Bruins at Hurricanes
THE STORY: Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien is worried that his team has lost its edge. Yes, you read that right. Although the Bruins have won 25 of their last 30 games and have the Stanley Cup on their mantle, Julien wants more out of his charges. "I find that we've lost a bit of our sharpness,” Julien said after Friday's practice. “It’s got to be tape-to-tape passes, it’s got to be a little bit of jump and taking pucks to the net; mostly bringing some sharpness back in our game. We’re lacking in all areas when it comes to sharpness; we’ve kind of taken a step back a little bit, half a step back I’d say, and we want to find that half-step moving forward here, especially on this road trip.” Boston has excelled on the road, winning 12 of its 16 contests this season. The four-game road trip begins on Saturday in the Tar Heel State against the Carolina Hurricanes, who have dropped 16 of their last 23 games (7-12-4). The Hurricanes are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Southeast Division rival Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NESN, FSCR
ABOUT THE BRUINS (28-11-1): David Krejci has been on quite the roll by collecting five goals and 10 assists during his career-high 10-game scoring streak. He had an assist on linemate Milan Lucic's goal during Boston's 2-1 triumph over the rival Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Krejci did not play against the Hurricanes in the teams' early-season meetings due to a core injury. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas has struggled - well, by his standards - in his career versus Carolina. He has split 20 decisions.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (15-23-7): Jiri Tlusty tallied twice and captain Eric Staal notched three assists in Thursday's triumph. Carolina is anxiously awaiting the return of reigning Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner, who has been sidelined with a concussion for over one month. While the 19-year-old has expressed interest in returning to the ice for either Saturday's game versus Boston or Sunday's against Washington, coach Kirk Muller cast concern about rushing him back too quickly.
OVERTIME:
1. The Bruins will pay a visit to the White House for the first time in 39 years. The team will be honored by President Obama on Jan. 23 before facing the Washington Capitals on the following evening.
2. Hurricanes RW Chad LaRose has missed two games with an upper body injury, but he is expected to return on Saturday.
PREDICTION: Bruins 5, Hurricanes 1.