Hurricanes power past the Thrashers 7-1

Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Hamilton each scored two of Carolina's five power-play goals, and the Hurricanes routed the Atlanta Thrashers 7-1 on Friday night to move closer to clinching the Southeast Division title.

Eric Staal had a goal and two assists, Joe Corvo also scored with the man-advantage and Trevor Letowski added a short-handed goal for the Hurricanes.

Carolina outshot the Thrashers 34-25, led 4-0 midway through the second period, and earned another easy win against one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes improved to 6-1-1 against Atlanta, scoring at least five goals in all but one of those victories.

Jim Slater scored a short-handed goal, and Johan Hedberg stopped 28 shots but gave up all seven goals. Atlanta has lost eight of 10 and is just three points ahead of last-place Tampa Bay in the East.

Cam Ward made 25 saves in his career-high 16th straight start for the Hurricanes, who extended their division lead over idle Washington to four points with four games left.

Carolina has earned points in 14 of 16 games (12-2-2). The Hurricanes are close to a return to the playoffs after slipping from Stanley Cup champions in 2006 to postseason no-shows last year.

They dominated this one from the opening faceoff, scoring twice in the first 7 1/2 minutes and regularly outworking the Thrashers.

Staal tapped the rebound of Erik Cole's shot past Hedberg 42 seconds in for his team-leading 36th goal. Hamilton then made it 2-0 when he caught Atlanta with only three skaters during a switch, skated over the blue line and beat Hedberg with a hard slap shot.

Then, after a roughing penalty on Cole, the short-handed Hurricanes generated more quality scoring chances than the Thrashers did. Staal and Frantisek Kaberle took turns peppering Hedberg.

Corvo and Ruutu tacked on insurance goals in the second, scoring on the power play in a span of about 2 1/2 minutes. Corvo's one-timer converted a 5-on-3 advantage, and Ruutu's drive from the slot pushed the lead to 4-0.

Notes:@ Cole, Kaberle and Tim Gleason had two assists apiece for Carolina. ... Hurricanes D Bret Hedican didn't return after sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period. ... Carolina LW Wade Brookbank skated in his 100th NHL game, and the physical forward marked the milestone by fighting Atlanta LW Eric Boulton late in the first. ... For a 26-second stretch in the second period, Atlanta had five players in the penalty box. ... Staal has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in eight games against the Thrashers.