RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward thought he was through with the toughest part and then he had to face another 5-on-3 situation Friday night.

He navigated that segment successfully and the Hurricanes were on their way to a 4-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PNC Arena.

"I can't say that has happened too many times in my career," Ward said of encountering a pair of 5-on-3 power pays for an opponent in the same period. "When you have that, it's just work."

The Hurricanes did most of the good work when it mattered.

"Everyone seemed to play well," right winger Kris Versteeg said.

Center Elias Lindholm scored a tiebreaking goal in the second period and a clinching goal late in the game.

Center Jordan Staal scored earlier on a power play for the Hurricanes (17-18-7), who won for the first time in four games. Left winger Chris Terry tallied in the third period for the Hurricanes before Lindholm's empty-net goal with 1:01 to play.

Ward made 35 saves, including stopping all 16 third-period shots. He notched his first victory since Dec. 26, though it was only his third appearance since then.

"Fortunately, we were able to weather the storm early," Ward said.

Center Brandon Dubinsky had the goal for Columbus, which dropped to 8-15-0 in road games.

"I don't think we challenged them enough as far as chances," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "Certainly didn't develop enough throughout the game."

Each team was playing its first game after reaching the midway marks on their schedules. Carolina pulled eight points ahead of the Columbus, though both teams are out of playoff position.

Goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 25 shots for the Blue Jackets.

Columbus (15-24-4) had its lowest goal total in a nine-game stretch. The Blue Jackets averaged 3.6 goals during the previous eight games.

Failing to convert on the second 5-on-3 was telling how the game would play out.

"You're looking for (another)," Tortorella said. "It may change the momentum of the game completely."

Ward said he couldn't afford to come out rusty despite his sporadic playing time the past couple of weeks.

After Carolina's third goal, Dubinsky and Hurricanes center Brad Malone dropped the gloves in a fight that might have been a sign of rising tensions for teams that will meet on back-to-back nights.

The skirmish might have resulted from a hit that Malone put on Columbus left winger Nick Foligno early in the third period. He didn't return to action, and Tortorella said he didn't have an update on Foligno's injury status.

The Hurricanes gave up one only goal in the second period despite Columbus twice going on 5-on-3 power plays.

Carolina claimed a 2-1 lead when Lindholm snapped a 12-game drought without a goal. He tipped in a shot taken by defenseman Noah Hanifin.

Staal was positioned in front of the net and redirected defenseman Jaccob Slavin's shot, with the puck going through Forsberg's legs with 3:51 left in the first period.

"We knew to get on the board early against a team that is desperate," Staal said. "We're playing solid and that's a lot of good things to build on."

Right winger Kris Versteeg contributed assists on the first two Carolina goals, pushing his team-leading total to 19.

Dubinsky's goal came after the Blue Jackets' first two-man advantage expired, but with time remaining with a one-man advantage on the power play.

Dubinsky collected a rebound, with his shot sending the puck off Carolina defenseman John-Michael Liles' skate and into the net.

NOTES: This was the first of four meetings this season between the teams at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings. They meet again Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. ... This was the first game with the Blue Jackets for D Seth Jones, who joined the team two days earlier in a trade with the Nashville Predators. He was a minus-two in 22:31 of ice time. ... With Jones on board, D Dalton Prout was out of the lineup for the first time in 10 games. ... C Victor Rask missed a Carolina game for the first time this season. He left Wednesday night's game at Vancouver with an upper-body injury, then was scratched two nights later.