Hurricanes at Golden Knights
After finishing their three-game homestand with a pair of losses, the Carolina Hurricanes suffered a similar fate in the opener of their four-game road trip. The Hurricanes hope to avoid a fourth straight setback when they continue their trek Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Carolina battled back from an early three-goal deficit Friday to earn a point in a 4-3 overtime loss at Arizona, but leading scorer Sebastian Aho was held in check, ending his season-opening 12-game assist and point streaks. The reigning Western Conference champion Golden Knights have dropped four of their last five contests (1-3-1), including a 5-3 setback at St. Louis on Thursday. Alex Tuch scored a goal and set up another for Vegas, which owns a 3-2-1 record at home. The 22-year-old right wing has registered five points in as many games after missing the first eight contests of the season because of an upper-body injury.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Carolinas, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Vegas)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (6-5-2): The top line of Aho, Teuvo Teravainen and Micheal Ferland was kept off the scoresheet Friday despite registering 14 of the team's 51 shots. Ferland, who tops the club with seven goals, has gone without a point in two of his last three contests following a five-game streak during which he recorded four tallies and an assist. Jordan Staal ended his seven-game drought with his fifth goal of the season Friday, leaving him 10 points shy of 500 for his career.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (5-7-1): Jonathan Marchessault, who leads the team in goals (six) and points (13), has been kept off the scoresheet in only four of his 13 contests. The 27-year-old center was one of many pleasant surprises for expansion Vegas last season, registering career highs of 48 assists and 75 points. William Karlsson is off to a slow start with three goals in 13 games after netting a career-high 43 last season.
OVERTIME
1. Aho, who matched the NHL record for the longest assist streak to start a season set in 1982-83 by Wayne Gretzky and tied three campaigns later by Ken Linseman, collected four goals and 13 assists during his streaks but has gone eight games without a tally.
2. Vegas ranks 30th in the league with 29 goals - five more than last-place Los Angeles.
3. Carolina D Haydn Fleury was recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Wednesday but was a healthy scratch against the Coyotes.