Ducks at Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes host the Anaheim Ducks on Friday after it appeared they lost more than a game Thursday. Carolina's Dougie Hamilton - fourth among league defensemen with 40 points and second with a plus-30 rating - left the 3-2 loss at Columbus when his left leg bent awkwardly after getting tangled up with Columbus' Kevin Stenlund along the boards and couldn't put any weight on the leg as he left the ice.
“It doesn’t look good, obviously,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour told reporters. “That’s a tough one. Obviously you hate to see guys get hurt. It’s unfortunate but it’s part of it.” If Hamilton is out for a period of time, it will be a huge blow to a club trying to maintain playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Anaheim snapped a four-game slide with a 4-2 victory at Nashville on Thursday. The Ducks are in a virtual tie with Los Angeles at the bottom of the Western Conference after winning for the second time in nine games - both against the Predators.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: Prime Ticket, FS Carolinas
ABOUT THE DUCKS (18-24-5): Rickard Rakell has scored twice in the last three games after recording a goal and an assist Thursday. Troy Terry (knee) could return to the lineup after missing the last 13 games with general manager Bob Murray telling reporters: "As soon as we can get him in shape, he's ready to play. He wants to play." Ryan Miller is expected in goal against Carolina after John Gibson made 33 saves Thursday to snap a three-game losing streak.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (27-18-2): Hamilton has 14 goals - third-most on the club behind Sebastian Aho (23) and Andrei Svechnikov (18) - and tied for second-most among league defensemen. Teuvo Teravainen recorded his team-leading 44th point Thursday, assisting on Jordan Staal's seventh goal of the season and second in seven January games. James Reimer (3-1-0, 1.79 goals-against average, .936 save percentage versus Anaheim) is expected in net Friday after Petr Mrazek made 15 saves Thursday in losing for the fourth time in his five contests.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina D Jaccob Slavin on Thursday played his 350th straight game, passing Eric Staal for the second-longest streak in franchise history.
2. The Ducks have killed 6-of-11 penalties in their last six games while the Hurricanes are 0-for-14 on the power play in the past six contests.
3. Anaheim defeated Carolina 4-2 on Oct. 18 and have won six of the last seven meetings.