Hurricanes at Devils
The New Jersey Devils may miss the playoffs this season, but it won't be due to struggles in their own building. The Devils look to continue their recent home success Saturday night as they entertain the Carolina Hurricanes in a battle between the bottom two teams in the Metropolitan Division. New Jersey is 9-2-3 in its last 14 games at Prudential Center, and has kicked off a six-game homestand with wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks.
Extending that home dominance will require doing something Toronto couldn't do Friday night: slowing down the Staal brothers. Captain Eric had a goal and an assist while Jordan also tallied as the Hurricanes edged the Maple Leafs 2-1 to improve to 11-6-3 since the calendar turned to 2015. It's the third meeting of the season between the divisional foes, with New Jersey prevailing 2-1 on Dec. 8 and Carolina returning the favor in overtime 15 days later.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Carolinas, MSG-Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (21-29-7): Carolina has been one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to one-goal outcomes - so imagine the collective relief when it managed to pull out a close victory over the woeful Maple Leafs. "We weren't as sharp and on our toes as we have been in other games," Eric Staal said. "But we still found a way to win and there have been plenty of times this year where we found a way to lose." Carolina has just 11 victories in 32 one-goal games this season, but seven of those wins have come since the start of 2015.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (23-26-9): New Jersey nearly found itself facing a potential game-tying penalty-shot attempt after defenseman Marek Zidlicky grabbed a loose puck out of mid-air and tossed it behind his own net late in Friday's 4-2 win over Vancouver. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked after the game. "I just saw the puck, (caught) the puck and threw it away from the net." Officials reviewed the play and determined that, since the puck was ruled to have been caught even with the crossbar, no penalty shot would be awarded.
OVERTIME
1. The road team has won eight of the last 10 meetings.
2. Carolina has won nine straight games against teams with sub-.500 records.
3. Eric Staal has just four goals in 41 career games versus the Devils.