Avalanche at Hurricanes
Two teams looking to build off inspiring victories meet when the Colorado Avalanche visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Avalanche halted a four-game winless streak with a hard-working 2-1 win at Tampa Bay on Thursday, while Carolina rallied for a 3-2 overtime triumph, capped by defenseman Ron Hainsey’s goal, against the New York Islanders.
Colorado still is struggling offensively with seven goals in its last five games and is just 2-for-29 on the power play in the past six, but it may feel better after Thursday’s effort. “We have to continue to play with that same urgency,” Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay told reporters. “We have to want the puck and want to make plays with it, and hopefully, bounces will come our way.” The Hurricanes edged Colorado 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 21 and also defeated talented Detroit twice during a solid 4-3-0 road trip. Carolina needs to get its offense going as well after averaging two goals in the first 10 games and ranking last in the league on the power play (3-for-37).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude2 (Colorado), FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (3-5-1): The new line of Tanguay, Nathan MacKinnon and Jarome Iginla combined for 12 shots on goal and six points on Thursday. “We all can score, it’s a good mix, we seem to mesh pretty well,” MacKinnon told reporters. “I thought we controlled the play and were good defensively.” Semyon Varlamov is expected to start for the second straight night after turning aside 34 shots to end a three-game winless streak and emerge victorious for the second time in six contests.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (4-6-0): Center Jordan Staal notched his first two points of the season Thursday, including an assist on the winning goal. The Hurricanes need Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm, who each have recorded just one goal, to warm up while captain Eric Staal and defenseman Justin Faulk have recorded six points apiece to lead the team. Coach Bill Peters told reporters 18-year-old defenseman Noah Hanifin would play his 10th game and remain with the team to burn the first season of his three-year, entry-level contract.
OVERTIME
1. Iginla notched two assists Thursday to give him 1,233 career points, passing Phil Housley (1,232) for 38th place on the all-time list.
2. Carolina's Eddie Lack posted his first victory with the Hurricanes on Thursday while fellow G Cam Ward has stopped 83-of-87 shots in his last four games.
3. Eight of the last nine games in the series have been decided by a goal while four of the last seven have ended in overtime or a shootout.