Ducks at Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes seek their first regulation victory in nearly two weeks as they begin a five-game homestand Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks. Carolina has gone 1-2-2 since edging the New York Rangers 3-2 on Oct. 28, with the only win coming Saturday at Nashville in a shootout.
Jeff Skinner leads the Hurricanes with six goals and 12 points but was kept off the scoresheet earlier this week as the club went 0-1-1 in a home-and-home series with New Jersey. Anaheim continues its three-game road trip a day after opening it with a 3-2 overtime loss in Columbus. Rickard Rakell and Nick Ritchie scored on Wednesday to erase an early 2-0 deficit and earn a point for the Ducks, who are riding a four-game point streak away from home (2-0-2). Rakell has been an offensive force since returning from a contract holdout and an abdominal injury that sidelined him for the first nine games of the season, recording four goals - two game-winners - and three assists in five contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FSN Carolina
ABOUT THE DUCKS (6-5-3): Hampus Lindholm made his season debut on Wednesday and registered two shots and a minus-1 rating in 18 minutes, 33 seconds of ice time. The 22-year-old Swedish defenseman missed Anaheim's first 13 games due to a contract dispute that resulted in a new six-year, $31.5 million deal. Michael Sgarbossa, who notched two assists in six games with the Ducks earlier this season, was a healthy scratch Wednesday after being recalled from San Diego of the American Hockey League prior to the game.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (3-5-4): Coach Bill Peters is hopeful his team can take advantage of its stretch of home games and earn some much-needed victories in order to escape the Metropolitan Divison basement. "We've got a great opportunity in front of us," he told the team's website. "We're at home, we're playing good teams. It's a good challenge. We've got to play well in order to get the wins and two points that we need and want." Cam Ward has provided strong goaltending of late, going 1-0-2 while stopping 94-of-100 shots in his last three starts.
OVERTIME
1. Hurricanes C Jordan Staal is four points shy of 400 for his career.
2. Anaheim D Cam Fowler appeared in his 428th game Wednesday, passing Matt Cullen for ninth place on the franchise list.
3. Carolina D Justin Faulk (upper body) missed Tuesday's contest and is listed as week-to-week.