By David Droschak, The Sports Xchange

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Picked by most to miss the playoffs for an eighth straight year, it's now safe to say the Carolina Hurricanes are the NHL's surprise team.

Rookie Brock McGinn had one goal and three assists, while Lee Stempniak scored the game-winning goal early in the third as the Hurricanes remained nearly unbeatable at home, downing the New York Islanders 7-4 Saturday night.

Carolina (21-15-7) scored 21 goals in a four-game homestand sweep of Boston, Columbus, Buffalo and the Islanders, improving to 14-1-1 in its last 16 games at PNC Arena. The victory also inched the Hurricanes within one point of Philadelphia for the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.

"Our game is starting to evolve and we'll see where we can get it to," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We're right there for sure. I just know our conference is very good and the Metropolitan Division is very good and it's going to be a lot of fun. You have to win games on a consistent basis and you have to win at a high-high rate and look after your own business and we've done that."

Added McGinn: "We're in the hunt for the playoffs and these are big games, big points every time you step on the ice. Anytime you are winning it is definitely fun hockey and you enjoy playing."

The Islanders (16-17-8), playing their third game in four nights, led by two goals early in the second, but couldn't keep pace with a fast Carolina team without injured defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic as the Hurricanes registered 45 shots.

Stempniak, Elias Lindholm and Jordan Staal each had three-point nights. Lindholm now has five points in three games since coming off injured reserve, Meanwhile, McGinn, a rookie, has seven points in that same span after notching just five points in his first 23 games this season.

"It is going on throughout the whole lineup now, everybody is contributing and it's definitely a lot of fun," McGinn said. "It's neat for me. I didn't want to change my game when the points weren't coming. Right now the points are coming. Everybody is playing great now so it's contagious."

The Hurricanes drafted McGinn in the second round of the 2012 draft and he's among a group of young players who have been given opportunities this season at the NHL level.

"He is a little undersized, maybe not the fastest guy but he has a lot of hockey player in him," Peters said of McGinn. "He's a courageous kid; a very intelligent player and has a lot of old school in him. He's starting to play with way more pace now, which is a huge credit to him. He's making plays now, hanging on pucks where he didn't hang on to pucks before, so he has taken a step as a player."

Islanders captain John Tavares tied the scored 1:08 into the third with his fifth goal in the last two games before Stempniak rifled a shot over the glove of Thomas Greiss off a faceoff as Carolina took the lead for good. It was Stempniak's first point in eight games.

Teuvo Teravainen sealed the victory with his 10th of the season with 8:16 left on a deflection, while Staal added his ninth two minutes later to cap a three-goal third period.

"I thought they put a lot of pressure on our defense," said New York coach Jack Capuano. "We weren't able to make the subtle plays we needed to make. They are going to shoot pucks from all over the place and got us running around."

Despite constant offensive pressure by Carolina, the Islanders took a 3-1 lead early in the second on Jason Chimera's seventh goal of the season before the Hurricanes came storming back to tie it on goals four minutes apart by Justin Faulk and Lindholm.

Defenseman Brett Pesce then joined the rush with 3:03 left in the period to cap off Carolina's three-goal period, notching his second of the season and first in 16 games. The three goals gave the Hurricanes 47 second-period goals on the season -- good for fifth best in the NHL -- and a 4-3 cushion heading into the third.

The Islanders grabbed a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes in a fast-paced period that featured a combined 29 shots.

New York scored early and late as Tavares picked up where he left off a night earlier in which he registered a hat trick at Florida, scoring on a tip in 4:16 into the game while Anders Lee added his 15th with 1:52 left on a 40-footer through traffic. The red-hot Tavares now has 19 goals in 27 career games against Carolina.

Meanwhile, Carolina got its lone score of the period with 3:34 left as McGinn picked up his fourth goal of the four-game homestand, pouncing on a rebound off a shot from Lindholm.

NOTES: Carolina G Cam Ward made his 19th straight start, dating to Dec. 3. ... G Eddie Lack (concussion) has missed eight games in a row, but Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said Lack is close to returning. ... Ward has a 20-4-4 career record against the Islanders. ... This was just New York's 18th road game, which is tied for the league low with St. Louis and Ottawa. ... After traveling to Boston on Monday, the Islanders play eight of nine at home, including six in a row. ... Islanders LW Jason Chimera is eight games shy of 1,000 for his career. ... The Islanders were without D Johnny Boychuk, who played 21 minutes on Friday night at Florida but couldn't go after the pregame skate because of an undisclosed injury.