RALEIGH, N.C. -- On paper, it was a special teams' mismatch.

Ditto for the standings as the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Canadiens held major statistical advantages over the slumping Carolina Hurricanes heading into Saturday's matchup.

But Carolina center Jeff Skinner scored his second goal of the game five seconds into a power play with 7:32 remaining and goaltender Cam Ward stopped 36 shots as the Hurricanes were able to kill off a late penalty against captain Eric Staal for a 3-2 victory over one of the best teams in the league.

"Our special teams were the difference in this game," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "And we had a huge 6-on-4 kill late. All the guys on the special teams found a way to contribute. I liked both of our power play units and the penalty kill was clutch."

Carolina, 29th out of 30 teams on the power play, improved to 9-13-4. Skinner's first goal of the game was initially ruled a power-play goal, but was later changed on the stat sheet as it came at the end of a Hurricanes' man advantage.

Meanwhile, Montreal (19-6-3), which came into the game ranked second in the NHL on the penalty kill, fell to 9-3-1 on the road, unable to solve Ward and the Carolina penalty-killing unit on this night by going 0 for 4.

"It is stressful, but at the same time you have to remain calm and not get caught up in the chaos by moving around too much," Ward said about the final stages of the game with the Montreal goalie pulled and facing an extra attacker while also being shorthanded. "You have to keep it simple and play your position. It was very rewarding for the guys."

"There are a lot of good goaltenders in this league and Cam was good tonight," said Montreal coach Michel Therrien.

Skinner, a two-time 30-goal scorer, has been one of the team's top offensive threats over the last five seasons, but hasn't been able to capitalize much with five goals entering the game before his two in this one, including the game-winner batted out of mid-air off a shot from defenseman Brett Pesce.

"Bounces come and go," said Skinner, who is second on Carolina with 75 shots on goal. "I've just tried to stick with it and hopefully these nights can become more common."

It appeared that Carolina had taken the lead 14 seconds into the third as a slumping Staal, without a goal in 14 straight games, took advantage of a bad clearing pass by Montreal goalie Mike Condon. But after a coaching challenge review it was ruled that Staal had interfered with Condon, allowing the puck to cross the goal line.

The Hurricanes hit three posts during a power-play and another one shortly after the man-advantage had expired as the league's lowest scoring team continued to struggle before Skinner's tally.

Carolina and Montreal traded goals two minutes apart in the middle of the second period to head into the third tied 2-2.

Montreal rookie right wing Sven Andrighetto scored his third goal in seven games when he was left alone in front of Ward off a faceoff. But Joakim Nordstrom, who was acquired in a September trade from Chicago, notched his first goal in the Carolina uniform and first in 64 games, knocking in a rebound off a shot by Andrej Nestrasil to quickly tie the score.

Nestrasil, a healthy scratch several times this year, assisted on Carolina's first two goals, giving the center his second two-point game in the last five.

Former Union College star Daniel Carr wasted little time adjusting to the NHL, scoring on his first shift when he beat Ward 2:44 into the game on a wraparound chance. It was the 17th time Montreal has scored first in its 28 games.

Skinner tied the score later in the period at the tail end of a power play with a nifty backhand-to-forehand move in front of Montreal goaltender Mike Condon to notch his sixth of the season.

"Jeff battled and competed and he was rewarded," Peters said. "Hopefully this is a sign of more good things to come. He has been dangerous offensively without the results. We need some of those to go in eventually."

NOTES: Carolina RW Kris Versteeg was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. ... Former Hurricanes RW Alexander Semin missed his fifth straight game for Montreal because of a lower body injury. ... Carolina recalled three players from AHL affiliate Charlotte on Friday, including LW Phillip Di Giuseppe, the team's second round pick in 2012 who made his NHL debut Saturday and recorded five hits and a shot in 11:37 of ice time. ... Montreal is 15-2-3 against the Eastern Conference. ... The Canadians and the Washington Capitals are the only teams in the league in the top five on the power play (fourth) and penalty kill (second). ... Montreal D P.K. Subban played in his 234th straight game.