Bruins at Hurricanes
The Boston Bruins have struggled mightily by dropping 12 of their last 18 games (6-7-5), but Sunday afternoon's road date with the Carolina Hurricanes could be just what coach Claude Julien's team needs to get back on track. After all, the Bruins have won eight in a row against the Hurricanes - including their last four trips to Raleigh, N.C. Rookie Seth Griffith scored in Boston's 2-1 home victory over Carolina on Nov. 15 and extended his point streak to three games with an assist in a 3-2 overtime loss to Ottawa on Saturday afternoon.
Defensemen Torey Krug, David Krejci and Loui Eriksson also are riding three-game point streaks for the Bruins, who will look to prevent Carolina from claiming back-to-back victories for the first time since it won four in a row from Nov. 1-7. Captain Eric Staal scored for the third straight game in the Hurricanes' 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia on Friday and his next goal will be the 300th of his career. The two tallies by the Hurricanes on Saturday resembled an offensive explosion as the club had mustered either one or none in 11 games during December.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, RSN, NESN (Boston), SportSouth (Carolina)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (19-15-5): Defenseman Adam McQuaid overcame some rough patches while getting acclimated to the ice in his return from an 18-game absence due to a broken thumb. "Good start, I thought he moved the puck well," Julien said of McQuaid's performance. "For a guy who didn't play in a long time, I thought he was pretty poised with the puck and played a pretty solid game." McQuaid committed two penalties while logging 17:26 of ice time in his first action since Nov. 18.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (11-23-4): The Staal family experienced both life and death recently as Jordan's wife, Heather, gave birth to a baby girl on Friday morning. "He had those fresh daddy legs," Eric Staal told the Raleigh News & Observer of his brother, who logged more than 18 minutes against the Flyers. "You get the emotions, the excitement, the whirlwind that goes on." Sadly, the Staals' grandfather passed away, with the funeral being held Friday.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina G Cam Ward turned aside 23 shots against Philadelphia to stop a personal four-game skid (0-3-1), but his 23-save performance wasn't enough in the first meeting with Boston.
2. The Bruins are 1-5-0 on the second leg of back-to-back games this season.
3. Hurricanes C Brad Malone scored his first goal of the season on Friday and promptly upheld his vow by shaving his shaggy red beard following the contest.