Hurricanes at Bruins
The Boston Bruins look to put a disastrous two-game road trip behind them when they vie for a fifth consecutive home victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins were riding high on a five-game winning streak before being outscored 11-2 in lopsided losses to Original Six-rivals Toronto and Montreal. "As a whole team, as a unit, we're all struggling," said defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who scored a power-play goal in Boston's 5-1 setback to the Canadiens on Thursday. "I don't know what it is. Obviously, if we knew what it was, we'd be playing differently. ... But obviously a pretty frustrating and upsetting road trip."
The Bruins look to get back on track versus Carolina, against which they won all three meetings last season while outscoring the Hurricanes by a 12-4 margin. Carolina is coming off a 3-1 loss to Winnipeg on Thursday after collecting 11 of a possible 12 points (5-0-1) following a brutal 0-6-2 start to the campaign. Elias Lindholm scored a power-play goal for the Hurricanes, who have tallied with the man advantage in four straight games and six of the last seven.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Carolina), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (5-7-3): Lindholm has collected six goals and two assists in his last seven contests, but last year's fifth overall draft pick is dealing with an ailing foot. First-year coach Bill Peters expects Lindholm to play on Saturday and also tabbed Cam Ward to start versus Boston. Former Bruin Anton Khudobin will get the nod versus visiting San Jose on Sunday.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (10-8-0): After missing three games with a lower-body injury, David Krejci resumed skating prior to Friday's practice and could return versus Carolina - against which he recorded a goal and three assists in three meetings last season. Patrice Bergeron saw his five-game point streak come to a halt on Thursday following his minus-3 performance versus the Canadiens. The two-time Selke Trophy winner resides at minus-2 for the season after failing to finish below plus-20 in any of his previous four campaigns.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina C Riley Nash set up Lindholm's tally on Thursday and has recorded one goal and three assists during his three-game point streak.
2. Boston has permitted four power-play goals after killing off 22-of-25 short-handed situations over the previous 10 contests
3. Hurricanes captain Eric Staal shifted back to center in practice after being held without a shot during his stint at left wing versus Winnipeg.