Hurricanes at Devils
THE
STORY: The Carolina Hurricanes are not far out of playoff position in
the Eastern Conference, but they are going in the wrong direction. The
Hurricanes have won only two of their last eight games as they embark on
a tough stretch, starting at the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Carolina
had given up more goals than all but two teams in the NHL going into
Monday’s games and All-Star Eric Staal has gone eight games without a
goal. New Jersey, which defeated the Hurricanes 4-2 on Oct. 10 in
Newark, has won two straight in extra time. Martin Brodeur, who gained
his first victory of the season against Winnipeg, is 35-14-5-1 against
Carolina in his career with a 2.07 goals against average.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Versus, TSN2
ABOUT
THE HURRICANES (5-6-3): Staal has only two points since the second game
of the season, when he had two goals and an assist against Washington.
The captain does have 51 shots, leading the team and in the top 10 in
the league, and the Hurricanes are saying he is not hurt. Chad LaRose
has picked up some of the slack with three goals and four assists in his
last seven games, and Jeff Skinner leads the team with six goals and
eight assists. Cam Ward is 6-10-2 against New Jersey.
ABOUT THE
DEVILS (6-5-1): Patrik Elias is quietly off to a strong start with at
least a point in 10 of 11 games since the season opener. Elias also has
45 points in 45 career games against the Hurricanes. Rookie Adam
Henrique, who had zero points in the first four games, has three goals
and three assists in the last five to work himself up to a spot on a
line with Zach Parise and David Clarkson. Ilya Kovalchuk missed the
Winnipeg game with a leg injury and is questionable to play Tuesday.
OVERTIME:
1. New Jersey has won the last four meetings and seven of the last nine.
2. Carolina had two power-play goals in its last game, but is only 4 for 36 in its last eight.
3. The Devils are 3-1 in shootouts and 1-0 in overtime.