TORONTO -- Viktor Stalberg got a head start, pulled away from the defenders and buried his short-handed breakaway try.Cam Ward and his teammates took it from there, keeping the Carolina Hurricanes on a season-changing roll.Stalberg scored a tiebreaking goal in the second period, lifting Carolina over the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Tuesday night for its fifth straight victory.Jeff Skinner also scored for Carolina, which improved to 8-6-4. Ward stopped 25 shots.I think were obviously building some momentum here, Ward said, and just carrying it into the next game.Frederik Andersen made 27 saves for Toronto, which lost for only the third time in 10 games at home. Jake Gardiner had the Leafs goal.Stalberg got the deciding tally against his former team after Tyler Bozaks pass was picked off in the neutral zone. Stalberg entered the zone alone, beating Andersen for his third goal of the season.Thats obviously a bonus to score short-handed, Ward said. Thats the kind of speed that Stalberg has. He really showed it there.The night began with a thud on the Leafs side when star rookie Mitch Marner blocked a hard shot and absorbed a nasty blow to the face, both courtesy of Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin. Briefly unable to put pressure on his left leg, Marner wheeled himself awkwardly to the bench and then hobbled around uncomfortably behind it.The 19-year-old, who is second on the team with 16 points, missed only a shift before returning to action. He finished the period with two shots, including a dangerous chance off the rush as the frame wound down.Gardiner opened the scoring a short while later, blowing a point shot past Ward. A hearty screen from rookie winger Connor Brown made the shot difficult to see for the Hurricanes goaltender, whos been rolling of late. Ward came into Tuesdays action with a 5-1-2 record and .944 save percentage in November.His resurgence, following a rough October, has been key to the Hurricanes season-high winning streak.The Hurricanes evened the score at 1 on a late-period power play. Derek Ryans initial attempt on the opposite side of the goal floated over Andersen and off the crossbar, eventually nudged into the net by the left skate of Skinner. The 24-year-old leads the Hurricanes with six power-play points and 16 points overall this season.The Leafs nearly gave up another short-handed goal moments after Stalbergs score when Elias Lindholm broke in against Andersen after a puck bounced over Gardiners stick at the blue-line.The Leafs nearly tied it in the opening seconds of the third period when Marner clanked a shot off the post during a mad scramble in front. A late period power play yielded plenty of zone time, but only a single shot.I think these are games we have to get better in and find ways to win, Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. Weve won more open games than weve won tight games.Game notesToronto has just one win on the road (1-5-3). ... Auston Matthews has gone 13 games without a goal, with his last nearly a month ago on Oct. 25. He had four shots in 20 minutes in this one.UP NEXTHurricanes: Test streak at Eastern Conference leading Montreal on Thursday night.Maple Leafs: Plays at New Jersey on Wednesday night.Boston Red Sox Pro Shop . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Cheap Red Sox Jerseys . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. https://www.cheapredsox.com/ . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Red Sox Jerseys China . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Red Sox Jerseys 2019 . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2.Its safe to say the Minnesota Lynx players are enjoying their Olympic break.While ?teammates Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen?continue to dominate on the court in Group B play in Rio, members of the Lynx decided to take on a different kind of play.The team tweeted a picture this afternoon of the women in the throes of a competitive game of whirlyball, which combines the fundamentals of basketball, hockey and lacrosse. In short, its bbasketball with scoops, while scooting around in bumper cars.ddddddddddddAs expected of the team with the second best record in the WNBA, even a game of whirlyball was not taken lightly.Looks like Lynx athletic trainer Chuck Barta took home the game ball.Sean Hurd is a Digital Media Associate for ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @seanahurd ' ' '