Canucks at Hurricanes
Eric Staal will see a familiar face on Sunday, but the Carolina Hurricanes captain insists that he won't attempt to exact any retribution on Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Edler for the latter's hit in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in May. "Not for me. That's not who I am or what I'm about," Staal told the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer. Playing for Canada, Staal was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit by the Swede and suffered a third-degree sprain of the right MCL.
Staal has recovered and pieced together a season-high seven-game point streak before being held off the scoresheet in the Hurricanes' 5-2 loss to New Jersey on Friday. While Carolina has dropped five of seven (2-4-1), Vancouver's digging itself a deeper hole with a 2-5-3 mark in its last 10. The Canucks suffered a 5-2 setback to the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon in coach John Tortorella's return to Madison Square Garden.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, RSN Pacific (Vancouver), FSN (Carolina)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (13-10-5): Edler received an earful from Tortorella as he returned to the bench after his failure to clear the puck led to the Rangers' first goal. Edler remained on the bench for the rest of the first period as a result. Daniel Sedin scored a power-play goal late in the third to extend his point streak to five games.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (10-11-5): After playing parts of three seasons with Vancouver, Manny Malhotra worked his way back from a serious eye injury to become a regular contributor with Carolina. The 33-year-old has won 147-of-240 faceoffs and was even named the alternate captain against Ottawa last Sunday. "As a player, you take pride in having a role on the team and taking ownership of that role," Malhotra told ESPN.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver G Roberto Luongo has struggled in his career versus Carolina, posting a 1-10-0 mark with two ties. Rookie Eddie Lack could get the call as a result.
2. The Hurricanes haven't lost at home to the Canucks since Nov. 27, 2002.
3. Vancouver has scored a power-play goal in each of its last four games.