RALEIGH, N.C. -- Andrej Nestrasil's mother had never seen him play in the NHL, so her visit from the Czech Republic this weekend has been rewarding.

Nestrasil has scored in both games.

He continued his recent surge with a second-period goal as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 6-3 on Saturday night at PNC Arena.

"It's always pressure (because) she traveled so far," Nestrasil said. "When I did score, it was actually a relief."

Four of Nestrasil's nine goals this season have come in a four-game stretch. He was initially credited with another goal on Saturday, but a scoring change later wiped that out.

Center Victor Rask scored two goals for Carolina (25-21-10), which lost its previous two games in shootouts.

Center Riley Nash, who was scratched the night before, scored in the first period for the Hurricanes.

Defenseman Noah Hanifin and right winger Kris Versteeg also scored for Carolina. Center Jordan Staal and left winger Phillip Di Giuseppe picked up two assists apiece.

The Hurricanes had a season-high six goals by the end of the second period.

"I think tonight, (the puck) went in," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "Obviously, they started going in a little bit in the second and it's a good night."

Nastrasil has been particularly productive the past couple of weeks.

"I always believe it's in me," he said. "But the line I play on, we always have a defensive role."

Peters said Nestrasil can provide much-needed offense.

"He has sneaky skill," Peters said. "He has a lot of confidence in his ability."

Carolina goalie Cam Ward left late in the second period after suffering an apparent injury earlier in the period while making an awkward save.

Ward had 15 saves, and Eddie Lack stopped eight shots in relief.

Center John Tavares and defenseman Nick Leddy scored in a 1:34 span of the second period for the Islanders (29-19-6), who trailed 4-0. Left winger Matt Martin added a third-period goal.

New York goalie Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves on 28 shots through two periods before goalie Thomas Greiss worked the third period.

The Hurricanes led 6-2 after the teams combined for seven second-period goals.

"We talk about that, to bear down on our opportunities," Rask said.

Even though Carolina's barrage came in the second period, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said the problems were evident earlier with the Hurricanes putting up 16 first-period shots.

"For whatever reason, we didn't start on time," he said. "You play 82 games, it's going to happen. Let's not kid ourselves."

Nash did some of the hard work and was rewarded with the goal to open the scoring for the game's lone first-period goal.

He collected the puck along the boards and dished a pass to center Jay McClement, who returned the puck to Nash. Nash's shot gave him his fifth goal of the season.

Nestrasil's goal made it 4-0 after he received a pass center Joakim Nordstrom and converted.

"I just finished it," he said.

Tavares posted his team-leading 21st goal of the season in the second period for the Islanders. Leddy's goal came on a power play with 4:40 left in the second period.

"The turning point is 4-2 and we're right back in it and then they get two," Capuano said.

Rask notched his two goals in the last 1:23 of the second period. His second came with less than two seconds to play in the period.

"You've got to find a way to finish in big games and these are big games right now," Peters said.

NOTES: The Stanley Cup was on display in the arena for the second night in a row as part of the 10-year anniversary celebration of Carolina's lone championship. A pregame on-ice ceremony honoring the 2006 champions included Islanders assistant coach and assistant general manager Doug Weight, who was a Carolina forward 10 years ago. ... Hurricanes D Justin Faulk was scratched for the second game in a row after suffering a lower-body injury during Thursday's practice. ... The Islanders had RW Steve Bernier, who hadn't played in the previous 18 games, in the lineup. He replaced RW Cal Clutterbuck (illness). ... The teams meet twice more in late March. ... Entering the game, the Hurricanes had earned at least one team point in 25 of the previous 28 meetings. ... The Islanders return home to face Detroit on Monday night. The Hurricanes play the last game of a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against Winnipeg.