Hurricanes at Senators
Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho are keeping the Carolina Hurricanes' rail-thin postseason aspirations afloat on the strength of their simultaneous career-high seven-game point streaks. The two Finns aim to continue their individual success and bolster the visiting Hurricanes' standing on Saturday in the opener of a home-and-home series against the Ottawa Senators.
"They were dangerous. I thought Seabass (Aho) made some plays. He made a real good play with patience on the first one. ... Turbo's got a great release," Carolina coach Bill Peters said after Teravainen scored and set up a goal and Aho notched two assists in Thursday's wild 6-5 win over Arizona. Teravainen and Aho have combined for 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) in their past 20 games for the Hurricanes, who have answered a 1-5-0 mark with wins in two of their last three to reside nine points behind New Jersey for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators, who fell one goal short of a Stanley Cup appearance last season, officially were eliminated from postseason contention following Thursday's 6-2 setback to Edmonton. Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion said on Friday that the team would attempt to work out a contract with forward Matt Duchene, who scored versus the Oilers to push his point total to seven (four goals, three assists) in the past six games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Carolinas, Sportsnet1, CITY (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (32-31-11): Rookie Valentin Zykov registered a two-goal performance in his second game since being recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League. "He's a big, heavy, thick guy and he's got some courage and he goes to the net," Peters told the Raleigh News & Observer of the 22-year-Russian, who benefited from playing on the same line as Aho and Teravainen. Jeff Skinner matched Zykov with a two-goal effort, a strong performance considering he had just four points - all assists - in his previous 13 games.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (26-36-11): Dorion also told season ticket holders on Friday during a conference call that captain Erik Karlsson will be extended a contract offer from the team on July 1, the first day the club is allowed to do so. "Erik is a fantastic player," Dorion said, according to the Ottawa Citizen. "The relationship between he, Eugene (Melnyk, owner) and myself is strong, and I want all of you to know that. When we can offer Erik a contract on July 1, we will do so." A two-time Norris Trophy winner, Karlsson has one season remaining on a seven-year pact he signed in 2012.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina G Cam Ward improved to 16-8-3 in his career versus Ottawa with a .922 save percentage after turning aside 29 shots in the first meeting with Ottawa.
2. Senators C Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who scored in a 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Jan. 30, is mired in a five-game goal drought after scoring four times in the previous six.
3. Carolina D Jaccob Slavin set up three goals on Thursday to increase his point total to seven (two goals, five assists) in the past four contests