zubrus scored two goals and the short-handed Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Saturday night. Travis Zajac scored the go-ahead goal on his deflection of Zidlickys second-period shot to help the Devils earn a point in their seventh straight game. "Weve been so close to these kind of wins all throughout the year and just somehow havent racked them up in a row," winning goalie Cory Schneider said. "If youre going to go on a run, these are the ones you need to grind out, and thats what weve been doing the last couple of games." They found a way to do it without some of their cornerstone players -- forwards Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique, who were both hurt the night before in a win against Washington. "I knew we had character in that room," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. "A lot of people were writing us off, and I knew there was no quit in that dressing room. These guys are going to play right until they tell us we cant play anymore." The Devils improved to 4-0-3 during a stretch that has given their playoff chances a significant boost. "Weve been picking up points, and weve been playing some good hockey," Zajac said. "Weve got to try to find a way to keep this going and see what happens." Jeff Skinner scored for Carolina, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Hurricanes had kept their faint playoff hopes alive by earning points in their previous five games. "I think a lot of guys" played with desperation, coach Kirk Muller said. "We just didnt have everybody. Its too bad, because we had a few good games here that we went on the road and played hard and earned the points. "I dont want to take it away from the group of guys that came and did what theyre supposed to do and played hard," he added. "But we didnt have everyone on the page tonight, and when youre playing tight games like this, playoff mentality, youre not going to get the result." Schneider stopped 26 shots for the Devils, including all eight he faced in the third period, for his second straight victory. Anton Khudobin made 20 saves in his first loss since March 25. New Jersey won the season series 3-1, and a strange goal initially credited to Zidlicky at 6:34 of the second turned out to be the winner. His shot from between the circles had some english on it as it hit the left post, and it spun in the blue paint behind Khudobin before curving across the red line. It was later determined that the puck clicked off Zajac on its way toward the net. "I thought it went in the first time" off the post, Zajac said. When the Hurricanes couldnt tie it during the final 13 1/2 minutes of the period, the Devils could just about count on a victory: They improved to 22-1-5 when leading after two periods while the Hurricanes fell to 4-24-4 when trailing after 40 minutes. Zubrus then iced it with an empty-netter with 37.6 seconds left. Both teams entered on the outside of the playoff picture, though the Devils had a significantly better chance to crack the Easts field of eight. New Jersey entered with 82 points -- three behind Columbus, which holds the second wild-card spot in the East, and three ahead of the Hurricanes, who were coming off consecutive 4-1 wins over playoff-calibre teams Pittsburgh and Dallas. "You get out of it what you put into it," Muller said. "We had some guys that really put everything into it. Some guys didnt, and at the end of the night, you fall short." Zubrus put the Devils up 1-0 with 4:27 left in the first when he took a feed from Michael Ryder near the blue line, skated in on Khudobin and beat him with a slick backhand. Skinner tied it 5:31 into the second -- with a little help from the video-review crew. His high, knuckling shot from the right circle appeared to hit the crossbar. A review showed the shot actually hit the camera inside the net -- giving him his career-high-tying 31st goal. "We were engaged, we had good focus and I think we responded well when they scored," Zajac said. "I thought for the most part, we controlled that game." NOTES: Carolina RW Alexander Semin was back after missing two games with an undisclosed illness. ... New Jersey RW Tuomo Ruutu had an assist in his first game in Raleigh since he was dealt to the Devils at the deadline by the Hurricanes. David Robinson Jersey . After losing Brett Cecil to groin tightness on Friday, the Blue Jays watched as R. Keldon Johnson Jersey .C. - Nick Merkley and Damon Severson each had a goal and two assists as the Kelowna Rockets downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action. https://www.spurslockerroom.com/George-G...Edition-Jersey/. -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team. Sean Elliott Jersey . In a matchup of teams battling head-to-head for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccers Western Conference, the Whitecaps run to the post-season took a hard hit when FC Dallas blew open a tie game with two goals in the final minutes for a 3-1 victory Saturday night. Marco Belinelli Jersey . Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank. WINNIPEG -- Carl Hagelins first career hat trick rescued a three-game road swing for the New York Rangers and threw a little more dirt on the Winnipeg Jets playoff chances Friday night. "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. They went into the second tied 2-2 but Hagelins second goal of the game with just eight seconds left was enough to win it. His final one in the third was just icing. It was frustrating for the Jets, who outshot the Rangers 32-23 yet watched their sixth game without a win go into the books. "The third period we came out and kind of threw everything we had at them," said Winnipeg centre Bryan Little, whose assist on Winnipegs second goal kept him in the scoring lead for the Jets with an NHL career-high 54 points. "But we couldnt find a way. Our mistakes kind of made us pay tonight." "They did a good job coming at us hard, very aggressive, but at the same time we played such an aggressive style you might give up some scoring chances that are really grade-A scoring chances," agreed Hagelin. The Jets caught a small break when the Dallas Stars only increased their lead in the final wild-card spot in the West by one point, after losing 4-3 in a shootout to the Calgary Flames. But the Jets are also one point behind Vancouver and four behind the Phoenix Coyotes as they try to climb into that final wild-card spot. Hagelins three goals raised his total this year to an NHL career-high 16. Chris Kreider also scored for New York (36-28-4), who had lost their two previous road games in Carolina and Minnesota. "You cant come on a road trip and go back empty handed, those are two big points," said Martin St. Louis, who came out of the penalty box to snatch the puck and set up New Yorks go-ahead goal at the end of the second period. "Being able to come out of the box and get one was I think big (for) the momentum of our team." Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd scored for the Jets (30-29-9), who havent won a game since Mar. 1. "I dont think guys in here are giving up," said Ladd, who played his 600th NHL game Friday night. "I dont know. I want to think were trying as hard as we can to get this going in the right direction." The Jetss also lost starting netminder Ondrej Pavelec, who didnt answer the bell for the second period and was replaced by Al Montoya.dddddddddddd Coach Paul Maurice wouldnt comment on the nature of the lower-body injury that sent him to the dressing room but said hed say more Sunday after its evaluated. The Jets also lost fourth-line forward Chris Thorburn to injury Friday night. The Jets have tried to remain positive and not look back at their losses but Little admitted that isnt easy. "Its getting harder right now," Little said. "Were really fighting to win and theyre not coming easy by any means. . . . Coming into the rink tomorrow is going to be tough because tonight was a painful one. "I wish we could go out and redo the whole game right now." The Rangers were playing back-to-back after a 2-1 loss in Minnesota Thursday, but came out fast and scored on just their third shot of the game. Hagelin deflected his first past Pavelec at 1:15. The goal had barely been announced when Byfuglien evened things up at 2:33 as he batted Blake Wheelers rebound past Lundqvist. Less than a minute later, Ladd put the Jets up 2-1, when he found the upper corner of the New York net with a wrister from the faceoff circle on Lundqvists stick side at 3:26. Winnipeg was cycling the puck in the Rangers zone until Kreider broke away and scored at 11:28 with Winnipeg defenceman Zach Bogosian on his heels. With eight seconds left in what had been a scoreless second period, St. Louis came out of the box, fed Hagelin from behind the net and he flipped in a backhander. "Thats a tough goal," said Maurice. "I think clearly the 3-2 goal changed how we moved the puck and how we moved some things around." At the same time, he said the games the Jets are losing are a lot like the games the Jets won after he took over. The only difference now -- chances arent turning into goals. "Its a frustrating run, theres no question," Maurice said. The Winnipeg coach also said the Jets know theyre facing one of the toughest stretches in their schedule with games against some of the top teams in the NHL. Hagelin put in his third at 8:50 of the third period off a pass from Brad Richards on a two-man rush that beat Montoya through the five hole. Notes: This was the second meeting this year between the Rangers and Jets. Winnipeg won the first 5-2 at Madison Square Garden Dec. 2. ' ' '