RALEIGH, N.C. -- Going 27 games without a goal can rattle the confidence of a talented former first-round pick.

But Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat has kept his head down and work ethic moving forward, and has been rewarded in a big way recently -- especially against the Carolina Hurricanes.

He scored his second goal of the game on a delayed penalty, and second game-winner against Carolina in less than two weeks, with 1:35 left in overtime, and goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 38 shots as the Canucks snapped the Hurricanes' four-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory Friday night.

Since Jan. 4, the ninth overall pick in the 2013 draft, now has six goals in his last six games -- four against Carolina.

"I've just started putting pucks on net; those shots weren't going in at the beginning of the year," the 20-year-old said. "It definitely gives me a lot more confidence. I couldn't have imagined this streak. Three weeks ago, I didn't think I was going to score another goal this year.

"You enjoy coming to the rink. You enjoy the next shift, the next period, the next game. It just lifts you. My confidence was pretty shot at the beginning of the year, so to get that first goal during the new year helped get me going a lot."

Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins believes additional responsibility has also helped Horvat's recent scoring surge.

"We got into a stretch there where we were short of centers and he started taking a lot of faceoffs and doing some extra things, and he just seemed to flourish when he got more given to him; he seemed to find his game," Desjardins said.

Carolina defenseman John-Michael Liles tied the score at 2-2 with 2:10 left in regulation when his sharp angle shot went off the skate of Vancouver defenseman Matt Bartkowski in the crease and past Markstrom.

Vancouver (18-17-10) rebounded with a road victory 24 hours after losing 4-1 at Washington despite being outshot 40-22 by Carolina.

"It was on the road and it doesn't have to be pretty," Markstrom said. "And this was one of those nights but it was the end result that counted. This was huge for us."

Meanwhile, Carolina (20-19-7), which had pulled within one point of a wild card playoff position in the Eastern Conference, managed just two goals despite numerous good scoring chances after outscoring opponents 15-7 during its recent winning streak.

"We were chasing the game and never led," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We got more committed as the game went along. I'm glad we got the point and stuck with it. We were able to get a point on a night when we didn't play a complete game."

The two teams exchanged goals in the latter stages of the first period within a five-minute span.

The Canucks got on the board first with an unassisted goal from right winger Linden Vey -- his first of the season. The Hurricanes notched a power-play goal off the stick of right winger Kris Versteeg for his eighth and third in his last four games. It was the fifth straight game Carolina has scored a power-play goal.

Horvat gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead heading into the third period when he used Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin as a screen to beat goaltender Cam Ward high on his glove side midway through the second period.

NOTES: Canucks RW Derek Dorsett, the NHL's penalty leader with 110 minutes, missed the game with the flu. ... The Canucks are two games into their third six-game road trip less than 50 games into the season. The team went 1-3-2 and 2-3-1 in its previous two long trips. ... Carolina LW Nathan Gerbe returned to the lineup after missing 25 straight games after suffering an ankle injury on Nov. 22. With Gerbe activated, the Hurricanes sent LW Phil Di Giuseppe and LW Brock McGinn to the AHL Charlotte Checkers. Di Giuseppe had eight points in 14 games for Carolina but hasn't played since being injured Jan. 2 against Nashville. ... Carolina D Ron Hainsey played in his 800th game but has yet to log a playoff game. ... Vancouver has now won 13 of the last 15 against Carolina. ... The Canucks recalled D Taylor Fedun on Thursday.