Lindholm has 2 goals, Hurricanes over Blue Jackets 4-1

RALEIGH, N.C (AP) Elias Lindholm scored twice, Cam Ward made 35 saves and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Friday night.

Lindholm put Carolina ahead 2-1 on a slap shot with 5:25 left in the second period, then added an empty-net goal with 1:01 left to play. Jordan Staal and Chris Terry also scored for the Hurricanes, and Kris Versteeg had two assists, giving him 299 NHL points.

Brandon Dubinsky scored for Columbus, and Anton Forsberg made 25 saves.

Defenseman Seth Jones made his first appearance with Columbus since a trade from Nashville on Wednesday and played in his 100th NHL game.

Columbus' Nick Foligno left early in the third after a hard hit from the Hurricanes' Brad Malone.

This was the opener of a back-to-back, and the two teams will play in Columbus on Saturday night.