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Final Score: Carolina 5 - Toronto 1

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Rookie Justin Peters was strong with 32 saves while Chad LaRose posted a goal and two assists, as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1, at Air Canada Centre.

Peters made only the third start of his young career and remained perfect with victories in all three games for the Hurricanes, who picked up right where they left off prior to the Olympic break and have now won six straight games.

"Peters was very good for us, and we skated well -- we'd been playing very well before the break," said Carolina head coach Paul Maurice.

Jussi Jokinen registered a goal and an assist for Carolina, which will need to continue its winning ways if it hopes to even flirt with a chance to make playoffs. The 'Canes are in last place in the Southeast Division with 57 points. Brandon Sutter, Tuomo Ruutu and Sergei Samsonov also scored in the victory.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere allowed all five goals on 30 shots for the Maple Leafs, who dropped to 2-8-2 over their last 12 contests. John Mitchell scored the lone goal in defeat.

"We had a few good chances, but we were so bad in other areas," said Toronto head coach Ron Wilson. "If you're not competing hard enough defensively, you won't get rewarded at the other end."

Late Tuesday, the Maple Leafs traded forward Alexei Ponikarovsky to the Pittsburgh Penguins for veteran defenseman Martin Skoula and forward prospect Luca Caputi.

Carolina entered the second period with a 1-0 lead after LaRose's short-handed goal in the first three minutes of the opening stanza.

Only 46 seconds into the middle session, Jokinen's 24th goal gave the visitors a two-goal edge. Ray Whitney held control of the puck above the left circle and passed across the slot to the weak-side wing, where Jokinen was all alone and lit the lamp with a high wrister from near the right post.

Midway through the second, the margin grew to three on Sutter's 15th goal of the campaign. Strong forechecking led to control of the puck by LaRose along the rear boards. LaRose then sent a quick pass toward the front of the net for Sutter, whose second attempt from the left post made its way past Giguere.

Less than four minutes later, the Hurricanes made it 4-0. Joni Pitkanen, from the left half-wall, passed the disc to Ruutu along the inner rim of the near circle and his turnaround wrist shot flew into the back of the cage at 13:16.

At the 8:17 mark of the final stanza, Samsonov tallied with a backhander from a sharp angle near the bottom of the left circle before Mitchell's marker with 4:09 remaining in regulation capped the scoring.